b'and support assessment of its most3.lead research and development advanced tools. AFC will also workon innovative fuel and cladding closely with the Advanced Sensorstechnologies with applications to and Instruments (ASI) program tofuture advanced reactors, especial-develop and deploy new sensors andly metallic fuels for fast-spectrum instruments in experiments that willreactors, including reactors that allow researchers to directly observeutilize both once-through and re-the evolution of materials in repre- cycle approaches to the fuel cycle; sentative severe environments.This4.continue the development and represents a massive leap beyond thedemonstration of a multi-scale, irradiate and observe model usedscience-based approach to fuel historically to develop and qualifydevelopment and testing, and nuclear fuels (colloquially referred tocontribute to the establishment of as cook and look).a state-of-the-art R&D infrastruc-As an early adopter of these meth- ture necessary to accelerate the odologies and tools, AFC is applyingdevelopment of new fuel con-them to a variety of fuel developmentcepts; and and qualification initiatives that5.collaborate with NEAMS and ASI crosscut the national nuclear researchon the execution of analytical enterprise.Specifically, AFC objec- experiments that result in mecha-tives in the coming five-year nistic fuel behavior and subse-horizon include:quent development and validation 1.support the industry-led de- of multi-scale, multi-physics.velopment of Accident TolerantUltimately leading to increasingly Fuel (ATF) technologies withpredictive fuel performance mod-improved reliability and per- els and codes. formance under normal opera- Considering these critical missions, tions and enhanced tolerance toit is clear that the AFC program is design basis and severe accidenta foundational component of the scenarios.This effort is expectednuclear energy communitys response to culminate with implementa- to increasing clean energy demand.tion of batch reloads of one or more near-term ATF concept(s)Sincerely,in commercial reactor(s) in theDan Wachsmid-2020s; 2.collaborate with industry and regulatory community to perform the R&D necessary to support extending the burnup of current commercial LWR fuels from 62 to 75 GWd/MTU by 2026; 2021|AFC ACCOMPLISHMENTS 13'