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Second round of Launch Pad selections includes eight newcomers
The National Reactor Innovation Center at Idaho National Laboratory has announced 13 project selections across 12 companies for the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, a Department of Energy–led program that integrates reactor and fuel facility authorization, testing, and deployment support for private nuclear developers.
The Launch Pad emerged from the Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program.
According to INL, projects selected include reactor development and nuclear fuel cycle advancements, including fabrication, enrichment, and conversion technologies.
Sean M. McDeavitt, David Wootan, Mark Kimber, Karen Vierow Kirkland, Luis H. Ortega, Delia Perez-Nunez, Pavel Tsvetkov, Jason Hearne, Abdullah Weiss, Saleem Drera, Nicolas E. Woolstenhulme
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 197 | Number 11 | November 2023 | Pages 2840-2852
Regular Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2023.2166765
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Two of the experiment vehicles being developed for the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) are presented here. The first is a rabbit system that will enable rapid insertion of small test capsules into the high fast flux of the VTR core for relatively short durations. The rabbit concept development includes the construction/demonstration of a near-full-scale system in a deep-water pool to demonstrate functionality, development of a concept of operations and initial procedures, and validation of thermal-hydraulic modeling. In addition, modeling efforts are underway to simulate the thermal and neutronic environment of a rabbit capsule. The second type of experiment vehicle presented here is a driver fuel test assembly for inserting fuel and materials tests into the core by replacing a driver fuel assembly. A novel design for dismountable test assemblies is proposed for the VTR.