The Nuclear Regulatory Fee (NRC) has granted World Nuclear Gas—Americas (GNF) its first-ever authorization to supply nuclear gas with uranium-235 (U-235) enrichments as much as 8% for business energy technology.
GNF, GE Vernova’s nuclear gas arm, on Feb. 15 stated the NRC authorised a license modification that can enable its nuclear gas fabrication facility situated close to Wilmington, North Carolina, to supply the particular nuclear gas (SNF) materials, also called low enriched uranium plus (LEU+). The gas facility’s earlier SNM–1097 license allowed GNF to own and use U-235 enriched as much as 5% for the fabrication of economic nuclear energy gas.
The NRC final yr issued a certificates of compliance that can enable GNF to ship nuclear gas bundles of as much as 8% utilizing GNF’s RAJ-II transport container, a specialised package deal designed to move boiling water reactor (BWR) gas assemblies. As well as, “NRC has additionally authorised licensing topical studies for superior nuclear strategies that allow GNF to investigate gas with enrichments higher than 5 weight p.c,” GNF famous on Wednesday.
“These regulatory milestones construct on our lengthy historical past of designing and fabricating gas for the nuclear trade,” stated Mike Chilton, GNF govt vp.
A Main Milestone for Larger Enrichment Gas
The NRC’s first approval for gas fabrications with enrichments as much as 8 wt. % U-235 to be used in business energy manufacturing marks a serious milestone for the nuclear sector, which has been working to implement higher-enrichment fuels. “Larger enrichment fuels are anticipated to enhance nuclear gas cycle economics, together with by way of energy uprates for current boiling water reactors and likewise for the following technology of reactor know-how, together with superior and small modular reactors,” GNF famous on Wednesday.
Nuclear gas enrichment usually falls into three “buckets” that describe a variety for the p.c composition of the isotope of U-235: low-enriched uranium (LEU), high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), and LEU+, and high-enriched uranium (HEU).
The nuclear power trade has historically operated with LEU, uranium enriched to five weight %. LEU dominates the commercial provide chain and regulatory frameworks, whereas HALEU describes a nuclear materials enrichment vary spanning from 5 weight % to 19.75%. LEU+ usually describes a variety of between 5% to 10 weight %. HEU enriched above 20% is usually utilized in analysis and take a look at reactors and by the Navy. A number of superior reactor applied sciences, together with gas-cooled, liquid metallic, or molten salt designs, would require LEU+ at 6% or HALEU at 19.75%.
Since 2018, bolstered by the U.S. Division of Vitality, the nuclear trade has additionally made regular progress in implementing accident-tolerant fuels (ATF). The brand new applied sciences within the type of new cladding and/or gas pellet designs may be paired with gas enrichments of as much as 10% (LEU+) to extend operational flexibility, longer gas cycles, and assist energy uprates. A latest Nuclear Vitality Business (NEI) baseline survey of 19 NEI member firms that function 80 business energy reactors within the U.S. suggests a minimum of 20 websites have expressed “various ranges of curiosity/planning” for ATF.
For now, the primary ATF lead take a look at assemblies (LTAs) with a weight higher than 5% are slated to be loaded in 2025 at Southern Co.’s Plant Vogtle Unit 2. Southern Nuclear, Southern Co.’s nuclear arm, has instructed POWER the assemblies will couple Westinghouse’s Excessive Vitality Gas initiative and the EnCore Gas program, The gas will function enrichments as much as 6%. The assemblies will function “ADOPT uranium dioxide pellets, AXIOM gas rod cladding, and chromium-coated cladding mixed with Westinghouse’s superior PRIME gas meeting design,” Southern Nuclear has famous.
Southern Nuclear obtained the NRC’s first-of-a-kind approval for using ATF gas in September 2023. The numerous milestone makes Vogtle 2 the primary U.S. energy reactor approved to function ATF gas rods to burnup ranges exceeding the present regulatory limits.
Whereas GNF now has approval NRC is reviewing submittals from two different gas fabrications in search of greater enrichments, an NRC spokesman stated. These embody TRISO-X’s November 2022–accepted license software to permit it to construct and function a brand new gas fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tennesse. TRISO-X gas, The NRC intends to finish its overview by June 2025 at a price of $4.9 million.
