Yellowcake is a type of uranium concentrate powder obtained as an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ores.
High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) Program Advancing tomorrow’s nuclear supply chain
DOE’s HALEU Program enables he United States needs the HALEU market to evolve energy with initiatives to deployment of advanced more clean, reliable, through timely private design, license, and sell reactors to help secure affordable electricity. To industry investment when nuclear reactors of advanced America’s clean energy future. T that end, the Department of the advanced reactor vendors design. Nuclear technology What is HALEU? Energy (DOE) supports the come to market. developers seek to accelerate High-assay, low-enriched development of advanced their path to market and have uranium. Uranium containing nuclear reactors. Recovery methods—available requested DOE assistance to between 5% and 20% U-235. or under development supply an interim amount Why is HALEU needed? Interim Supply at INL—are determined of HALEU to support fuel Fosters advanced reactor INL is evaluating the feasibil- by characteristics of the performance demonstrations. development and supports ity of providing an interim feedstock and may include: better nuclear power plant supply of HALEU to support INL’s fuels program supports economics. fuel-fabrication needs for • Electrometallurgical process the fabrication of test What are the HALEU sources? research and development, • Hybrid process known as fuels used as first cores of Long-term – Enrichment and potential demonstration ZIRCEX advanced reactors or lead Interim – Downblending of advanced reactor concepts. • Others test rods and assemblies for current and/or recovered highly insertion in commercial light- enriched uranium (HEU) in the INL has feedstocks with The final HALEU composition water reactors. federal complex. HEU contains large amounts of residual is determined by the fuel 20% or more U-235. HEU that currently must specifications and fabrication A variety of fuels is of interest be disposed of at a cost to needs for individual advanced to developers. Most advanced taxpayers. INL is examining reactor types. It includes but reactor designs use metallic, the feasibility of recovering is not limited to metallic and ceramic, and intermetallic and downblending HEU oxide forms. fuels. In addition, interest in from these feedstocks, which fluid fuels has been growing. would allow DOE to provide Fuel Fabrication Final fuel specifications and an interim HALEU supply Private-sector nuclear fabrication needs depend on so that fuels for advanced technology developers have the technology developer reactors can be further responded to market needs needs. tested. This solution allows for economic, low-carbon How do we transition from a Transportation to tomorrow’s nuclear program is developing LEU to a HALEU Fuel Cycle? The nuclear industry, both supply chain requires the transportation solutions Infrastructure updates are domestically and around development of a HALEU that reduce expenses and needed to address safety, the world, has many certified transport package encompass activities from safeguards and security. Companies making investments decades of safe, large- (cylinder and protective enrichment to fuel fabrication need a robust HALEU market. volume transportation of overpack) for a range of facilities. Advanced reactor developers LEU materials. Transitioning uranium forms. The INL require HALEU to test their concepts, which in turn create the HALEU market. This research-and-bridge role is a familiar one for DOE. The agency has been instrumental in advancing technologies for renewables and other energy types.
For more information Monica Regalbuto U-238 is the most common isotope of uranium found in nature. (208) 526-2319 [email protected] U-235 is the fissile isotope of uranium found in nature at a concentration of 0.7%.
gain.inl.gov The fuel used in most prevalent nuclear reactors needs to have a higher concentration of the U-235 isotope than what is found in nature. GAINnuclear GAINnuclear International agreements define high-enriched uranium (HEU) as having 20% or more U-235. gain_nuclear
Pilot scale demonstration of Zircex technology
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