Texas A&M University researchers have received USD 5.4 million in federal funding to investigate the reuse of spent nuclear fuel in advanced reactor systems. The three-year project will study whether materials recovered from nuclear waste can be processed for use in a thorium molten salt reactor.
The funding was awarded to the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) through the US Department of Energy (DOE). US Deputy Secretary of Energy James Danly announced the grant during a visit to the university campus.
Titled โTurning Nuclear Waste into Fuel with a Thorium Molten Salt Reactor,โ the project is led by Dr. Lin Shao, professor in Texas A&Mโs Department of Nuclear Engineering. Savannah River National Laboratory and industry partner Natura Resources are also participating in the research.
Federal Grant Supports Nuclear Fuel Research
The USD 5.4 million award is part of USD 50 million in federal funding allocated to universities across the United States for nuclear fuel research.
Danly said Texas A&M had submitted one of the strongest applications for the funding. He also highlighted the amount of usable material that remains in spent nuclear fuel.
โUsed nuclear fuel has long been seen as a liability,โ Danly said.
โIt is an asset that still has 98% of its useful value in it,โ he added.
Project Examines Thorium Reactor Fuel Reuse
The nuclear fuel recycling research will bring together the university’s nuclear engineering expertise with the capabilities of Savannah River National Laboratory and Natura Resources to assess the technical potential of a thorium-based fuel recycling approach.
Robert Bishop, vice chancellor and dean of Texas A&M Engineering, highlighted the importance of finding ways to reuse nuclear fuel rather than relying solely on long-term storage.
โYou donโt want to just use nuclear fuel and then have to store it for millions of years. Youโd like to be able to recycle it,โ Bishop said.
Bishop said funding for the project would begin in a couple of months. He clarified that the grant is intended to support research and does not finance a power generation facility or electricity supplied to the grid.
Research Draws on International Experience
The project also builds on experience from countries that have developed nuclear fuel recycling capabilities. Anthony Cecchini, a nuclear engineering Ph.D. student at Texas A&M, pointed to France’s experience in the field and the United States’ comparatively limited development of this capability.
โFrance has been doing it for almost 50, 60 years now. So itโs proven to be able to be done. Itโs just the U.S. hasnโt built out that capability,โ Cecchini said.
The research will assess the technical challenges involved in applying fuel recycling to a thorium molten salt reactor system. However, the feasibility of the approach remains to be established.
Danly cautioned that determining whether the concept can work will require further investigation.
โItโs going to take years of research to figure out whether or not it works,โ he said.
The findings from the programme are expected to contribute to the evaluation of alternative nuclear fuel cycles and the potential role of recycled materials in advanced reactor development.