Nuclear

Oak Ridge National Laboratory begins examining fuel rods from Global Nuclear Fuel

The rods were recently shipped to the lab after completing six years of irradiation and could could help boost the performance of nuclear power plants. 
Oak Ridge National Laboratory begins examining fuel rods from Global Nuclear Fuel
Fuel shipment arriving at ORNL (Credit: ORNL)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) recently started examining several new fuel rods developed by GE Vernova’s Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) that could help boost the performance of nuclear power plants. 

The rods were recently shipped to the lab from a commercial nuclear power plant after completing six years of irradiation. Results from the experiments will be used to support the commercial deployment of so-called “high burnup fuels” before the end of the decade. ORNL said the results could lead to fewer refueling outages, increased power output for better economics and less spent fuel generated over the lifetime of the reactor.  

Higher burnup fuel is designed to remain in the reactor core for longer periods of time before it is removed for long-term storage.  

The fuel rods were manufactured at GNF’s fabrication facility in Wilmington, North Carolina with support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Accident Tolerant Fuel program and later inserted into a commercial reactor for testing. After six years of successful irradiation, the high burnup fuel rods were shipped to ORNL to examine the fuel and verify its safety and performance. 

“This shipment of these rods is another milestone in the drive to develop the next generation of even safer and more reliable fuel,” said Mike Chilton, Executive Vice President, GNF. “We are proud to be part of this collaboration with ORNL and DOE to benefit the entire industry.”   

ORNL will conduct post-irradiation experiments over the next several years, and the data will be used to support the development, engineering, and licensing efforts of GNF’s high burnup fuel. 

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