SHINE Technologies has announced a new partnership with a French company advancing efforts to recycle spent nuclear fuel.
The Janesville nuclear technology business recently announced details for the agreement with newcleo, which develops advanced nuclear reactors and fuel.
Under the partnership, the two companies will explore possibilities for SHINE supplying newcleo with materials derived from spent nuclear fuel. The French company in turn would use those materials to manufacture “mixed oxide” or MOX fuel, which is being touted as a more sustainable alternative fuel for nuclear reactors.
Meanwhile, the companies say they will jointly pursue U.S. federal funding opportunities and other ways to work together domestically and in the European Union, according to the announcement.
SHINE CEO and founder Greg Piefer says recycling spent fuel helps reduce constraints on expanding nuclear energy production, while also repurposing decades worth of built-up waste.
“Working with newcleo connects our capabilities directly to reactors designed to run on recycled fuel,” he said in a statement. “That closed fuel cycle effectively makes nuclear energy renewable and fundamentally changes its economics.”
The partnership comes on the heels of SHINE being chosen for “advanced negotiations” by the U.S. Department of Energy to convert surplus plutonium originally meant for nuclear weapons into reactor fuel.
The company says it’s working on nuclear fuel “reprocessing” technology to extract uranium and plutonium from existing spent nuclear fuel inventory, pointing to the U.S. stockpile that has at least 90,000 metric tons. SHINE is seeking to stand up a commercial pilot facility by the early 2030s that could process 100 metric tons of used fuel each year.
Using the closed fuel cycle that Piefer is touting, the businesses say they can “significantly reduce the volume and radioactivity levels” of spent nuclear fuel, reducing the cost of long-term storage for what’s left over.
They’re planning to start technical scoping this year, leading up to joint federal funding proposals after that point. Financial details of the partnership aren’t being disclosed.
Check out an earlier podcast with Piefer.
