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2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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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.
D. B. TRAUGER
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 14 | Number 1 | September 1962 | Pages 69-82
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE62-A26200
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Irradiation tests have been conducted in the ORR, ETR, and LITR for evaluating fuel materials for the EGCR. Time limitations imposed by the reactor construction schedule restricted material choices and test conditions to those immediately appropriate for the EGCR and necessitated some replication. Fifty-nine assemblies were irradiated at stainless steel cladding surface temperatures of 1300 to 1600°F and power densities both above and below 30,000 Btu/hr per foot of UO2 fuel length. NaK-filled containers were employed to test prototype-size fuel capsules, and air-cooled capsules of reduced size were used for fission-gas-release studies. External pressurization of 315 psia was applied to fuel assemblies of prototype size. Preliminary results appear to affirm the adequacy of the fuel element design.