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Front-end nuclear fuel supply cooperation: Turning allied interdependence into strategic advantage
The global nuclear revival, which is fueled by unprecedented demand for firm, affordable, dispatchable power for artificial intelligence and data center build-out, energy security imperatives, and climate commitments, has exposed a structural reality of the Western fuel cycle: No single allied nation currently possesses the full suite of front-end capabilities. From mining through conversion, enrichment, fabrication, and the emerging deconversion and metallization steps required for reactor fuels, capability is distributed across Canada, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States (collectively, the “Sapporo Five”), as well as a small group of close partners.
Pavel M. Bokov, Danas Ridikas, Igor Slessarev, Oliver Köberl
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 151 | Number 3 | November 2005 | Pages 335-343
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE05-A2552
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Core subcriticality can play an important role if the safety enhancement of a nuclear system is necessary, in particular, when minor actinides submitted for transmutation cause essential degradation of the reactivity feedback effects or/and significant reduction of the delayed neutron fraction. The present work shows that core subcriticality together with thermohydraulics optimization can compensate for the possible degradation of the Doppler effect and the reduction of the delayed neutron fraction. The particular dependence of the spallation neutron yield allows the creation of a supplementary negative feedback effect in case of accelerator coupled hybrid systems. A number of quantitative examples are provided in this context.