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The Fuel Line Pilot Program, established in May under President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14301, addresses the USA's shortage of domestic nuclear fuel resources. The programme establishes a domestic nuclear fuel supply chain for testing new reactors, including the 11 reactors initially selected to participate in the Reactor Pilot Program, which aims to have at least three reactors achieve criticality by 4 July 2026.
The programme leverages the Department of Energy (DOE) authorisation process to build and operate nuclear fuel production lines to serve research, development, and demonstration purposes and to provide a fast-tracked approach to commercial licensing.
DOE issued a Request for Application on 15 July. The Department is seeking applications from qualified US companies to build and operate nuclear fuel production lines using the DOE authorisation process. Initial applications closed on 15 August, with subsequent applications allowed on a rolling basis.
DOE has now selected Terrestrial Energy, TRISO-X, Valar Atomics and Oklo to build advanced nuclear fuel lines.
Terrestrial Energy is to develop the Terrestrial Energy Fuel Line Assembly to demonstrate a fuel salt fabrication process in a phased approach, while TRISO-X will build and operate an additional fuel fabrication laboratory facility to enable pilot-scale integration, training, and system validation to support the TX-1 commercial TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) fuel fabrication facility. Valar Atomics will support TRISO fuel fabrication for the Ward250 reactor deployment and potentially other high-temperature gas reactors. Oklo is to build and operate three fuel fabrication facilities to support its Aurora and Pluto reactors, and possibly other fast reactors.
Each company will be responsible for all costs associated with the construction, operation, and decommissioning of their fuel fabrication facilities, and must manage the sourcing of nuclear material feedstock. Companies may apply to receive high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) through the DOE’s HALEU Availability Program.
This is the second round of conditional selections under DOE's Fuel Line Pilot Program. DOE previously selected Standard Nuclear to build and operate TRISO fuel fabrication facilities.
Oklo, Terrestrial Energy, and Valar Atomics were initially selected into the DOE's Reactor Pilot Program. The fuel line selections will expand access to the advanced fuel required to test their designs and accelerate the transition from demonstration to deployment.
"President Trump has made clear that a strong nuclear sector is a central component of America's energy security and prosperity," said Deputy Secretary of Energy James Danly. "Restoring a secure domestic fuel supply will ensure that advanced reactors can move quickly from design to deployment and into operation. The ability to produce these fuels is essential to ensuring American leadership in nuclear energy and to meeting the nation's growing demand for reliable power."
Partnership for TRISO production
Framatome and Standard Nuclear have announced a joint venture to supply commercial quantities of TRISO particles and proprietary advanced reactor products.
Once operational, the joint venture - named Standard Nuclear-Framatome (SNF) – aims to start by producing 2 metric tons of TRISO fuel annually, representing a significant scale-up from current capacity to supply the incoming fleet of advanced reactors in the US and beyond. The partnership plans to commence manufacturing in 2027 pending regulatory approvals.
"Pairing Standard Nuclear's pioneering technology and full-scale pilot facility with our deep-rooted manufacturing expertise and scalable capacity has ignited a shared momentum," said Tony Robinson, CEO of Framatome Inc. "This isn't just collaboration – it's a shared vision and capability for the future of our industry to develop advanced reactor fuel on a commercial scale to support advanced reactor developers."
Kurt Terrani, CEO of Standard Nuclear - the USA's only independent developer of TRISO fuel - added: "This strategic partnership with Framatome marks a pivotal moment in establishing a robust, domestic TRISO fuel supply chain. By combining Framatome's proven infrastructure and expertise with Standard Nuclear's manufacturing capabilities, we're creating a powerful alliance that will deliver the high-quality TRISO fuel needed to power the next generation of advanced reactors. This joint venture reinforces our commitment to serving as America's leading advanced nuclear fuel supplier while strengthening the Western world's energy security through reliable, reactor-agnostic fuel production."
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