b'1.3 ACCIDENT TOLERANT FUELSA PERSPECTIVE BY FRANK GOLDNERBefore ATFAnd Then There Was ATFIn 2009, at the suggestion of KemalAlthough it was not until March Pasamehmetoglu, our National2015 before we delivered a fully Technology Director at that time, wegovernment cleared report back issued a call to our nuclear labora- to Congress, in 2013 we were tories for innovative nuclear fuelsable to effect a fully active ATF proposals. This started a two-yearprogram with involvement of our effort in which we evaluated quitekey national laboratories, three a few very interested ideas and ulti- key LWR fuel vendors, as well mately funded a few, but which alsoas effect important national and had significant industrial participa- international cooperations. A 2014 tion via a working group set up toNuclear Regulatory Commission effect the performance aspect of the(NRC)DOE Nuclear Safety Research effort. Fortuitously, this workingMOU (ML14072A366) was modified group included the three light waterwith an addendum in 2017 to cover reactor (LWR) fuel supply compa- ATF safety research (ML17130A815). nies who later became the industryIn 2014, under guidance of Kemal mainstay of our Accident TolerantPasamehmetoglu, Shannon Bragg-Fuel (ATF) program. Sitton, and Jon Carmack we initiated On March 16, 2011, a week aftersocializing our ATF strategy with the Fukushima accident, duringthe Paris based Organisation for a routine working group statusEconomic Co-operation and Devel-meeting, we unanimously agreedopment (OECD) Nuclear Energy to change the focus of our workingAgency (NEA), which resulted in a group from enhanced fuel perfor- 367-page 2018 state-of-the art report mance to enhanced accident toler- on Light Water Reactor Accident-ance. Therefore, we were fortunateTolerant Fuels (OECD 2018, NEA to be able to hit the ground runningNo. 7317). Significant involvement when Congress in 2012 gave Depart- was also initiated in the US with the ment of Energy (DOE) guidance toNuclear Energy Institute, and the report to the Committee, within 90Electric Power Research Institute. In days of enactment of the act, on itsthe last 10 years we have also had plan for development of meltdownmajor involvement with numerous resistant fuels leading to reactorUS universities as well as involve-testing and utilization by 2020. ment with several important inter-national nuclear energy initiatives in Europe, Russia, China, and Japan.14 2022|AFC ACCOMPLISHMENTS'