SHINE Selected for Two U.S. Department of Energy AI Nuclear Fuel Recycling Projects

SHINE Technologies, a U.S. fusion energy company, has recently been selected for projects under the U.S. Department of Energy's "Genesis Mission," participating in two artificial intelligence applications for the nuclear energy sector. Among these, SHINE will lead a nuclear fuel cycle facility optimization project and join the Prometheus project, a collaborative effort between national laboratories and industry.

The project led by SHINE, named "AI-Guided Fuel Cycle Facility Optimization," is a Phase 1 project with Argonne National Laboratory as the technical partner. The project plans to develop an AI-assisted workflow to help engineers optimize the design of spent nuclear fuel recycling processes. This workflow will comprehensively evaluate factors such as process performance, product quality, and waste generation, and document the rationale behind different design trade-offs, replacing the traditional approach of evaluating each option individually.

According to SHINE, the United States currently holds approximately 95,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel. The company is developing recycling technologies aimed at recovering more usable materials from the existing spent fuel inventory. This project will build on two tools developed through long-term research at Argonne National Laboratory: AMUSE, used to simulate the chemical separation processes of spent fuel, and ARTEMIS, used to simulate the system integration of a complete recycling facility. During the project, the two parties will jointly add a new AI layer, enabling engineers to evaluate more design options and screen for superior solutions.

In addition to leading the Phase 1 project, SHINE will also join the Phase 2 "Prometheus" project, led by Idaho National Laboratory. This project aims to bring together national laboratories and industry to advance the application of AI in the nuclear energy sector. SHINE will provide relevant data from its nuclear fuel recycling work and will have early access to tools developed under the Prometheus project for use in its own recycling initiatives.

SHINE stated that the company is advancing a commercial demonstration project for spent nuclear fuel recycling, and the chemical basis of the relevant processes has been validated at its Chrysalis medical isotope facility. This medical isotope facility has also completed a full operating license review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). SHINE believes that these chemical, engineering, and regulatory experiences will provide a foundation for bringing AI tools into nuclear fuel recycling process design.

SHINE founder and CEO Greg Piefer stated that AI technology has the potential to combine with commercial radiochemistry operating data to accelerate progress in nuclear fuel recycling technology. The project will advance over the coming months; if progress goes well, similar approaches could be extended to more segments of the recycling process.