Argonne To Receive Over $6M In Department Of Energy Funding

LEMONT, IL — Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont will receive over $6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, according to a news release.

The DOE recently announced $38 million for a dozen projects that will work to reduce the impactsof light-water reactor used nuclear fuel (UNF) disposal, the department said in a release. The projects are led by universities, private companies and national laboratories.

Nuclear energy generates nearly a fifth of America’s electricity and accounts for half of all domestic clean energy generation, according to the department.

"While used nuclear fuel, sometimes referred to as spent nuclear fuel, is created during the process of generating nuclear energy, clean energy generated from this fuel would be enough to power more than 70 million homes," according to a news release from the DOE.

“For America to further harness the safe, reliable clean energy produced at nuclear facilities across the country, the Biden-Harris Administration and DOE recognize the importance of developing practical uses for America’s used nuclear fuel,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in the release. “Recycling nuclear waste for clean energy generation can significantly reduce the amount of spent fuel at nuclear sites, and increase economic stability for the communities leading this important work.”

Most of the used fuel is stored securely at reactor sites across the country, according to the release. The projects will enable economical recycling of the UNF and reduce the volume, heat load, and radiotoxicity of waste requiring permanent disposal, a release states.

Argonne will receive $4.9 million in funding to "develop a highly efficient process that converts 97 percent of UNF oxide fuel to metal using stable next-generation anode materials," the release states.

The laboratory will also receive $1.52 million in funding to develop, produce, and test a suite of compact rotating packed bed contactors for used nuclear fuel reprocessing.