CNL to manufacture test bundles of thorium-based fuel

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories has signed an agreement with Chicago-based Clean Core Thorium Energy to manufacture demonstration irradiation bundles of Clean Core's ANEEL (Advanced Nuclear Energy for Enriched Life) fuel. The fuel is made with a combination of thorium and high-assay low-enriched uranium and is designed for use in pressurized heavy water reactors, such as Canada's CANDU fleet.

The agreement comes as a test campaign using individual fuel pellets manufactured and tested in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory nears an end. The agreement with CNL includes model validation at CNL and a Phase-1 prelicensing vendor design review with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

New fuel design: Because it has the same external geometry as the fuel currently used in CANDU reactors and other PHWRs, ANEEL fuel could be integrated into current reactor fleets without any major modifications to hardware or core design, according to Clean Core. ANEEL fuel is made to achieve higher burnup and improved fuel utilization in a once-through fuel cycle, reducing spent fuel volumes per unit of energy generated and strengthening proliferation resistance.

The fuel bundles that CNL will manufacture will be full-scale, prototypic products manufactured at Chalk River Laboratories in Canada. CNL will lead the development, qualification, and manufacturing of the bundles under the requirements of the Canadian Standard Association. "This will allow for a [demonstration irradiation] that would provide additional reassurance to the designer, the utility, the manufacturer, and the regulator, of acceptable fuel performance and the first example of operational experience for a new fuel design," CNL said in its announcement.

"CNL has maintained core capabilities in fuel research, development and fabrication enabling us to take on the manufacturing of novel and next generation fuels," said Monica Regalbuto, vice president of science and technology at CNL. "We are pleased to be working with CCTE and to apply the deep expertise of the labs to this exciting advanced fuel project."

Testing at INL: Clean Core will use the manufactured bundles to conduct demonstration irradiation testing at INL's Advanced Test Reactor. It will consist of accelerated burnup qualification, targeting burnup levels exceeding 60 GWd/t/MTU. The tests are expected to yield in-reactor data that will support future qualification and deployment of the fuel in CANDU reactors and other PHWRs.

Mehul Shah, founder and CEO of Clean Core, characterized the agreement with CNL as a "milestone [that] advances ANEEL from validated models to an engineered, fleet-compatible fuel design." The agreement with CNL, followed by irradiation at the Advanced Test Reactor, he said, "will position us to generate the performance data necessary to support regulatory review and future fleet deployment. It marks a foundational step toward commercial readiness."