Long established as a leader in corrosion science, Western has received nearly $5 million in federal funding to enhance the safety and reliability of Canada's growing nuclear energy sector.
Announced on March 5, the three-year investment will support research into the secure storage of used fuel, an ongoing priority for industry, government and communities.
The funding from Natural Resources Canada's Enabling Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) program will support the Safety Assessment and Fuel Evaluation of TRi-structural ISOtropic (TRISO) (SAFE-T) project, which will conduct a detailed study of TRISO-based used fuel properties. The project aims to advance knowledge and understanding of the management, characterization and minimization of TRISO-based fuel waste.
Jamie Noel (Contributed)
"I am thrilled Western was awarded this funding because it will allow us to evaluate and provide input on the waste management aspects of advanced nuclear fuel during the development stage, not as an afterthought," said Jamie Noel, Western chemistry professor and SAFE-T project lead.
Noel, an electrochemist with expertise in corrosion and degradation of materials, has more than 25 years' experience investigating the permanent disposal of used nuclear fuels with his collaborators at Surface Science Western, the Western Nanofabrication Laboratory and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization.
"We want to provide a common knowledge base for decision-makers and SMR developers for the long-term management of TRISO-based used fuel," said Noel, principal investigator at Western's Electrochemistry and Corrosion Science Laboratory, established in 1998 by professor emeritus David W. Shoesmith.
This is the first major project for the Western University Nuclear Hub, which is leading SAFE-T in collaboration with regional partners, McMaster University, Ontario Tech University, York University and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories.
