Gov. Kathy Hochul’s call last year to develop advanced nuclear power facilities in upstate New York triggered protests from the usual anti-nuclear groups, including the Sierra Club. These critics are sounding the same safety alarms that have stalled nuclear development in the U.S. since Three Mile Island. But a next-generation nuclear fuel now being aggressively advanced by the Department of Energy could silence those concerns for good.
It’s called TRISO fuel, short for TRI-structural Isotropic, referring to the three material layers and the uniform protective coating surrounding each uranium fuel particle. TRISO fuel particles are tiny—about the size of a poppy seed. They consist of a uranium core encased in layers of carbon and silicon carbide. These protective layers act as a built-in safety system, making the particles extremely resistant to high temperatures. “TRISO particles cannot melt in a commercial high-temperature reactor,” according to a 2019 DOE report. The Biden-era DOE likewise praised TRISO’s safety advantages and invested in its development through tax credits under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
While nuclear power has an excellent safety record overall, a few high-profile disasters in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s earned public distrust. That’s what makes improved fuel technology so important. Public resistance to nuclear is primarily safety-driven, and TRISO directly addresses that concern better than legacy designs. It introduces a passive safety layer that doesn’t rely on mechanical processes or human judgment. Due to the innovative design of its protective coating, a Chernobyl- or Fukushima-style meltdown is physically impossible in commercial reactors using TRISO fuel.
Join the Conversation
VIP members get the ability to comment on articles.