Tam Fortis needs to validate its computational reactor design before finalizing a configuration for its planned zero-power criticality test. The company requires independent analysis to confirm criticality, shutdown margins, temperature feedback, power distribution, neutron leakage, and the interaction of the reactor’s neutronics, heat pipes, and hydride moderator.
BNNT Materials is developing BNNT-based gaskets for molten salt reactor systems, where high temperatures and corrosive salts create significant sealing challenges. The company needs specialized testing to demonstrate that its gaskets can withstand molten fluoride and chloride salts while maintaining sealing performance, chemical stability, and durability under reactor-relevant conditions.
NFASE 2026 is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) in partnership with the European Commission (Euratom Safeguards). The five-day experience is designed to strengthen advanced and small modular reactor developers’ understanding of European regulatory requirements and international nuclear safeguards.
Industry toured Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to understand ongoing nuclear research and capabilities at the laboratory. Industry met with ANL technical points of contact to discuss capabilities and identify potential future collaboration opportunities.
NuCube proposes to partner with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to verify an autonomous control architecture using a Digital Twin of the DeccaCell reactor. ANL will adapt its existing autonomous operation and diagnostics framework to demonstrate automated startup, remote monitoring, islanding-mode transitions, and predictive maintenance within a validated simulation environment. The project will generate a technically defensible basis for reduced staffing models and support future DOE and NRC licensing engagement.
Zeno will partner with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to demonstrate the capabilities of a pyro-aqueous hybrid strontium separation process to provide technical data for Zeno to explore scale up in support of Zeno’s RPS designs. ANL’s Chemical and Fuel Cycle Technologies (CFCT) division have extensive experience in developing separation technologies for UNF recycling, in addition to medical isotope separation and purification. This project will generate successful flowsheet development to reduce the volume, heat load, and cost for UNF.
TerraPower will partner with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to generate NQA-1 qualifiable and traceable thermophysical property data for Beginning of Life (BOL) and simulated End of Life (EOL) ternary fuel salts. ANL has proven expertise in molten salt thermophysical measurement under NQA-1 standards. These results will directly inform reactor and component design, thermal hydraulic modeling, safety margines, and licensing strategies.
The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy announced on June 5 that it has awarded vouchers to three nuclear companies from its Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) program to research nuclear fuel and materials.
Hayward Tyler will partner with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to perform tribological (wear) testing of several candidate materials that offer superior wear resistance while reducing the radiological hazards of cobalt bearing materials. They also plan to test the bearings to ascertain surface wear mechanisms using the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) facility. The benefits of this project will be to identify alternative bearing materials to decrease costs and enhance safety.
SHINE will work with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) to help integrate sensors into the MC&A requirements for SHINE’s flowsheets and perform modeling to define sensor placement and requirements.