(IDAHO FALLS, Idaho) – The U.S. Department of Energy’s Center for Used Fuel Research has selected Guidedwave and Sensible Photonics to advance to the final phase of a selection process to demonstrate acoustic emission technologies for automated monitoring of used nuclear fuel dry storage canisters.
The selections address a critical industry need related to used nuclear fuel storage. Nuclear utilities are required under U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations (10 CFR Part 72) to maintain aging management programs for all used nuclear fuel storage systems. Current inspections at on-site used nuclear fuel storage facilities are performed periodically and require deploying specialized equipment for each inspection cycle. Automated and continuous monitoring and inspection approaches could streamline aging management activities and reduce operational burdens for used nuclear fuel management.
Following a review of key performance metrics, a panel of experts from the DOE complex and industry selected Guidedwave and Sensible Photonics to advance to the next round of demonstration testing. The two companies rose to the top of a competitive field drawn from former Small Business Innovation Research and Nuclear Energy University Program award winners invited to participate in the selection process. They were chosen for their capacity to enable continuous, remote monitoring of canister structural health, and for their potential to reduce or eliminate the need for repeated deployment of inspection equipment on select used fuel canisters.
Both companies will now proceed to pre-demonstration testing, which the Center will conduct this summer at the Idaho National Laboratory. Results from this testing will inform the final selection of a technology for a full-scale demonstration, which may be conducted at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in Southern California, scheduled for early 2027.
The demonstration at SONGS would use a Holtec UMAX dry storage test canister that does not contain used nuclear fuel but is equipped with electric heaters to simulate relevant heat loads and environmental conditions. The demonstration is a proof of concept for potential deployment of automated monitoring and inspection technologies for aging management of all used fuel canisters in on-site storage facilities at more than 74 operating and shut down commercial nuclear power plants nationwide, and at a future DOE federal staging facility for used nuclear fuel.
For more information about the Center for Used Fuel Research, visit https://cufr.inl.gov.
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