KTH lab to revolutionise nuclear fuel production
Two KTH projects in the field of nuclear energy have received over SEK 50 million from the Swedish Energy Agency. The money will be used to build a research laboratory and a knowledge platform for the nuclear power of the future.
"It's about building new infrastructure that we don't have today in Sweden and around the world," says Pär Olsson, Professor of physics and nuclear materials.
The two projects aim to promote research infrastructure and testing and experimental infrastructure for future nuclear power. The projects are part of KTH's strategic research initiative on nuclear energy, Nexus .
Testing new technologies
Professor Pavel Kudinov's project aims to create an advanced experimental platform for building expertise, knowledge and innovation for the nuclear power of the future.
In the second project, Pär Olsson will set up an experimental research laboratory to test new technologies for manufacturing materials and components for smaller nuclear reactors, known as small modular reactors (SMRs). The goal is to find new ways to produce fossil-free heat for industry, electrification and society's needs.
"The main goal is to eliminate fossil fuel dependence from society as a whole. The biggest obstacle in Sweden is heavy industry, for which we can currently only offer electrification using nuclear energy," Olsson says.
Smaller reactors in connection with industry
One idea is that industries that need heat could get it straight from smaller nuclear reactors nearby.
"Industrial clusters of several companies could have a reactor that meets their needs simultaneously. A reactor could produce electricity and heat flexibly. We already have a couple of research projects studying precisely how nuclear energy can be linked to process heat. What we now have is the opportunity to build the components and materials that will be needed for such a development,” Olsson says.
Will use 3D printers
The technology to be tested involves manufacturing the core technical material in 3D printers, instead of casting and moulding components in the traditional way.
"It will be possible to print fuel, for example, in any shape. One alternative is to start with thin threads, but these are quite difficult to manufacture to the right quality from all possible materials. The other method is to start with powder and use a laser or electron beam to melt it. You take very little powder at a time and add material as you go along. That's the method we're focusing on here," Olsson says.
The method is called additive manufacturing, and Prof. Olsson describes it as building with Lego at a microscopic level.
"We have found a machine"
"We have found a machine that can produce powder from almost anything. You take a piece of steel, melt it into droplets and let it solidify into powder. Then you feed this into a 3D printer and you get what you want in a new form. If you feed in steel, you get steel in a new form, and the same applies to nuclear fuel. The challenge is that different materials present different difficulties in doing this, and that is what we will be devoting staff resources to trying to understand," he says.
At present, there is only one laboratory in the United States that has the capability to use this technology to manufacture nuclear fuel.
“We want to be able to conduct research and development in Sweden. If we can build a stronger laboratory environment, we won’t have to limit ourselves to the old way of manufacturing nuclear fuel and components for reactors,” Olsson says.
Text: Sabina Fabrizi ( sabina@kth.se )
Read about all of KTH's strategic research initiatives