ATF Solutions to Light Water-Cooled SMRs

Accident-tolerant (or Advanced Technology) Fuels (ATFs) hold great promise for enhancing the safety and economic performance of nuclear reactors. Their increased safety margin can simplify and expedite the licensing process, potentially allowing for the relaxation of safety equipment requirements. It could also enable a significant power uprate or a combination of both benefits, ultimately resulting in substantial cost savings.

A collaborative effort between universities, a national laboratory, and industry partners across the US and UK, this project aims to assess the benefits and implications of using Accident-Tolerant (or Advanced Technology) Fuels, or ATFs, in a variety of Small Modular Reactor (SMR) designs. The main objective of this project is to quantify these benefits for a subset of promising SMR-ATF combinations.

UK Government have committed significant financial support to the development of SMR technology proposed by Rolls-Royce as part of its overall net-zero decarbonisation strategy. The UK research team contributing to this project in partnership with Rolls-Royce and Westinghouse-Springfields will focus on the analysis of ATF options applied to the UK-based Rolls-Royce SMR. This project will help to guide the future Rolls-Royce SMR and ATF development efforts both nationally and internationally.