Background:
The High Burnup Research Cask (HBURC) Transportation Project is a research project that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been conducting in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) since 2014. The purpose of the project is to investigate whether higher burnup nuclear fuels - fuels that are kept in a reactor core longer to produce electricity – perform similarly to lower burnup fuels once they were removed from the reactor and placed in dry storage containers. In 2017, high burnup spent nuclear fuel was placed in a storage container, known as a “cask,” at the North Anna Nuclear Generating Station in Virginia. The cask was fitted with a special lid to allow collection of temperature data. In the coming years, DOE will continue to collect data and conduct research on this high burnup research cask, including opening the cask to remove fuel rods for examination at a DOE national laboratory. DOE is currently developing plans to relocate the high burnup research cask from the nuclear power plant where it is currently stored to the specialized national laboratory facilities. The cask will travel by train on DOE’s Atlas railcar, a 12-axle railcar specially designed to safely transport spent nuclear fuel.
What's Next?
DOE will work closely with other federal agencies, Tribal and State governments, as well as the origin and destination facilities to ensure that all parties are well prepared for shipment of the high burnup research cask to occur in 2027. DOE has established this resource portal to share additional information and updates on the high burnup research cask project as the project progresses.
How Can I Participate?
Stay tuned – this site will be updated soon with fact sheets, webinar notifications, a library of background resources, and a link to sign up for email updates.
For more information:
You can contact our team leads at:
