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Launching into tomorrow: NRIC guides new era of research and deployment
In June 2025, the Department of Energy announced the Reactor Pilot Program, an authorization pathway that allowed reactor developers to partner with the DOE to get first-of-a-kind (FOAK) reactors built and tested. Soon after, the DOE rolled out a complementary Fuel Line Pilot Program, which aimed to fast-track fuel projects. In all, 20 projects were accepted into the new programs.
Emile Vanden Bemden
Nuclear Technology | Volume 53 | Number 2 | May 1981 | Pages 186-195
Technical Paper | Realistic Estimates of the Consequences of Nuclear Accident / Nuclear Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT81-A32623
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper briefly describes the present situation in the field of plutonium fuel production and explains concepts used by Belgonucleaire to develop technology and production processes for application by the mid-1980s. Of particular interest is the COGEPEL process developed by the company. It consists of pelletizing gelified mixed-oxide microspheres. The microspheres are sufficiently large and strong to virtually eliminate dust formation. In fuels produced by conventional processes, the formation of large quantities of gamma-emitting dust presents a serious contamination problem. The introduction of the new process should improve the overall safety of the plutonium industry.