U.S. researchers fabricate commercial grade uranium dioxide HALEU fuel

These HALEU uranium dioxide fuel pellets are about the size of a gummy bear, seen here next to an INL business card. Credit: Idaho National Laboratory

As the world clamors for carbon-free power, U.S. nuclear reactor developers have responded with a multitude of advanced reactor designs.

These reactors would produce efficient, flexible heat and electricity. Nuclear energy from light water reactors already ranks among the safest forms of energy production, and most advanced reactors will use safety systems that rely on the laws of physics to virtually eliminate the possibility of a serious accident. To move these designs from the drawing board to commercial deployments around the world, researchers and industry must subject them to rigorous testing that proves their performance and safety. This is especially true of the new, high-performance nuclear fuels that will power these reactors. Recently, U.S. researchers have fabricated HALEU fuel for next generation nuclear reactors, an important step in the testing and qualification process. In early 2023, researchers fabricated roughly two dozen pellets of uranium dioxide (UO2) HALEU — which stands for high-assay low-enriched uranium — at Idaho National Laboratory’s Experimental Fuels Facility at the Material and Fuels Complex. (continued) https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1008708