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Fuel Resources Research and Development

Robert R. PriceDirector, Office of Systems Engineering and IntegrationFuel Cycle Technologies Program13 October 2010Boston, MA

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Welcome

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Fuel Resources

Boston has History,…

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Fuel Resources

Arts and Architecture,…

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Education,…

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Fuel Resources

Cuisine,…

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Systems Engineering and Integration

Sports, and…

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Systems Engineering and Integration

a unique dialect.

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Boston English is a dialect of American English spoken in the city of Boston, Massachusetts and much of eastern Massachusetts. The Boston accent and closely related accents can be heard commonly in an area stretching into much of Massachusetts, New England ...

www.bu.edu/mfeldman/Boston/wicked.html

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Systems Engineering and Integration

Now to the business at hand

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Fuel Resources Research and Development

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Questions persist on sustainability of nuclear energy

“A global shortage of uranium could

jeopardise plans to build a new

generation of nuclear power stations

in Britain. “ Angela Jameson, 15 Aug 2005 in

Uranium shortage poses threat, The Times

“The supply of uranium has already reached its peak, in 1981... As a result, about a quarter of nuclear power plants could be forced to shut down within a decade because of a lack of fuel.” Michael Meacher, 7 June 2006, in On the Road to Ruin, The Guardian

“Uranium, the fuel of

choice for nuclear power

plants is a finite resource

that is becoming in short

supply.” Gerson Lehrman

Group, 23 April 2007 in Uranium

Scarcity Raising Questions about

Expanding Nuclear Power

“The analysis of data on uranium

resources leads to the

assessment that discovered

reserves are not sufficient to

guarantee the uranium supply for

more than thirty years.” Energy

Watch Group, Dec 2006 in Uranium

Resources and Nuclear Energy

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“Fuel Resource Exploration and Mining – The availability of fuel resources for each potential fuel cycle and reactor deployment scenario must be understood… involvement in this area would be R&D to support investigation of long-term, ‘game-changing’ approaches such as recovering uranium from seawater.”

Fuel Resources Campaign

Fuel Resources Mission Identify and implement actions to assure that economic

nuclear fuel resources remain available in the United States.

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Fuel Resources Campaign Scope of Work

Resource ExplorationWhy? • Low prices and U.S. industry structure provides little opportunity for R&D • Exploration is time consuming and costly

Benefits• Improved discovery techniques could increase resource base• Evaluate for potential future R&D opportunities through workshops

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Fuel Resources Campaign Scope of Work

Resource EstimationWhy?• U.S. baseline resource estimate is over 30 years old (NURE ca 1980s)• Estimates only first generation• Considerable new exploration since 2001• Current resource estimation tools do not utilize advances in HPC •Can we learn from other commodities?

Benefits• A revised estimate is fundamental to defining long-term sustainability (how much is there?)• Reduce time and cost of defining ore bodies

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Fuel Resources Campaign Scope of Work

Resource Extraction Why?• Unconventional resources represent vast potential sources of nuclear fuel• High costs of production limit their usefulness

Benefits• Eliminate concerns about long-term sustainability of nuclear energy• Create an upper bound on resource cost

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Fuel Resources Campaign Strategy

Exploration Estimation

Extraction

ResourceAssurance

• Focus on R&D related to U and Th fuel resources• Long-term, high-risk R&D• Science-based• Goal-oriented• Peer reviewed• Multidisciplinary team approach • Create university-based Center(s) of Excellence

Program Goal:To double the seawater U sorption capacity of the current best-in-class adsorbents (Japanese system) in three years.

Because of its enormous potential, extraction from seawater will receive priority attention

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0.0010.010.111010010000

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Redbook Identified

Redbook Specula-tive

Phosphates (Co-Product)

Phosphates (Primary)

Seawater

Uranium Grade [wppm U]

Estim

ated

Ave

rage

Pro

ducti

on C

ost

[$ /

kgU

]

1010010000

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100

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Uranium Grade [wppm U]

Est.

Avg

. Pro

d. C

ost [

$ /

kgU

]

Why Focus on Uranium from Seawater?

“I conclude that ocean extraction of uranium would turn today’s once-through reactors into a “sustainable” option – assuming that the uranium reactors can cover the energy cost of the ocean extraction process.” David JC MacKaySustainable Energy - without the hot air

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Fuel Resources

Meeting Objective

Bring together world-class expertsEvaluate state of the art in uranium exploration, estimation and

extraction technologies Identify R&D opportunities and needs suitable for federal

investment

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Summary

Fuel Resources Campaign begun in FY10 Campaign organized around three major components

· Exploration, Estimation, ExtractionStrategy is to implement a science-based, goal-oriented programExtraction of U from seawater is primary near-term focus

· Learn from the Japanese experience· Rapid, significant improvement is program objective

Meeting objective is to bring together world-class experts to evaluate state of the art in uranium exploration, estimation and extraction technologies and identify R&D opportunities and needs suitable for federal investment