Kinectrics to assess Clean Core’s fuel qualification program

Clean Core Thorium Energy announced that BWX Technologies-owned Kinectrics will conduct an independent technical review of its ANEEL (Advanced Nuclear Energy for Enriched Life) fuel qualification program.

According to CCTE, Kinectrics will review key aspects of the fuel design, manufacturing, safety, and regulatory readiness.

"Kinectrics brings world-class expertise in nuclear safety analysis and licensing support, making them one of the most trusted independent evaluators in the nuclear industry," said Milan Shah, chief operating officer of CCTE. "Their independent evaluation provides critical validation as we progress toward regulatory approval and future deployment."

Aiming for commercial demonstration: ANEEL 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. CCTE is designing its ANEEL fuel with the same external geometry as is currently used in PHWR fuel with the intention of offering a fuel upgrade that doesn't require major modifications to the reactor.

In April, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories signed an agreement to manufacture demonstration irradiation bundles of ANEEL fuel, and earlier this month, CCTE announced that BWXT Canada would provide fuel bundle component hardware.

Building technical qualifications: In May, CCTE completed a nearly two-year ANEEL irradiation testing and qualification campaign at Idaho National Laboratory, extracting samples at 20 gigawatt-days per metric ton of uranium (GWd/MTU), over 45 GWd/MTU, and over 60 GWd/MTU. Postirradiation examination is still underway.

The company also published a technical overview of ANEEL fuel in Nuclear Engineering and Design that contained results it said demonstrated that ANEEL achieves "substantially higher burnup with improved safety margins," compared with natural uranium fuel.