New Canister System Offers Versatile Solution for Advanced Nuclear Waste Disposal
A new, global canister system (UCS) developed through Project UPWARDS promises a notable advancement in managing waste from advanced nuclear reactors. The project,completed on time and within its $3.6 million budget (funded by the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E ONWARDS program), was a collaborative effort between Deep Isolation, University of California-Berkeley, Lawrence berkeley National Laboratory, and NAC international.
Project UPWARDS – standing for Universal Performance Criteria and Canister for Advanced Reactor Waste Form Acceptance in Borehole and mined Repositories Considering Design Safety – focused on creating an integrated waste management system capable of handling a diverse range of advanced reactor waste streams. This includes vitrified waste from reprocessing, TRISO spent fuel, and halide salts from molten salt reactors.
The UCS is designed for a triple purpose: storage, transportation, and disposal. Importantly, it’s compatible with existing dry storage and transport infrastructure and meets safety requirements for both deep borehole and mined repository disposal options.
Prototype fabrication took place at R-V Industries in Pennsylvania, with testing completed at the Deep Borehole Demonstration Center in Texas. Non-radiological testing successfully demonstrated the system’s mechanical integrity and operational viability under simulated geological conditions, providing a high level of physical validation.
“By fabricating and testing a universal, triple-purpose canister that is engineered for storage, transportation, and disposal of nuclear waste in multiple repository types, we have delivered a flexible and technically robust solution that has undergone extensive testing and is intended too support future real-world deployment,” said Jesse Sloane, executive vice president of engineering at Deep Isolation and principal investigator for the project.
The completion of Project UPWARDS is a key step towards full-scale demonstration and eventual deployment of the UCS. Deep Isolation plans to utilize the project results to support future licensing, pilot programs, and commercialization. NAC International CEO Kent Cole expressed enthusiasm for integrating the innovation into their existing systems and partnering with Deep Isolation for global commercialization.
“Deep Isolation and its UPWARDS partners developed a groundbreaking disposal solution for a broad range of advanced fuels and recycling products,” added Assel Aitkaliyeva, ARPA-E program director. ”This universal canister system has the potential to transform the nuclear industry by offering a safe, scalable pathway to manage used nuclear fuel.”
