CNL to produce demonstration ANEEL fuel bundles

ANEEL has been developed for use in pressurised heavy water reactors and Candu reactors (its name is taken from Advanced Nuclear Energy for Enriched Life). Clean Core Thorium Energy says it can offer significantly improved performance with existing proven heavy water reactor systems by leveraging thorium's "inherently superior" nuclear, thermal and physical properties while retaining the same external dimensions and configuration design as in currently used natural uranium fuel bundles. It can be used to replace current fuel bundles, without any significant modifications to the reactor, to reduce life-cycle operating costs and waste volumes, increase safety and accident tolerance, and result in additional proliferation resistance, the company claims.

Demonstration irradiation (DI) bundles are full-scale ANEEL fuel bundles matching actual reactor fuel bundles designed for interface and irradiation testing. Manufactured by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) at the Chalk River Laboratories, these bundles will enable Clean Core Thorium Energy to conduct demonstration irradiation which will provide practical, in-reactor data to support future qualification and potential deployment of ANEEL fuel in Candu reactors and other PHWRs.

CNL will lead the development, qualification, and manufacturing of ANEEL fuel under Canadian Standard Association requirements for manufacturing nuclear fuel. "This will allow for a DI that would provide additional reassurance to the designer, the utility, the manufacturer, and the regulator, of acceptable fuel performance and the first example of operational experience for a new fuel design," it said.

A collaborative project between Clean Core Thorium Energy and the Canadian Nuclear Research Initiative has already provided model verification and validation of the computer codes and analysis methods used in the design and safety analysis of ANEEL fuel.

The demonstration fuel bundles are to undergo irradiation testing at Idaho National Laboratory's Advanced Test Reactor, targeting burnup levels exceeding 60 GWd/t/MTU.

"This milestone advances ANEEL from validated models to an engineered, fleet-compatible fuel design," said Clean Core Thorium Energy (CCTE) founder and CEO Mehul Shah. "The fabrication of reactor-representative bundles with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, followed by Clean Core Thorium Energy's subsequent irradiation, will position us to generate the performance data necessary to support regulatory review and future fleet deployment. It marks a foundational step toward commercial readiness."

Monica Regalbuto, CNL Vice-President, Science & Technology, added: "CNL has maintained core capabilities in fuel research, development and fabrication enabling us to take on the manufacturing of novel and next-generation fuels. We are pleased to be working with CCTE and to apply the deep expertise of the labs to this exciting advanced fuel project."