As the U.S. expands nuclear power to provide reliable, carbon-free electricity, it still faces a major challenge: managing the radioactive waste left behind by spent reactor fuel.
To help tackle that problem, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy James P. Danly on Thursday announced a $5.4 million award to the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) to develop reactor fuel technology that could turn long-lived nuclear waste into a new energy source.
”America’s energy future depends on bold innovation and strong partnerships between the federal government, national laboratories, universities and industry,” Danly said. “This project demonstrates how we can address long-term nuclear waste challenges while advancing technologies that strengthen our nation’s energy security,” he added.
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant supports the project led by Lin Shao, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University. According to the University, Shao is examining the possibility of turning nuclear waste into a fuel using a thorium molten salt reactor under this project.
Besides investigating methods to address the long-term burden of radioactive nuclear waste, the project would also focus on developing advanced reactor technologies that can provide the reliable energy for future generations, said Shao. Researchers will integrate fuel preparation, experimental testing, computational modeling, and reactor design throughout the project.
Texas researchers will collaborate with scientists from Savannah River National Laboratory and industry partner Natura Resources under this project.
Meanwhile, other labs across America are looking at alternative nuclear fuel recycling technologies to slash the radioactive waste storage from thousands of years to just hundreds.
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