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DOE OSTI2024

Advanced Reactor Safeguards and Security - Advanced Delay Technologies

As a new generation of reactors is developed, reducing the cost of physical security without impacting the required system effectiveness will help to make new reactors economical. This report discusses several access delay technologies available to help improve the overall effectiveness of the physical security system. These technologies include both passive and active delay elements, as well as guidance on best practices related to security by design principles.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Advanced Test Reactor Neutron Dosimetry Report - Cycle 175C: Results of Neutron Dosimetry Measurements for the Advanced Test Reactor Cycle 175C

Results of neutron dosimetry measurements in ATR for cycle 175C are presented. A single set of cobalt and nickel wires were installed in numerous irradiation locations for the duration of the cycle. The specific activity of these wire segments can be used in conjunction with the presented cycle history information to determine the thermal- and fast-neutron fluence rates for each irradiation position during the cycle using the referenced standard test methods.

73 - NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

IBPSA Project 2 BOPTEST: An update on the test cases available in the framework for testing advanced control strategies in buildings

Project 2 develops software infrastructure, test cases, and extensions for the Building Optimization Testing Framework (BOPTEST) to address the expanding needs of building and urban energy system controls through open international collaboration. This paper provides an overview of the new test cases available as of BOPTEST version 0.7.1. Each test case is developed using open-source Modelica libraries and Spawn of EnergyPlus, enabling the creation of high-fidelity building models that incorporate envelope dynamics, Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, and explicit control representations. Currently, eight test cases are available, with five additional cases under development. These test cases cover a wide range of climates, building types, and HVAC systems. This paper compiles and summarizes test case descriptions, cites original manuscripts that developed them for a more detailed description, and reports baseline control performance metrics. Furthermore, two example applications are presented: one illustrating different levels of control, from supervisory to low-level, and another demonstrating how Model Predictive Control (MPC) solutions must be adapted from continuous to integer to control some building actuators.

Zanetti, Ettore↗
DOE OSTI2025

Open Architecture for Cost Savings in Advanced Nuclear Reactors

Recently, nuclear power plant build projects in the West have run over budget due to high capital costs and schedule overruns. Compared to other sources of energy, nuclear power plants have higher capital costs. Reactors are often different at every site, resulting in a lack of standardization. Nuclear is expected to compete with other low carbon sources of energy which have lower capital costs making it essential for nuclear to develop ways of reducing costs. Strategies such as standardization, learning rates, modularization, and schedule reduction in advanced reactors can reduce nuclear costs by about 40%. Standardization as a way of cutting capital costs has been explored even in large nuclear power plants. Standardization of certain plant components can result in lower component and installation costs and higher learning from experience. Standardization can be achieved by adopting a criterion of key performance indicators and general design principles for a specific system or component such as the balance of plant. Modularization allows the construction of certain components of SMRs in a factory, which saves time, increases productivity, and encourages higher learning rates. Production learning decreases the time and the cost related to an activity. The potential for modularized components of advanced reactors to be manufactured in factories makes it conducive to achieving higher learning rates. Developing large-capacity nuclear programs through sequential builds cultivates a higher learning rate, which in effect may reduce schedule overruns. Open architecture has been identified as a way to drive standardization among advanced reactor designs and result in cost savings. Open architecture (OA) is defined as a design enabling a diverse supply chain by defining and publishing requirements of systems or equipment in functional and/or interface terms, utilizing technical standards in widespread use. Currently, the nuclear industry’s approach is to use closed architecture, making most designs proprietary. However, collaboration between various advanced reactor vendors and suppliers utilizing the concept of open architecture can result in modular and standardized architecture of subsystems or subcomponents of a nuclear power plant. Completely standardizing nuclear power plants may be impossible, however, certain common subsystems amongst the various reactor designs could be standardized and/or access a wider supply chain and leverage existing learning from other sectors. Open architecture will save time and allocate resources to the parts of the plants that have the most unique features. A key advantage of open architecture is its ability to improve production learning across advanced reactors (AR) types in the industry, by providing and utilizing the same kind of component. Sodium fast reactor (SFR), High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) and Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) are the advanced reactors considered for this project. This paper aims to determine the cost savings in advanced reactor programs due to open architecture learning rate. This work is an extension of work done on light water reactor small modular reactors; the cost methodology was utilized to investigate the impact of open architecture on advanced reactors with a particular focus on sodium fast reactors. The cost data on sodium fast reactors used in the model presented the most adequate information required for the analysis.

