ANEEL, a new nuclear fuel made by combining thorium and enriched uranium, has successfully completed a multiyear irradiation test at the Advanced Test Reactor in the US. Developed by Clean Core Thorium Energy (CCTE), the fuel achieved more than 60 GWd/MTU of burnup, exceeding the typical discharge burnup of conventional nuclear reactors by more than eight times.
Nuclear energy is poised for a major comeback as countries seek to meet rising energy demands while reducing carbon emissions. Since conventional nuclear power plants take years to build, startups have also been looking at smaller, modular reactors, which can be built quickly and at scale.
Chicago-headquartered CCTE, though, is taking a different approach, aiming to repurpose existing nuclear reactors with an entirely new fuel technology, ANEEL. Thorium is considered a better nuclear fuel alternative because it is abundant and produces less radioactive waste than uranium. CCTE’s ANEEL aims to deliver the advantages of both thorium and uranium while extending the operational life of existing reactors, such as pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs).
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