Workshops

The purpose of this workshop was to discuss a potential new U.S. Department of Energy program on advanced and innovative materials research for advanced reactor fuel cladding. Additionally, this workshop tried to identify possible program objectives and gather industry input to determine priority research directions for Fiscal Year 2023

The scope of the Innovative Cladding Materials Research Program will include the following:

• Innovative cladding materials research, including core materials that provide structure (e.g., grid plates, materials that are removed from the core along with refueling activities)
• Innovative characterization and testing methods
• Innovative new methods of qualifying material “quicker”
• Research needs spanning the next 20 years

The agenda was structured for short, 10-minute presentations from industry companies to provide non-proprietary information on fuel design, benefits and needs for new cladding and core materials; qualification methods, characterization and testing needs; and thoughts on issues, impacts, etc.