Orano and Urenco are collaborating in the development of a new cylinder designed for the transport of uranium enriched up to twenty percent. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has just approved the doubling of capacity of Orano’s enriched uranium transport package.
     Orano and Urenco have signed a consortium agreement to work on testing and development of the new 30B-X designed to transport uranium.
     Orano said that the new cylinder is designed for future transport of low enriched uranium plus (LEU+) and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel transport. Upcoming new fuel designs and the evolution of the small modular reactor (SMR) market require the development of solutions for the transport of uranium enriched up to twenty percent. No such transportation system is currently available on the market.
     The 30B-X cylinder utilizes the innovative DN30-X packaging. This DN30-X packaging combines the properties of the existing DN30-X overpack with the new 30B-X cylinder. The criticality control system (CCS) is inserted to ensure safe transport with control rods with neutrophilic characteristic.
     There are two versions of the 30B-X cylinder for optimized transport capacity depending on the level of uranium enrichment. They have a different number of CCS control rods. One module has a capacity of thirty-two hundred pounds of uranium enriched up to ten percent. The other module has a capacity of twenty-eight hundred pounds of uranium enriched up to twenty percent.
     The DN30-X package was licensed in March of this year by the NRC. The DN30-X is currently being licensed in France and the process is expected to be completed in 2024. The DN30-X will be licensed in other countries as requested.
     Two prototypes of the 30B-X were delivered to two enrichment facilities for testing the integration of the cylinders into their plant processes. One facility is at a Urenco enrichment site and the other is at Orano’s Tricastin site in France.
     Orano’s new high-capacity basket (HCB) for its Versa-Pac VP-55 enriched uranium transport package has been approved by the NRC. The HCB allows two five-inch diameter pipe containers to be secured inside of only one. At the maximum length of twenty one inches, each pipe can be filled to capacity or contain two standard quart shipping bottles of material.
     Orano said that its VP-55 Type AF package was specifically designed and licensed to meet the increasing need for transporting ten percent LEU+ and up to twenty percent HALEU material for fueling an increasing number of advance reactor designs.
     Amir Vexler is the CEO of Orano USA. He said, “Based on our decades of nuclear fuel cycle expertise, Orano is increasingly involved in helping develop the advanced reactor supply chain with innovations and enhancements to our products and services. Doubling the capacity of our versatile VP-55 package creates immediate value for customers shipping a variety of nuclear materials. We are excited to support the development of advanced reactors, which this package would enable.”
     The Versa-Pak is licensed for shipment of tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel, uranium oxide, uranium metal, uranyl crystals and other uranium compounds including uranium carbides, uranyl fluorides, and uranyl carbonates, uranium hexafluorides and thorium.

     The U.K. government has announced plans to invest about eight hundred million dollars in the U.K.’s nuclear fusion R&D program through 2027. It confirmed that it would not seek associate membership in the E.U.’s Euratom Research and Training program. The U.K. government said that it would put into place new, alternative R&D programs to support the U.K. fusion sector and strengthen international collaboration is support of the existing U.K. Fusion Strategy.
     Further details about the alternative program were promised later in the autumn. The Treasury confirmed that it plans to invest up to eight hundred million in nuclear fusion R&D until 2027, subject to business case approvals. It said that the funding was in addition to the one hundred and fifty-eight million dollars announced last November. It also stressed that the government remains “very open to collaboration with the EU and other international partners, and this will form a key part of this new program of work”.
     Andrew Bowie is the Minister for Nuclear and Networks. He said, “Today’s investment is a game-changer for the U.K. It gives us the best opportunity to create jobs, investment and, ultimately, economic growth. And it gives our talented science community the opportunity to work with experts all around the world. It will also secure the country’s position as a world-leader in fusion, meaning we could become the first to commercialize this exciting new technology as a clean and secure source of energy.”
     The U.K. government said that the new R&D package would include funding for new facilities to grow new fusion fuel cycle capabilities and support innovation; a new fusion skills package; further support to strengthen international collaborative projects; and measures to accelerate the commercialization of fusion R&D projects.
