- Norway’s Halden test reactor prepares for decommissioning
- Industry, DOE to help other test reactors continue ATF testing
- Congress provides robust funding to maintain program momentum
As an important fuel test reactor in Norway announced this week it would be closing permanently, testing of advanced accident tolerant fuels in the United States continues apace. Meanwhile, both Houses of Congress this month provided healthy levels of funding for the Department of Energy’s ATF research and demonstration program, demonstrating their recognition of the importance of innovation in nuclear fuels.
“The legislation passed offers significant support for continued development of accident tolerant fuel, advanced reactor technologies, and fuel for advanced reactors. Investment in nuclear energy technologies like this will deliver enormous benefits to our energy system, our environment, our workers and our national security,” NEI President and Chief Executive Officer Maria Korsnick said.
Accident tolerant fuels (ATF) could be a game changer for the nuclear industry. These more robust fuel designs have the potential to widen the safety margin and operational flexibility of existing nuclear plants while reducing costs, as well as pave the way for new types of fuel for advanced reactors.
They are such an exciting development that the U.S. nuclear industry wants to accelerate their development and possible deployment in commercial reactors to the early to mid-2020s.
Three fuel vendors—Framatome, General Electric’s subsidiary Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF), and Westinghouse—are working with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop their concepts, which include modifications to the fuel as well as to the fuel rod cladding. Other vendors—General Atomics and Lightbridge—also are developing ATF concepts.
Testing in research and full-scale commercial reactors is an important aspect of fuel qualification. In February the first batch of two types of GNF’s prototypical ATF lead test rod designs were loaded into Southern Nuclear Co.’s Plant Hatch. NEI presented Southern’s engineering team with a Top Innovative Practice Award in May, for demonstrating that accelerated innovation in fuel products is achievable.
Earlier this month, DOE announced that test rods of two ATF concepts by Framatome—a chromium-coated cladding and chromia-doped fuel pellets—have been loaded into the Idaho National Laboratory’s Advanced Test Reactor.
More test assemblies from Framatome, GNF and Westinghouse will be loaded in reactors next year (see chart), as well as in other test and research reactors in the U.S. and overseas.
Norway’s Halden research reactor is another facility that has been used for decades by nuclear fuel developers worldwide to test their designs. Funded by 19 countries under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Nuclear Energy Agency, the reactor has operated since 1958. It has unique capabilities of real-time monitoring and results reporting during irradiation tests, and can simulate the operating conditions of existing U.S. reactors. In fact the United States is the largest user of Halden’s testing services, with DOE, the Electric Power Research Institute and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission among its customers.
All U.S. vendors of accident tolerant fuels—GNF, Westinghouse, Framatome, General Atomics and Lightbridge/Enfission—are current or prospective users of Halden’s services.
However, the Norwegian Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) that operates Halden decided this week that the reactor, which is currently shutdown for repairs to a malfunctioning valve, will not be restarted and its operating permit will not be renewed. IFE cited insufficient funding to cover the reactor’s operating expenses—despite widespread expressions of support by the global community and particularly the United States.
“While we are disappointed in the decision to decommission Halden, we understand and appreciate the circumstances that have led to that decision,” Korsnick said.
“We appreciate the many years of valuable and reliable service Halden has provided to the global nuclear community. The Halden reactor and its highly competent staff have helped advance nuclear technology in many ways, including advancing fuel designs, evaluating new reactor components, and improving the man-machine interface by testing new instrumentation and control designs.”
Because Halden was scheduled to perform testing for all U.S. ATF concepts, the reactor’s unexpected loss requires some reconfiguration of vendors’ research and development plans.
The U.S. fuel vendors are sharing with DOE their updated two-year project plans for continued ATF testing. DOE will convene a workshop in July to address the ATF program participants’ needs and to identify alternative testing facilities to replace Halden’s capabilities.
“We appreciate DOE’s leadership in stepping forward and helping define the path forward without Halden,” Korsnick said.
The loss of Halden presents a new opportunity for the United States to bolster its domestic test reactor capabilities at DOE facilities such as the Advanced Test Reactor and the Transient Reactor Test Facility at Idaho National Laboratory.
Other countries with nuclear power programs—such as Belgium, Canada and France—have test reactors whose capabilities are being evaluated to supplement the resources available in the United States. How these facilities can be optimized to share their resources should be a topic of discussion at the DOE workshop, Korsnick said.