100 nuclear fuel experts gather in Daejeon to showcase S. Korea's atomic technology

More than 100 nuclear fuel experts from 14 countries, including the United States, France and Japan, have gathered in Daejeon to advance international cooperation on verifying the performance and safety of next-generation nuclear fuels. Starting in April next year, a safety verification study using South Korea's research reactor HANARO will get fully underway.

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute announced it is hosting the FIDES regular meeting — an international joint nuclear fuel research program organized by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency — at Lotte City Hotel in Daejeon from Monday through Friday this week.

The meeting was jointly prepared by a Korean consortium led by the institute, with participation from KEPCO Nuclear Fuel and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power. It marks the first time the FIDES regular meeting has been held in South Korea.

FIDES is a multinational joint research project in which regulatory bodies, research institutions and industry players from participating countries work together to verify the performance and safety of nuclear fuels and materials. The project uses research reactors and test facilities operated by member countries to analyze phenomena that occur under actual reactor operating conditions and to gather experimental data needed for performance evaluation and simulation.

The meeting has drawn more than 100 experts from 14 countries, including the United States, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Czech Republic — the largest turnout in the program's history. Participants are reviewing the progress of each joint research program and discussing future research directions.

Of particular note, the FAST-GAS study proposed by the Korean consortium is set to launch as an international joint research project in April next year.

FAST-GAS is designed to evaluate the fission gas release characteristics of next-generation nuclear fuels. Using HANARO, the institute will conduct accelerated burn-up tests on nuclear fuel and analyze fission gas release behavior — a key indicator for assessing fuel performance and safety.

The release characteristics of gases produced during fission are a critical factor affecting internal fuel pressure and structural integrity. The research aims to secure the experimental data needed to evaluate the safety of next-generation nuclear fuels.

The institute will also introduce its major research infrastructure at the meeting, including HANARO, the Irradiated Material Examination Facility, the Hot cell-based Material Aging and Performance Evaluation Facility and the Advanced Thermal-hydraulic Test Loop for Accident Simulation.

"Hosting this FIDES meeting is recognition of South Korea's nuclear fuel technology capabilities and its role in the international community," said Kim Dong-ju, head of the institute's light-water reactor nuclear fuel technology research division. "We will strengthen cooperation with domestic and international organizations to help our nuclear fuel technology become a global standard."