Advanced Nuclear Reactors↗
DOE OSTI2025

Advanced Fuels Campaign Execution Plan

The Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) Execution Plan details the strategy, mission, scope, and goals—both near-term and long-term—along with the structure and organization of nuclear fuels and materials research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities within the Fuel Cycle Technologies (FCT) program. The FCT program, tasked by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), employs a science-based approach to advance fuel technologies. This approach integrates theory, experiments, and multi-scale modeling and simulation (M&S) to develop a predictive understanding of fuel fabrication processes and fuel/cladding performance under irradiation, moving beyond traditional empirical methods. The long-term goals of the AFC are guided by the AFC Strategic Plan and align with the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) Roadmap [1], which outlines a multi-decade vision for demonstrating and qualifying advanced fuel forms to support diverse fuel cycle options. Near-term goals focus on enhancing accident tolerant fuels (ATF) for Light Water Reactors (LWR), a significant challenge that demands balancing immediate objectives with ongoing progress toward advanced reactor missions. Accelerating the traditional fuel qualification process to meet ATF objectives is another critical challenge. A detailed set of 5-year goals, summarized below, has been developed in line with the overarching science-based fuel development approach: • Advanced LWR Fuel Technologies: By 2027, support the development of advanced LWR fuel technologies with improved performance and enhanced accident tolerance. This includes high burnup (HBu), low enriched uranium (LEU)+, coated cladding, and doped fuel, aimed at complementing industry-led significant LWR uprates and plant refurbishments. • Tristructural Isotropic (TRISO) Fuel: Achieve qualification by 2028 and develop improved designs for emerging markets. • Metal Fuel: Achieve qualification by 2028 and develop improved designs for emerging markets. • Molten Salt Fuel: By 2027, deploy a robust program that enables fuel salt qualification technologies needed to support fuel salt research and development (R&D), focusing on emergent needs to derisk fuel salt production and utilization in advanced reactors. • Long-Term ATF: Develop fuel technologies that enable significant power uprates (~50%) in refurbished or new LWRs while optimizing fissile material utilization and waste disposal. The 5-year milestones in the AFC Execution Plan are contingent on an assumed budget. This Execution Plan will be updated annually to reflect actual funding profiles as budget guidance becomes available, ensuring milestones are adjusted accordingly. In summary, the AFC Execution Plan presents a comprehensive strategy to advance nuclear fuel technologies through a science-based approach, addressing both near-term and long-term goals while adapting to funding realities.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Advanced Fuels Campaign Execution Plan

The Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) Execution Plan outlines the strategy, mission, scope, near-term and long-term goals, structure, and organization associated with nuclear fuels and materials research, development, and demonstration activities within the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Supply Chain (NFCSC) program. NFCSC has been given responsibility to identify and mature advanced fuel technologies for the DOE using a science-based approach, focused on developing a fundamental understanding of nuclear fuels and materials to drive development of integrated nuclear fuel and materials technology. This science-based approach combines theory, experiments, and multiscale modeling and simulation to achieve a predictive understanding of relevant behaviors ranging from fuel fabrication processes (and their resulting fuel microstructures) through fuel/cladding performance under irradiation (in contrast to more empirical, observation-based approaches frequently used in fuel performance modeling and fuel qualification). The traditional scope of AFC includes the evaluation and development of multiple fuel forms to support two fuel cycle options: once-through and full recycle. The word “fuel” is used generically to include conventional fuels, transmutation targets, and any associated cladding or duct materials. The once-through fuel cycle addresses advanced light water reactor fuels with enhanced performance, extended burnup, and reduced waste generation. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, AFC’s scope expanded to include research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) for light water reactor (LWR) fuels with enhanced accident tolerance. Fuel fabrication activities include the development of innovative methods to enhance process efficiencies, reduce waste, and improve control over as-fabricated fuel microstructural properties to achieve desired in-reactor performance. Using modern modeling and simulation approaches, the objective is to predict fresh fuel properties given the feedstock characteristics and fabrication process parameters. The performance-related activities include small-scale, in-reactor, and out-of-reactor phenomenological testing (distinct from, but synergistic with, integral prototypic testing) and extensive, quantitative characterization (focusing on characterization of fuel and cladding materials at the scale of microstructure) both before and after testing. Larger-scale, prototypic experiments are conducted in concert with phenomenological testing to drive a Fuel Development and Qualification program, incorporating a fundamental understanding of fuel behavior performance characteristics. Then, using the tools developed under the productive science-based approach, fuels will be optimized to meet specific performance requirements, thereby minimizing the need to repeatedly perform large-scale, integral experiments over a wide parametric range as a means of experimental exploration. Two significant initiatives are underway within AFC. First, a gap analysis completed in early FY 2019 identified critical irradiation testing needs that are lacking within the national light water reactor (LWR) fuels testbed since the shutdown of the Halden Reactor in 2018. The identified gaps are for instrumented, prototypic testing of LWR fuels, especially under boiling water reactor conditions, ramp conditions, and conditions leading to fuel failure; these needs exist for supporting current LWR fuels and their possible extension to higher burnups, but are especially urgent relative to near-term development and qualification of accident-tolerant fuels. Recommendations that resulted from the Halden Gap Analysis focused on enhancements at Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) and Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) to fill gaps in testing capabilities relative to these needs. Second, a concerted effort to develop and demonstrate a systematic approach to accelerating the development, testing, and qualification of new fuel systems has been initiated. This is highlighted by a test strategy that combines the considerable advances in multiscale, mechanistic fuel modeling of recent years with a MiniFuel separate effects test program in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) and a Fission Accelerated Steady-state Testing (FAST) semi-integral accelerated test program in ATR. This approach is being tested/demonstrated using the metallic fuel system, but if successful it is expected to be extensible to multiple fuel types and diverse applications. This document includes an overview of the NFCSC program, a definition of science-based development of nuclear fuels, near-term goals for Advanced LWR fuels (ALFs), and longer-term goals for Advanced Reactor Fuels (ARFs) RD&D. This includes the activities that will be conducted to achieve success toward the grand challenge, as well as the goals and milestones to be achieved over the next few decades of research and development. Long-term goals are based on the DOE Office of Nuclear Energ

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Advanced Flexible Transformers

Advanced grid solutions are comprised of advanced transmission technologies and grid enhancing technologies. In this webinar, experts will provide participants with insights into eight advanced grid solutions. The advanced transmission technologies that will be discussed include point-to-point high voltage direct current and advanced conductoring and the grid enhancing technologies that experts will explore include topology optimization, advanced power flow control, dynamic line rating, energy storage, virtual power plants, and advanced flexible transformers

flexible power transformer, power flow controller,↗
DOE OSTI2025

SAM Two-Phase Flow Model Development and Applications for Operational Transients in Advanced Reactors

As advanced nuclear technologies continue to develop, the need for the flexible operation and generation of these advanced reactors becomes necessary to maximize economic potential. As large-scale experiments are not always feasible, modeling and simulations of advanced reactors play a crucial role in design optimization and analysis. The SAM (System Analysis Module) code developed at Argonne National Laboratory is a state-of-the-art system-level thermal-hydraulic code aimed at simulating advanced reactor systems. Recent code developments have implemented two-phase flow modeling using the homogeneous equilibrium model, and a new steam generator component has been developed to utilize the two-phase flow implementation. In addition to verification tests, a load-following simulation was performed to model a realistic load-following transient in a proposed integrated system consisting of a conceptual advanced reactor known as the Advanced Burner Test Reactor (ABTR) and thermal energy storage (TES) tanks. The integrated system model uses two large TES tanks designed for sodium and a model helical coil steam generator to simulate the operational load-following transient. The flow rates of the feedwater and secondary loops are regulated to meet a prescribed steam generator load consistent with the electricity demand over a 24-h period. In conclusion, the results found the ABTR system was able to maintain stable reactor conditions and primary- and secondary-side characteristics over the course of the load-following transient.

