The U.S. government is taking its first step towards encouraging more high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel in the United States, paving the way for a new generation of nuclear reactors that promise to be safer and more efficient than traditional designs.
On Tuesday, the Department of Energy issued a request for information for its plans to create commercial quantities of the new type of uranium fuel in the U.S. Currently, the DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration makes only enough uranium for its defense and nonproliferation missions. This is a preliminary, information-gathering step and will be used to inform a report which DOE has to provide to Congress. Comments are due on or before January 13, 2022.