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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.
Carl E. Walter
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 6 | Number 4 | October 1959 | Pages 279-283
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE59-A28844
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In its elevated-temperature critical-assembly experiments, the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore, will utilize stainless-steel-clad fuel elements. The fuel element consists of 0.001- or 0.002-in. thick enriched-uranium foil packaged in a welded 0.002-in. thick type-347 stainless-steel envelope. The design requirements for the fuel elements are stated, as are the considerations which led to the design selected. Beta heat treatment of the uranium was found necessary to provide compatible thermal-expansion characteristics for the two materials in the fuel element.