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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.
Delwin M. Romrell, Don M. Art, Richard D. Redekopp, James B. Waldo, Jerry L. Marshall
Nuclear Technology | Volume 86 | Number 3 | September 1989 | Pages 264-274
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A34294
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The fuel handling sequence at the Fast Flux Test Reactor in Richland, Washington, utilizes several computer-aided fuel handling machines, a fuel conditioning station, and fuel storage vessels. Each system is designed to appropriately maintain the sodium-wetted fuel in an argon atmosphere (to prevent sodium reaction with moisture and oxygen) and control the temperature of the fuel assembly within the specified limits. Refueling experience has been used to decrease plant refueling time. Equipment utilization has exceeded original estimates because of changes in the irradiation program. Most of the fuel handling equipment has operated reliably, but with aging, some equipment upgrades are in progress or are being planned.