Clean Core and CNL Join Forces to Advance Thorium-Based ANEEL™ Fuel

Revolutionizing Nuclear Fuel: Clean Core and CNL’s ANEEL™ Project — Clean Core and CNL Collaborate to Propel ANEEL™ Fuel Technology

Clean Core has developed and patented a fuel, named the ANEEL™ fuel, made of thorium and enriched uranium.

Clean Core Thorium Energy (Clean Core) is pleased to announce that it has been accepted to participate in Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ (CNL) Canadian Nuclear Research Initiative (CNRI). Through the program, CNL and Clean Core will verify and validate the computer codes and analytical models employed in the design and safety analysis of Clean Core’s ANEEL™ fuel, enabling its accelerated commercialization for the Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactors.

Launched in 2019, the CNRI program was established by CNL to accelerate the deployment of nuclear technologies in Canada by enabling research and development and connecting the nuclear industry with the facilities and expertise within Canada’s national nuclear laboratories. Among the program’s many benefits, participants optimize resources, share technical knowledge, receive cost-share funding, and gain access to CNL’s expertise to help advance the commercialization of nuclear technologies.

Clean Core completed initial design studies and recently announced the successful conclusion of the Phase 1 Pre-licensing Vendor Design Review process with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Additionally, Clean Core signed a Strategic Partnership Project Agreement with the US DOE and is currently performing irradiation testing and qualification of the ANEEL fuel in the Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Labs with burnup targets of up to 60 GWd/T.

The fuel is designed for use in existing pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWR) and CANDU reactors with flexibility across enrichment levels (LEU+ to HALEU) as well as fuel designs (such as 19-pin and 37-pin).

The fuel retains the same external dimensions as the currently used natural uranium (NU) fuel and leverages a high burnup, once-through fuel cycle. With no modifications to the reactor or its core, the ANEEL™ fuel derives several advantages over the currently used low burnup NU fuel, including improved safety, economics, and operations, and reduced nuclear waste volumes and proliferation resistance.

“Clean Core recognizes this as a key collaboration for the ANEEL™ fuel by leveraging the technical capabilities and existing domain expertise at CNL for developing and assessing various fuel, physics, and thermohydraulic models,” says Mehul Shah, CEO and Founder of Clean Core. “This collaboration will meaningfully accelerate the deployment of the ANEEL™ fuel, which can impact the Canadian and global nuclear industries.“

About Clean Core Thorium Energy

Clean Core Thorium Energy is a nuclear fuel company exploring thorium-driven nuclear innovations. Clean Core’s patented nuclear fuel technology (called the ANEEL™ fuel) is comprised of thorium and enriched uranium (LEU+ to HALEU). It can improve the safety and cost-efficiency of pressurized heavy-water reactors. The ANEEL™ fuel is a novel solution to safety, waste, and proliferation concerns in today’s nuclear plants.