The超安全核公司（USNC）已宣布计划在田纳西州橡树岭（Oak Ridge）找到其飞行员燃料制造（PFM），靠近美国Department of Energy’s(DoE)橡树岭国家实验室(ORNL).
USNC’s new facility will leverage the specialized workforce and capabilities of ORNL and the nearby DoE National Nuclear Security Administration’sY-12 National Security Complex为了提高先进的核燃料解决方案的开发，包括使用添加剂制造。雷电竞充值
“Proximity to ORNL and Y-12, as well as access to east Tennessee’s highly skilled and motivated nuclear workforce, was a key consideration in our site selection,” said Kurt Terrani, Executive Vice President of USNC’s Core Division.
“The excellent support we received from Tennessee Department of Community & Economic Development as well as Tennessee Valley Authority made the decision that much easier to site our PFM facility in Oak Ridge.”
Benefiting from ORNL’s capabilities
Headquartered in Seattle, USNC is a global leader in the development of microreactors and nuclear power technologies. In January, the company announced it hadlicensed ORNL’s novel method为核反应堆使用3 d打印组件refractory metals such as silicon carbide.
ORNL’s technology combines binder jet 3D printing with a chemical vapor infiltration process that enables themore efficient fabrication of reactor componentswith greater complexities. Having licensed the method, USNC aims to drive forward its mission to develop and deploy safer nuclear-based energy-generating equipment that is also commercially competitive.
USNCmanufactures its nuclear reactor core components from high-temperature-resistant ceramic silicon carbide, however machining reactor parts from this material is time-sensitive and inexpensive. ORNL’s 3D printing method will enable the company to manufacture silicon carbide components more efficiently and with geometries otherwise impossible to produce via conventional manufacturing methods.
According to ORNL Professors Kathy McCarthy and Xin Sun, thecertification and qualification of 3D printed nuclear components是该技术采用更广泛采用的关键要素，USNC对ORNL的添加剂制造方法的许可标志着核空间内该技术的重要一步。雷电竞充值
USNC’s PFM facility
USNC’s new PFM facility is located on an 8.7-acre site at the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge, just a few minutes away from ORNL’s main campus.
田纳西州州长比尔·李（Bill Lee）说：“作为清洁，可靠的核能领域的国家领导者，田纳西州在为美国驱动和加油我们的经济方面发挥了重要作用。”“我们高技能的劳动力，强大的商业环境和当地优势使Oak Ridge成为USNC的首要地点，我赞扬他们在田纳西州进行扩展的决定。”
The plant is expected to be operational this summer, and will primarily focus on manufacturing TRISO coated fuel particles and USNC’s proprietary Fully Ceramic Micro-encapsulated (FCM) nuclear fuel. The PFM facility will be capable of processing feedstock uranium powder into TRISO fuel particles in order to produce FCM fuel in multiple kilogram quantities.
The manufacturing modules and technologies deployed within the facility to meet these aims are based on smaller-scale systems originally developed under DoE programs at ORNL, and include the 3D printing process licensed from ORNL earlier this year.
一旦进行了编纂和证明，制造模块将部署到新的生产设施中，以满足对USNC的微型模块化反应堆（MMR）以及其他陆地和太空能源系统的需求。
根据USNC的说法，与ORNL的距离以及两个合作伙伴之间的持续合作将是USNC在商业化技术并建立具有成本效益的先进核燃料供应链的努力中“高度工具性的”。
“It’s great to see companies like USNC co-locating near the laboratory to further collaborations on nuclear fuel R&D efforts that benefit our community and are key to net-zero goals,” said McCarthy.
USNC已向新的PFM工厂投资了超过1200万美元，预计将有更多资金。预计新设施将在运营的前两年内创造30多个高技能的工作。
“The investment of USNC in the PFM facility and other advanced manufacture facilities in the US indicates that the commercialization of our micro modular reactor is imminent,” said USNC’s CEO Francesco Venneri. “We’re reaching a key point in the evolution of the MMR, with a well-developed technology, the responsive engagement with regulators, and the demand from customers in multiple regions, where a firm commitment to establish a strong manufacturing base is warranted.
“The PFM facility is one extremely important step we are taking in this direction.”
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Featured image showsUSNC拥有ORNL的新型增材制造方法，以生产复杂的核反应堆组雷电竞充值件。通过Carlos Jones/Ornl摄影。
