New sensors enable real-time tracking to tackle US’ 94,000-ton nuclear waste stockpile

SHINE and GE Vernova are developing a system that could track nuclear material in real time as spent nuclear fuel moves through a recycling facility, with the goal of making the process cheaper and easier to manage. The project, led by GE Vernova’s Advanced Research Center and funded through the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), is focused on improving how nuclear material is measured and accounted for during recycling. SHINE, working as a subcontractor to GE Vernova, is developing improved sensor deployment and material-tracking systems. The technology is designed to build material control and accountability directly into a recycling plant rather than adding those systems after the facility is designed. The approach is part of a project called Monochromatic Assays Yielding Enhanced Reliability, or MAYER. It is intended to continuously measure nuclear material as it moves through different stages of a recycling facility and send that information into a virtual digital twin of the process. Real-time tracking cuts costly checks Nuclear facilities currently rely on a combination of instruments, physical security measures, manual sampling and periodic shutdowns to determine how much nuclear material is present and where it is located. Those procedures can add significant cost and interrupt operations. MAYER is intended to reduce the need for some of those repeated checks by providing a continuous picture of material moving through the facility. The system could also help operators identify changes in material quantities without having to rely as heavily on manual measurements. “There’s a better way to handle material control and accountability at spent nuclear fuel recycling facilities — one that doesn’t mean permanent cost and disruption,” said Ross Radel, SHINE CTO. “As a company designing a recycling process of its own, SHINE is joining the GE Vernova-led collaboration to tackle the design challenge of building modern accountability and safeguards into nuclear recycling facilities from day one. Get that right, and these facilities will be more cost-effective and have less downtime.” The tracking technology is also tied to nuclear safeguards. Operators must account for nuclear material to ensure it is not stolen or diverted, making accurate inventory measurements a central part of security at recycling facilities. Lowering the recycling burden For SHINE, the work has a larger commercial goal. The company is developing its own nuclear fuel recycling process, called Recover Elements – Destroy Undesirables – Create Energy, or REDUCE. The process is intended to recover uranium, plutonium and other valuable materials from spent nuclear fuel. SHINE says improved material tracking and accountability could help its future recycling facilities qualify for a lower-security category under US Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules. That could reduce the amount of physical security infrastructure required and lower operating costs. The company is targeting a commercial pilot for nuclear fuel recycling as the US looks to address the roughly 94,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel that has accumulated across the country. The MAYER project is therefore tackling a less visible part of nuclear recycling: knowing exactly where the material is and how much of it is moving through the plant. If the system works as intended, that capability could help make large-scale fuel recycling more practical and economically viable.Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.With over a decade-long career in journalism, Neetika Walter has worked with The Economic Times, ANI, and Hindustan Times, covering politics, business, technology, and the clean energy sector. Passionate about contemporary culture, books, poetry, and storytelling, she brings depth and insight to her writing. When she isn’t chasing stories, she’s likely lost in a book or enjoying the company of her dogs.