Advanced Burner Test Reactor (ABTR)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Decay heat analysis for advanced reactor spent fuel transportation and storage applications

Accurate characterization of nuclide inventories and decay heat in spent nuclear fuel is critical for ensuring its safe handling, storage, transportation, and disposal. Although extensive research has been conducted on light-water reactor fuel, advanced reactors present unique challenges due to their diverse core configurations, fuel characteristics, neutron energy spectra, and burnup levels. Building upon previous efforts that developed representative reactor core models for various advanced reactor types and fuels, this study evaluates reactor-specific decay heat characteristics. The results highlight significant variations across advanced reactor types as well as across reactor designs within the same reactor type, and they provide comparison to typical commercial light-water reactor fuel. For example, thermal-spectrum reactor fuels were observed to have an approximately 100-fold decrease in decay heat over the first decade of cooling, whereas the reduction was 10-fold for fast-spectrum reactor fuels. Mass-specific decay heat at discharge can differ by three orders of magnitude among the fast and thermal reactor systems considered. Overall, for the analyzed advanced reactor fuel, fewer than 17 nuclides account for over 99% of total decay heat at 0.5 years, and that number drops to fewer than 7 nuclides at 100 years of cooling. By quantifying reactor-specific decay heat trends and nuclide contributions, this work provides a technical basis to support the development of spent fuel management strategies for advanced reactor fuels as well as safety evaluations for storage, transportation, and long-term waste disposal.

Advanced reactors↗
DOE OSTI2024

SAM: A Modern System Code for Advanced Non-LWR Safety Analysis

The System Analysis Module (SAM), developed at Argonne National Laboratory and by collaborators at other organizations, is for advanced non–light water reactor safety analysis. SAM aims to provide fast-running, modest-fidelity, whole-plant transient analysis capabilities that are essential for fast-turnaround design scoping and engineering analyses of advanced reactor concepts. To facilitate code development, SAM utilizes the MOOSE object-oriented application framework, its underlying finite element library, and linear and nonlinear solvers to leverage modern advanced software environments and numerical methods. SAM aims to solve tightly coupled physical phenomena, including fission reaction, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and thermal-mechanical responses in advanced reactor structures, systems, and components with high accuracy and efficiency. Finally, this paper gives an overview of the SAM code development, including goals and functional requirements, physical models, current capabilities, verification and validation, software quality assurance, and examples of simulations for advanced nuclear reactor applications.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Science Uses Deployment Operations-Advanced Wireless: Exploring Open Radio Access Network Technologies for Energy Science

Open Radio Access Network is emerging as a solution to the increasing demand for more flexible, cost-effective, and advanced mobile network infrastructures. This evolution is driven by advancements in wireless technologies and the growing complexity of deploying and managing these networks. O-RAN represents a significant shift in wireless technology, building upon the 3rd Generation Partnership Project framework to foster openness, flexibility, and interoperability. By decoupling hardware and software components, Open Radio Access Network enables a multi-vendor ecosystem that encourages innovation and diverse solutions. Open Radio Access Network's potential extends beyond traditional wireless applications, with growing interest in its role in advancing energy systems, particularly in the context of smart grids, microgrids, and the integration of renewable energy sources. While the role of open-wireless technologies in driving energy transformation is increasingly recognized, further exploration is needed. Vendors and utilities are investigating how Open Radio Access Network technologies can optimize energy use cases and improve the performance of 5G and beyond applications. This report outlines efforts under the Science Uses Deployment Operations Advance Wireless project, a collaboration between the National Laboratory of the Rockies' Cybersecurity Research Center, Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Department of Energy's Energy Science Network research and operations staff. The focus of this project is on due diligence, through testing and evaluation, preparing for the deployment of advanced wireless infrastructure for scientific use cases, with an emphasis on Open Radio Access Network technology, its components, integrations, and its ability to support vertical stack application across the energy sector. Additionally, the report highlights the value cases for utilities, underscoring how adopting open wireless standards can accelerate the evolution of energy systems, foster innovation, and improve the integration of critical energy technologies.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Safety Considerations for Advanced Material Irradiation at the ATR

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) is a light water reactor with aluminum-clad driver fuel. A primary mission of the ATR is to support the next generation of nuclear reactors. This support necessarily requires irradiation of advanced materials such as sodium, fuel salts, and metal eutectics. Irradiation of advanced materials in the ATR environment presents a challenge when completing accident analyses and demonstrating compliance to the Safety Analysis Report (SAR). Many advanced materials have the possibility to react with the ATR protective barriers such as the cladding or primary coolant system (PCS) boundary during postulated accident scenarios. Further, molten fuel experiments fall outside of the standard regulatory framework for dose consequence analyses. ATR is currently developing new safety analysis methods to support irradiation of advanced materials. The primary considerations for this development are 1) experiment containment design requirements, 2) primary coolant system response to an experiment containment failure, and 3) dose analyses for molten fuels.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Intern Poster - Characterizing Wildland Fire Conditions for Lab-Scale Testing of Advanced Conductors

