Full Title: Development of Light Water Reactor Fuels with Enhanced Accident Tolerance
Author(s): U.S. Department of Energy
Publisher(s): U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: April 1, 2015
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Description (excerpt):
After the March 2011 events at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, enhancing the accident tolerance of light water reactors (LWRs) has become a topic of serious discussion. In the Senate Report 112‐75, the Senate Appropriations Committee requested a report from the Department of Energy (DOE) regarding the Department’s plan for development of fuels with enhanced accident tolerance. In the Conference Report to accompany the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, H.R. Conference Report 112‐331, the U.S. Congress provided funding to the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE‐NE) to start developing nuclear fuels and claddings with enhanced accident tolerance. This report provides DOE’s plan to develop light water reactor (LWR) fuels with enhanced accident tolerance in response to the Congressional direction and funding authorization.
The result of the accident tolerant fuel development activities, if successful, will be a commercial product that is utilized in existing and future nuclear power plants. While the end user of the new technology will be the nuclear industry, the government has a major role in performing the initial RD&D to support the effort, because the effort is primarily focused on continued use of clean energy technology with enhanced safety that is in the public’s interest. This is consistent with the historical government‐industry partnerships in the development of the existing nuclear fuel systems.