DEAR0001694

Control Number: 2691-1521

University of Utah

Award Number: DE-AR0001694

FOA Number: DE-FOA-0002691 Converting UNF Radioisotopes into Energy (CURIE)

Project Title: Pyrochemical Dissolution of LWR Spent Fuel with Actinide Recovery for Advanced Reactors

In the proposed project, transformational energy research will be performed to develop a new method for processing oxide spent fuel from existing nuclear reactors. The objective is to extract actinides (U/TRU) from what is now considered waste and recycle them into new fuel for future reactors.

University Of Utah

THE PROGRAM GOAL OF CONVERTING UNF RADIOISOTOPES INTO ENERGY (CURIE) IS TO ENABLE COMMERCIALLY VIABLE REPROCESSING OF USED NUCLEAR FUEL (UNF) FROM THE CURRENT LIGHT WATER REACTOR (LWR) FLEET BY RESOLVING KEY GAPS/BARRIERS IN REPROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES, PROCESS MONITORING, AND FACILITY DESIGN. THE ACTINIDES IN LWR UNF WOULD IDEALLY BE REPROCESSED INTO FEEDSTOCK THAT WOULD BE USED TO FUEL ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTORS (ARS), WHILE OTHER COMMERCIALLY VALUABLE MATERIALS WOULD BE HARVESTED FOR INDUSTRIAL AND MEDICAL USES. PROJECTS FUNDED UNDER CURIE WILL DEVELOP INNOVATIVE SEPARATIONS TECHNOLOGIES, PROCESS MONITORING TECHNIQUES FOR SPECIAL NUCLEAR MATERIAL (SNM), AND/OR EQUIPMENT DESIGNS THAT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE ECONOMICS AND PROCESS MONITORING OF REPROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES WHILE DRAMATICALLY REDUCING THE VOLUME OF HIGH-LEVEL WASTE (HLW) FROM LWR UNF REQUIRING DISPOSAL. SPECIFICALLY, CURIE IS INTERESTED IN SEPARATIONS TECHNOLOGIES, PROCESS MONITORING TO ENABLE PREDICTIVE MATERIAL ACCOUNTANCY, INNOVATIVE EQUIPMENT DESIGNS, AND SYSTEMS ANALYSES THAT SATISFY ONE OR MORE OF THE GLOBAL PROGRAM METRICS WITHOUT NEGATIVELY IMPACTING OTHER PROGRAM METRICS: (1) SIGNIFICANTLY (I.E., AT LEAST AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE) REDUCE THE VOLUME OF LWR HLW REQUIRING PERMANENT DISPOSAL, (2) MAINTAIN DISPOSAL COSTS IN THE RANGE OF 0.1¢/KILOWATT-HOUR (KWH), (3) PROVIDE A 1¢/KWH FUEL COST FOR A 200 METRIC TONS HEAVY METAL (MTHM)/YR NTH-OF-A-KIND (NOAK) FACILITY, (4) ENABLE IN SITU SNM PROCESS MONITORING APPROACHES THAT PREDICT, WITHIN 1% UNCERTAINTY AND UNDER REPRESENTATIVE CONDITIONS, THE POST-PROCESS MATERIAL ACCOUNTANCY, AND (5) ENABLE UNF SEPARATIONS THAT DO NOT PRODUCE PURE PLUTONIUM STREAMS.

81.135 - Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy

Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) [DOE]

Salt Lake City, Utah United States

City-Wide

Converting UNF Radioisotopes into Energy (CURIE). (DE-FOA-0002691)

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 01/17/26 to 07/14/26.