Request for Information for U-10Mo Monolithic Fuel Fabrication

Request for Information
U-10Mo Monolithic Fuel Fabrication

RFI 966967
Revision 0
Date: 9/17/2026

Introduction

The United States maintains a diverse fleet of
nuclear research and test reactors (RTRs) that
supports scientific research, nuclear technology
development, education, national security, isotope
production, and the qualification of fuels and
materials for both existing and future reactors.
Unlike commercial nuclear power plants, these
facilities are generally designed to produce neutrons
rather than electricity. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) currently regulates
approximately 30 operating research and test
reactors, most of them located at universities and
colleges. In addition, the Department of Energy
(DOE) operates several nationally significant
research and test facilities, including the Advanced
Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory and
the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory. Taken together, these facilities
form a relatively small but strategically important
research infrastructure supporting the U.S. nuclear
enterprise.
The missions of these reactors vary considerably.
University reactors (2 are illustrated in Figure 1) are commonly used for nuclear engineering education,
reactor-operator training, neutron activation
analysis, irradiation experiments, and fundamental
research. Larger national facilities provide
capabilities that cannot readily be reproduced in
smaller reactors. ATR, for example, contains dozens
of irradiation positions and specialized test loops
that can expose experimental fuels and materials to
conditions representative of operating and advanced
reactors. HFIR provides one of the world's most
intense reactor-based neutron sources and supports
materials irradiation, neutron scattering, isotope
production, and neutron activation analysis.
Research reactors also support fields far beyond
nuclear engineering; neutron beams are used to

The Massachusetts Institute of
Technology Reactor is the only university
reactor with a neutron flux and spectrum
similar to a commercial light water
reactor, and it is one of only two U.S.
reactors performing high-temperature
materials irradiation experiments for
nuclear power reactors. Courtesy:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Missouri University Research Reactor
is the only domestic research reactor