U.S. research is advancing on the potential to change fuel for nuclear reactors on Navy submarines and aircraft carriers from bomb-grade uranium to a safer option, documents showed Wednesday, even as the program’s funding is at risk in Congress.
In order to lower proliferation risks of keeping stockpiles of highly-enriched uranium, the U.S. government has been exploring since 2018 how to use low-enriched fuel that cannot be used as fissile material in weapons.
The U.S. research program progressed from a planning phase into an “iterative experimental campaign phase” in fiscal year 2021 and early findings represent progress in what could be a 20-to 25- year design effort, said a report to Congress last year from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
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