As the demand for energy increases each year, electric utilities face the challenge of delivering more power than before. Current transmission/distribution networks have proved reliable in the past but are physically unable to meet higher energy demands. Traditional overhead conductor cables (such as Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced (ACSR)) are limited in their ability to hold more voltage due to increased temperatures and resulting sag. When the cable sags, it comes closer to the ground, violating clearance standards and presenting an environmental risk. Newly developed advanced conductors, aluminum conductors with carbon fiber composite cores (instead of steel) mitigate this risk. Advanced conductors are engineered to perform in higher operating temperatures without sagging, thus possessing higher capacity potential. Regardless, utilities are hesitant to adopt this new technology due to scarcity of use data. The largest looming risk for utilities is wildland fires. There is little to no data on how advanced conductors perform in the event of a wildland fire. To address these concerns, this project aims to test the mechanical performance of advanced conductors in these conditions, providing utilities use data for their reference. The initial steps of the project will be to design and construct a fire table apparatus to reproduce wildland fire conditions, calculate proper parameters for this testing, and analyze the impact mathematically. After completing these actions, the next steps will be to test the advanced conductors in the laboratory fire chamber.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE (ACTI)

Advanced reactor technologies have attracted considerable financial support, catalyzing innovation in the nuclear energy landscape. These next generation reactors are designed with enhanced passive safety systems and the potential for cost reductions. As these advanced reactors approach technological maturity, their commercial success also requires focused examination and essential support. Economic assessments in the nuclear energy sector often emphasize construction costs and the risk of scheduling delays as primary contributors to deployment expenditures. Traditionally, vital elements of nuclear energy deployment including civil/structural engineering, design sophistication and automation have been either undervalued or postponed in the development cycles. Additionally, the nuclear industry’s collective experience in nuclear project execution has diminished over the past several decades due to the infrequency of new plant constructions. Hence, The National Reactor Innovation Center’s (NRIC) Advanced Construction Technology Initiative (ACTI) program aims to reduce cost overruns and schedule slippages that have plagued the construction of nuclear power plant projects. With this initiative, NRIC is facilitating the development of advanced nuclear plant construction technologies and approaches through partnerships that would provide game-changing benefits to the construction of advanced nuclear power plants.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Advanced Conductor Testing – 1431 kcmil Prysmian ACSS with E3X

Advanced conductors represent a significant evolution in transmission line technology. These conductors utilize innovative materials, such as composite cores, ultra-high-strength steel, and heat-dissipating coatings, to offer improved performance compared to traditional Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced (ACSR) designs. However, the deployment of these technologies has so far been limited. As each conductor comes with nuances in test setup and specifications, a standard test is not readily available to apply to all advanced conductors. Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Advanced Conductor Testing project, sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) and Office of Electricity (OE), focuses on developing and implementing testing protocols and plans for advanced conductor technologies to assess and demonstrate physical performance under varying operational conditions, including extreme environmental stressors such as wildfires. This report contains the fire testing results of a 1431 kcmil Prysmian ACSS with E3X conductor.

24 - POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Evaluating advanced nuclear fission technologies for future decarbonized power grids

Advanced nuclear fission, which encompasses various innovative nuclear reactor designs, could contribute to the decarbonization of the United States electricity sector. However, little is known about how cost-competitive these reactors would be compared to other technologies, or about which aspects of their designs offer the most value to a decarbonized power grid. We employ an electricity system optimization model and a case study of a decarbonized U.S. Eastern Interconnection circa 2050 to generate initial indicators of future economic value for advanced reactors and the sensitivity of future value to various design parameters, the availability of competing technologies, and the underlying policy environment. These results can inform long-term cost targets and guide near-term innovation priorities, investments, and reactor design decisions. We find that advanced reactors should cost $\$5.7$–$\$7.3$/W to gain an initial market share (assuming 30 year asset life and 3.5 %–6.5 % real weighted average cost of capital), while those that include thermal storage in their designs can cost up to $\$6.0$/W–$\$7.7$/W (not including cost of storage). Since the marginal value of advanced fission reactors declines as market penetration increases, break-even costs fall ~32 % at 100 GW of cumulative capacity and ~51 % at 300 GW. Additionally, policies that provide investment tax credits for nuclear energy create the most favorable environment for advanced nuclear fission. In conclusion, these findings can inform near-term resource allocation decisions by stakeholders, innovators and investors working in the energy technology sector.