     Sir Ian Chapman is the CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). He said, “The UKAEA welcomes the clarity about our future relationship with the Euratom R&T program which provides the certainty needed by the sector. The government’s commitment to an ambitious alternative R&D program will be hugely important in sustaining the UK’s position as a leader in fusion R&D as well as developing an industrial capability to deliver future fusion powerplants. We welcome the ambition to retain, and even enhance, our international collaborative relationships through this substantial package of alternative R&D.”
     Tom Greatrex is the CEO of the Nuclear Industry Association. He said, “UK nuclear scientists are world-class, so it’s very good news that they will be able to access Horizon funds. Our association will boost our collaboration with international partners and drive more value into the UK supply chain. We’re also pleased to see that the government has made a separate commitment to a serious program of investment in our UK fusion industry. We are at the forefront of the global race on fusion, and we have to do everything in power to secure that lead and build up our industrial capability to commercialize this technology. Fusion offers the promise of nearly boundless clean energy, and the first country to deploy it successfully will reap the greatest reward.”
     Advocates of nuclear fusion claim that it could prove transformational for the global transition to zero carbon, supplying huge amounts of zero emission power. However, critics have warned that the technology remains decades from commercialization. They say that it will play a limited role in determining whether or not global climate change goals are met, even under beset case scenarios for the development of the technology.

      Federal officials have chosen a contractor to install and operate a small, self-contained nuclear power plant at Eielson Air Force Base. The contract must clear regulatory hurdles first, but if all goes according to plan, the microreactor will be put into operation within five years.
     Ravi Chaudhary is the Assistant Air Force Secretary. He announced the selection of a Silicon Valley company as the contractor for the Eielson microreactor at a Thursday meeting in Schaible Auditorium at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. He said, “I am super proud to announce the notice of intent toward selection of our first microreactor technology to Oklo Incorporated.”
     The announcement marked a milestone in a process that began three years ago. The Air Force first announced its intention to site a microreactor at Eielson in 2021. The contract will not be awarded until the process is complete and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issues a license.
     John Hanson is the Oklo special projects senior director. He said that his company is ready to go. Hanson went on to say, “We’re extremely excited to be here. We’re honored to be selected for this project, and really excited to get started.”
     Colonel Paul Townsend is the Eielson 354th Fighter Wing commander. He said that “Team Eielson is happy to partnership with these individuals to move this forward. It’s an exciting time.” He said that the microreactor will help the 354th accomplish its mission which is to fly and maintain advanced F-35 jet fighters. He added that the technology that has led to the development of the small, self-contained reactor serves as an example of the kind of innovation that the Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Brown says is critical to maintaining military superiority in the 21st century. Townsend said, “General Brown tells us ‘Accelerate, change or lose,’ and we’re definitely leaning forward to help accelerate change and bring a tremendous capability to the state of Alaska.”
     Chaudhary stressed that the microreactor’s ability to supply reliable energy without emitting carbon dioxide. He is the assistant Air Force secretary who oversees energy, installations and environment issues for the service. He said that Eielson was chosen for the pilot project partly because of its strategic location in Alaska. Two squadrons of F-35s can quickly fly to trouble spots in the Indo-Pacific region and elsewhere. He added that “You have an energy source — local, within the installation — that allows you to get those two critical fighter squadrons in the air and executing their business, executing their mission.”
     Chaudhary says that the five megawatt microreactor would provide energy resilience in the form of backup power for the base’s coal-fired heat and power plant that has been in operation for seventy two years. Currently, Eielson also buys electricity from Golden Valley Electric Association. The microreactor would permit the base to disconnect from the grid if the utility experienced a cyber-attack. He said, “So having redundant systems is critical to that mission.”
     In addition to providing backup power, Chaudhary said that it will also allow the Defense Department to learn how such a system could be used at other installations. Eielson is the first U.S. military installation to acquire a commercialized and licensed microreactor. The microreactor pilot project was mandated in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act. He also said that it will benefit the state of Alaska. Chaudhary said, “This will the first state that can actually hold a license. that’s no small task, to hold a state and federal license for the execution and operation of a microreactor.”
     However, before the microreactor actually goes online, Oklo must finish the microreactor licensing process. Stephen Philpott is the NRC Safety and Licensing Project Manager. He said that it is unlikely that licensing will be done before the end of 2026. Oklo could begin testing the microreactor the following year and the system could begin operating in 2028.