Company-University Partnership to Help Develop Nuclear Fuel

(NRC.gov)

IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. in Vancouver, Canada signed research agreements with Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) operated by Texas A&M University in College Station, to advance the company’s beryllium oxide (BeO) nuclear fuels R&D project. The project aims to develop high thermal conductivity BeO nuclear fuel that is more efficient and safer than existing nuclear fuels.

Jim Malone, IBC’s vice president, says the company plans to irradiate fuel specimens, most likely at the Idaho Falls test reactor, which will help in gathering data to validate the fuel’s behavior under various conditions. The information will be used to obtain U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval to deploy test assemblies in an operating power plant.

Purdue and TEES will help IBC with computer simulations of the process to prepare for the irradiation of the test specimens. Purdue and TEES will conduct computer modeling with Nuclear Regulatory Commission thermal-hydraulics, fuel performance, and severe accident codes, and experimental validation of thermal models. The modeling is expected to include neutronic analysis and BeO fuel development.

The R&D phase of the project will not exceed 24-months with a budget to be paid by IBC in quarterly installments. IBC has an option to later negotiate exclusive royalty licenses to its intellectual property with both Purdue and Texas A&M universities.

Current research at Purdue and Texas A&M has shown that advancements in BeO nuclear fuel could help save money by burning more efficiently than conventional nuclear fuels. The company says BeO nuclear fuel could also improve the operational safety of nuclear reactors due to its superior thermal conductivity, which can help reduce the risks of overheating or meltdown.

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