At an NRC commissioners briefing on Dec. 12, 2023, GNF LWR Gas Product Director Wealthy Augi famous that together with license amendments sought by Southern Nuclear and Constellation, GNF, Framatome, and Westinghouse have additionally been continuing in license submittals. “Every vendor has submitted [a] recent gas transport container. I consider all three have now obtained their license there for greater enrichment.”
In keeping with Augi, GNF is continuous to pursue innovation beneath its superior gas program. “We’ve been pushing to develop new applied sciences like our armor-coated cladding and superior supplies analysis to offer accident tolerant profit,” he stated. “We’ve been profitable in putting in and working lead take a look at assemblies of each ARMOR and IronClad, our iron, chrome, and aluminum cladding at Plant Hatch and Clinton Energy Station, and have efficiently transported irradiated materials from the reactor web site to the Oak Ridge Nationwide Lab.”
The early installations will “present key efficiency data wanted to drive applied sciences to industrial software. And with the event and licensing of superior strategies and supplies, GNF is embarking on growing the following technology of gas product,” he stated.
GNF Has Began Course of to License HALEU Fabrication Facility
Trying forward, GNF plans to broaden its superior gas manufacturing capabilities by probably constructing out a provide chain for superior reactors. In October 2022, TerraPower and GE Hitachi Nuclear Vitality (GEH) introduced they would construct a gas fabrication facility to create dependable gas for the 345-MWe Natrium pool-type sodium quick reactor (SFR) demonstration in Wyoming and future Natrium crops at GNF’s Wilmington facility. Development of the ability plant, slated to start in 2023, was delayed to 2025, given a scarcity of HALEU.
The Natrium gas facility will probably be collectively funded by TerraPower and the U.S. Division of Vitality (DOE) by way of the Superior Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), Augi stated. It “represents an funding of greater than $200 million into superior gas fabrication,” he famous.
GNF-A has already kicked off a course of to license the standalone Class II gas fabrication facility. After GNF expressed intent to submit a license modification request (LAR) for the HALEU fabrication facility in October 2021, in March 2023, the NRC granted it an exemption to submit the LAR in two elements. Whereas it submitted the primary half, a supplemental environmental report, in March, it instructed the NRC in July that the whole LAR could be delayed about two years. It’s now anticipated to be submitted within the third quarter of 2025, the NRC lately reported.
Up to now, just one different gas fabrication facility is in search of NRC overview, an NRC spokesman famous on Wednesday. The regulatory physique in November 2022 accepted nuclear know-how agency X-energy’s TRISO-X license software to permit it to construct and function a brand new gas fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The NRC intends to finish its overview by June 2025 at a price of $4.9 million.
TRISO-X broke floor on the gas fabrication facility in October 2022, and it’s anticipated to be commissioned in 2025. X-energy anticipates the ability’s produced tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) particle gas, which is able to use HALEU, will assist its Xe-100 reactor design.
X-energy is slated to show a proposed four-unit 320-MWe Xe-100 superior nuclear reactor facility at a Dow chemical supplies manufacturing web site in Seadrift, Calhoun County, Texas. X-energy is now working to submit a development allow for the mission, which is a part of the a part of the DOE’s ARDP. Development on the four-reactor mission is predicted to start in 2026 and to be accomplished by the top of this decade.
GEH’s 300-MW BWRX-300, in the meantime, will use a GNF2, a “confirmed nuclear gas,” Augi famous. Ontario Energy Era is growing the world’s first BWRX-300 mission at its Darlington New Nuclear Challenge (DNNP) web site east of Darlington Station in Bowmanville, Ontario and expects it may very well be prepared for business operation in 2029.
“Most significantly, we’ve a confirmed nuclear gas within the GNF2 product. We’ve delivered greater than 25,000 bundles to the fleet. It’s been utilized in additional than 70% of the BWR fleet. We’ve fabricated it each in U.S. and in Europe, has an current provide chain, and doesn’t require HALEU. It may be operated with LEU as much as 5% enriched gas,” he famous. “Certified gas is important as a result of it could take 10 years to qualify a brand new gas sort. This does give us a bonus we really feel.”
—Sonal Patel is a POWER senior affiliate editor (@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine).
