An American lab is advancing the development of demonstration microreactor with the nuclear fuel delivery.
The Idaho National Laboratory’s Transient Reactor Test Facility recently received the delivery of advanced nuclear fuel. This marks a major milestone for Project Pele, a first-of-its-kind mobile microreactor prototype designed to provide resilient power for military operations.
The fuel, known as tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) particle fuel, is made from uranium, carbon and oxygen, formed into a small kernel.
This kernel is coated in multiple layers — including silicon carbide — that make it extremely durable under high heat, radiation, and corrosive conditions. Thousands of these poppy seed-sized particles are combined into compact fuel forms used in advanced reactors like the one being developed under Project Pele by the Department of War’s Strategic Capabilities Office.
The first delivery of TRISO fuel for the future demonstration reactor was celebrated today by INL, the Strategic Capabilities Office, the U.S. Army, BWX Technologies Inc. (BWXT), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) who are collaborating on the fuel project.
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INL operations staff members prepare unloaded casks containing TRISO fuel that will power Project Pele. The project is led by the Department of War’s Strategic Capabilities Office in partnership with BWXT, the Department of Energy and INL.
A single cask can hold more than one-fourth of the TRISO fuel needed to fuel Project Pele.
