Westinghouse Electric Co. recently provided Idaho National Laboratory with 25 irradiated nuclear fuel rods for testing and examination — a step toward qualification of the new design.
The rods, which include accident-tolerant fuel, will enable nuclear power plants to extend the generation of electricity from 18 months to 24 months. This reduces refueling outages, increases resilience under potential accident conditions, generates less spent nuclear fuel, and provides customers with cost savings.
U.S. Department of Energy funding supported the company’s development work.
“Continuous innovation is key to improving the nuclear sector’s reliability, especially at a time when energy demand is increasing and nuclear is more vital than ever,” Tarik Choho, Westinghouse president of nuclear fuel, said. “Westinghouse is proud to join efforts with INL and other partners in the production and testing of these advanced nuclear fuels.”
Testing and the post-irradiation examination are required to receive final Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval to deploy the innovative fuel to commercial reactors
Idaho National Laboratory is a nuclear energy research and development center for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. It also performs research in the department’s strategic goal areas of energy, national security, science and the environment.