Capacity expansion↗
DOE OSTI2024

Technical and Economic Assessment and Gap Analysis of Advanced Nuclear Reactor Integration with a Reference Oil Refinery

Efforts to identify the most-economic methods to decarbonize several sectors of the U.S. economy are underway. Industrial processes such as crude-oil refining rely heavily on energy-dense and easily stored and transported fossil fuels for powering their operations. Refineries use large amounts of energy, primarily derived from fossil sources to separate crude-oil components, break down heavier hydrocarbons into lighter compounds, remove impurities, reform hydrocarbon molecules, and generate steam and electricity for pumps and compressors and other various auxiliary systems. Crude-oil refining operations such as distillation, cracking, desulfurization, reforming, utilities systems and some offsite facilities collectively account for most of the energy consumption. Other operations such as hydrocracking or hydrotreating also require hydrogen for developing hydrogenation reactions which involve substantial heating to keep the reactors at high-temperature and pressure levels. All heat and energy demands are typically provided by natural gas (NG), oil, or other fuels, which makes refinery industry one of the most-difficult sectors to decarbonize. Nuclear power is a viable and energy-dense source of clean electricity, heat, and hydrogen to provide the large, sustainable energy supply that the refining industry demands. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Integrated Energy Systems (IES) program is working to perform research and development, design, economic siting, and risk analysis. This state-of-the-art work will enable the first on-site demonstrations and commercial deployments of advanced small modular nuclear reactors (SMNRs) integrated with industries such as chemical production, refining, iron and steel making, and more. IES seeks to demonstrate the ability of advanced nuclear reactors to meet the heat and power demands of these industries while reducing carbon emissions in a sustainable and cost-competitive way. The primary objective of this research effort is to analyze industrial-scale SMNR integration intended to decarbonize refining facilities. The foreseen outcome is the provision of reliable, cost-competitive, and sustainable clean energy, alongside a reduction of carbon emissions. Specifically, the focus of this work lies on meeting the reference facilities’ heat and electricity demands with nuclear power while also supplying clean hydrogen via integrated high-temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE). This report presents a comprehensive technical and economic assessment of the integration of advanced nuclear reactors into a reference refinery, leveraging financial incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The evaluation aims to explore the potential economic benefits and challenges associated with incorporating advanced nuclear reactors into refinery operations, particularly in terms of energy efficiency, economic implications and environmental impact. By examining both the technical feasibility and economic viability, this analysis seeks to identify existing gaps and propose solutions for successful nuclear integration implementation. The findings are intended to provide valuable insights for stakeholders considering the adoption of advanced nuclear reactors in the refining sector. A refinery reference-plant was developed, using an open-source refinery model, Petroleum Refinery Lifecycle Inventory Model (PRELIM) and expert assessment, as a base case for comparison with various nuclear integration options. The capacity of 100 kbd/day (KBD) of heavy crude-oil feed was selected to represent a general coking-type refinery with deep conversion capabilities (incorporating heavy-oil upgrading with FCC, coking, and associated hydrotreating process units), using a heavy crude-oil feed, which represents about 70% of U.S. refineries configurations. A summary of all cases considered in this study is shown in Table 1.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Results of Post-Process NDE Using Advanced Techniques on AM Parts

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the FY24 activities to apply advanced nondestructive examination (NDE) methods to materials and components produced using advanced manufacturing (AM) processes such as Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) and Direct Energy Deposition (DED) and assess the challenges of examining these materials to identify defects and microstructure variations. This work was performed as part of the U.S. Department of Energy‘s Office of Nuclear Energy Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies (AMMT) Program. The primary mission of the AMMT program is to develop advanced materials and manufacturing technologies that enable both the current fleet and the next generation of advanced nuclear reactors to operate safely and economically, and to maintain U.S. leadership in technology development for nuclear energy systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