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.
Ur-Energy seeks to improve groundwater restoration following ISR uranium mining, a process that can take years and add significant costs to uranium production. The company is developing an apatite-based treatment method to more efficiently sequester heavy metals and radionuclides, potentially reducing restoration time, costs, and environmental impacts.
Aalo will work with INL to expand EMRALD’s modeling and simulation capabilities so Aalo can optimize reactor design, economics, and operational reliability. INL developed the EMRALD dynamic risk assessment software and has extensive expertise in advanced reactor modeling, reliability analysis, and microreactor development.
Constellation proposes to partner with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to apply high-fidelity multiphysics modeling and high-performance computing to improve predictive understanding of MCO phenomena. ORNL will utilize the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA) and complementary computational fluid dynamics simulations to analyze historical operating cycles and identify core- and bundle-level mechanisms driving carryover.
NANO proposes to partner with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to apply the SCALE/TSUNAMI code suite to quantify the impact of nuclear data, modeling assumptions, and operational parameters on key reactor physics metrics, including reactivity, power distribution, and temperature coefficients. ORNL’s NRC-recognized analytical tools and expertise will enable development of a validated UQ framework tailored to the KRONOS design.
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.
Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has developed state-of-the-art modeling and simulation tools for advanced TRISO particle-based fuels using BISON code. AT will partner with INL to extend the BISON fuel-performance code so it can practically model 3D TRISO particle distributions in UCO TRISO compacts, capturing particle–particle and particle–matrix interactions needed for supporting commercial operations of BWXT’s TRISO fuel for the nuclear industry.
NuScale will partner with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to utilize the artificial intelligence (AI) enabled nuclear design framework for the 12-reactor design challenge by strategically exploring the vast design space and reducing the computational time required for the reactor simulations. ORNL has significant expertise in AI, fuel management, and computational resources. Reduced front end and back-end fuel costs can make nuclear energy more competitive in the marketplace.
NuCube will partner with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to receive assistance in computational analysis of the heat exchanger design. INL has developed a code to optimize high temperature heat exchangers for both installation and operating costs and has validated that code for conventional shell and tube heat exchangers. This analysis will allow NuCube to assess the performance of the heat exchanger and support an optimized design prior to finalization of the detailed design and fabrication to support a demonstration project.