Funding will support the project team's small-scale research and development of a pilot system using anode materials for electrochemically reducing actinide- and fission product- oxides in used nuclear fuel (UNF).
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
March 12, 2026
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Funding will support the project team's small-scale research and development of a pilot system using anode materials for electrochemically reducing actinide- and fission product- oxides in used nuclear fuel (UNF). Specifically, the project team will (1) test and validate anode material performance, (2) develop initial prototype system, test and validate performance metrics, (3) develop model process map for prototype pilot scale system, (4) test and validate model prototype pilot system, (5) finalize pilot system design for next stage development. If successful, this project would dramatically reduce UNF volume and create a system to reuse valuable elements from UNF, ultimately reducing dependence on foreign energy and mineral sources, thereby increasing U.S. energy security, and providing a transformative solution to improve the management, clean up, and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.