Publication in Nuclear Engineering and Design follows the successful conclusion of a multi-year irradiation campaign at INL's Advanced Test Reactor, in which ANEEL fuel physically demonstrated burnup exceeding 60 GWd/MTU
CHICAGO, July 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clean Core Thorium Energy (CCTE) today announced a major technical milestone for its ANEEL fuel program with the publication of a comprehensive peer-reviewed engineering assessment in Nuclear Engineering and Design, a leading peer-reviewed journal in nuclear engineering published by Elsevier. The publication follows the successful completion of CCTE's multi-year irradiation campaign at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), where ANEEL fuel physically achieved burnup exceeding 60 GWd/MTU in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). Together, these milestones represent two independent lines of evidence supporting the technical feasibility of ANEEL fuel for deployment in existing pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs), including CANDU reactors.
ANEEL fuel's performance has now been established in two independent ways: physically, through a completed high-burnup irradiation test in a U.S. national laboratory reactor, and analytically, through peer-reviewed analyses now published in the open scientific literature. The test data and the published analyses point to the same conclusion - that ANEEL fuel can deliver substantially higher burnup than natural uranium fuel, with improved safety margins, in reactors operating today.
The published analyses report an average discharge burnup of 44,300 MWd/MTHM for ANEEL fuel in a CANDU-6 reactor - approximately six times that of natural uranium fuel, and consistent with the burnup levels physically demonstrated in the ATR campaign. The paper further reports that ANEEL fuel reduces full-core coolant void reactivity by nearly 20%, improving upon a key safety parameter of natural uranium-fueled PHWRs. Independent calculations performed by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) using the MCNP code confirm that existing reactor control and shutdown systems maintain adequate margins with ANEEL fuel, requiring no redesign. The analyses also show a fuel temperature coefficient more than six times more negative than natural uranium fuel, lower peak fuel temperatures under a simulated loss-of-coolant accident, and structural integrity of the fuel rod maintained throughout the simulated irradiation history.
The publication represents an important milestone in nearly a decade of ANEEL fuel development and reflects a collaborative effort across industry, academia and national laboratories. The authors include experts from Clean Core Thorium Energy, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Innovative Nuclear Solutions, and Structural Integrity Associates, while independent validation analyses were performed by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) using industry-standard methodologies. These results build upon CCTE's completed irradiation campaign at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the successful completion of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's (CNSC) Phase 1 Vendor Design Review in 2024.
Together, the analyses address the principal technical questions associated with deploying thorium-HALEU fuel in existing reactors: reactivity behavior and safety coefficients, compatibility with existing reactor control and shutdown systems, thermal-hydraulic performance under postulated accident conditions, and structural integrity at high burnup. Each is now examined in the open, peer-reviewed literature.
"Milestones in this industry are earned in reactors, not in renderings. ANEEL fuel achieved its burnup and performance objectives in a physical test at Idaho National Laboratory, and the analyses underpinning the fuel's design have now withstood the scrutiny of peer review in one of the field's leading journals. We demonstrated first and published second - that ordering reflects how we approach this technology," said Mehul Shah, Founder and CEO of Clean Core Thorium Energy.
"Our goal with this paper was transparency: to place the full technical case for ANEEL fuel - the physics, the safety coefficients, the accident performance, the structural analysis - into the open literature where it can be examined by the global research community. The published results, are consistent with what the fuel demonstrated physically in the Advanced Test Reactor, which is a key result." said Michael Worrall, corresponding author of the publication and Reactor Physics Lead at Clean Core Thorium Energy.
The paper notes the remaining steps toward commercial deployment, including bounding safety analyses under a wider range of accident scenarios, fuel qualification testing against thoria-specific empirical data, and continued regulatory engagement - work that is underway through CCTE's ongoing irradiation programs, including post-irradiation examination of the ATR test specimens at INL's Materials and Fuels Complex, and pre-licensing activities. The company will continue to work with its national laboratory and industry partners in support of a cleaner, more efficient global nuclear fleet.
The full publication is available open access at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2026.115094
About ANEEL Fuel
ANEEL is CCTE's patented nuclear fuel technology combining thorium with enriched uranium. The fuel retains the same external geometry as existing fuel for PHWR and CANDU reactors, including 19- and 37-element designs. This allows for integration into current reactor fleets without modifications to reactor systems or core design. ANEEL is designed to achieve higher burnup and improved fuel utilisation, with the potential to reduce spent fuel volumes per unit of energy generated and strengthen proliferation resistance.
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), which is capable of improving 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. Learn more at https://cleancore.energy/. Follow us on social media: LinkedIn and X.
Media Contact:
Milan Shah
Email: info@cleancore.energy
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