2016 - Report on Conceptual R&D Plan for LEU for Naval Fuel

This report responds to legislative language set forth in Section 3118 of the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act and responds to legislative language set forth in the Division D Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2016.

This report provides a plan that is intended to determine the technical and economic viability of an advanced fuel system which might enable use of LEU fuel in an aircraft carrier reactor. The fuel is unlikely to enable/allow conversion of current life-of-ship submarine reactors to LEU, but might be sufficient for use in an aircraft carrier reactor. The conceptual plan includes manufacturing and testing demonstrations which span at least 15 years and requires at least $1 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2016 dollars. Follow on funding would be needed to mature this conceptual plan and bring it to reality. Success is not assured; significant resources could be expended in the pursuit of this fuel system without delivering a satisfactory LEU-fueled naval reactor design. Therefore, the plan provides milestones for assessing progress and determining whether a practical LEU fuel system is achievable and if work should continue. These milestones involve test infrastructure assessments, fuel testing, and manufacturing trials. The schedule assumes that existing Naval Reactors Program facilities and equipment to test, transport, and examine highly radioactive irradiated fuel specimens can be quickly adapted, refurbished, or reactivated. This schedule also assumes that the Advanced Test Reactor is separately funded to replace aging infrastructure and increase its operational reliability from an average of 175 irradiation test days per year to 210 test days per year on a consistent basis. Early work to define and execute these facility and equipment upgrades would be essential and could control the overall schedule.