An Economic Cost Assessment on HALEU Fuels for Small Modular Reactors

Abstract

Small modular reactors (SMRs) are currently being considered as future investments for commercial entities due to perceived advantages over traditional large-scale power reactors, particularly their considerably lower capital costs. One strategy for lowering the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of SMRs is to increase their burnup by utilizing high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuels, which range from 5 to 20 weight percent (w/o) of U-235. By increasing fuel enrichment to HALEU levels, with higher specific fuel costs compared to standard enrichment, a plant may achieve an increased capacity factor by extending its fuel cycle and thereby reducing average yearly fuel supply costs. It is expected that the benefits of optimizing fuel enrichment to extend a reactor’s fuel cycle outweigh the added cost due to more expensive fuel. In this paper, the net benefit of extending an SMR’s fuel cycle by enriching uranium fuel to HALEU levels was estimated using 2017 nuclear fuel production market data with NuScale’s 160 MWt SMR design as a case study. It was found that, for NuScale’s design, plant LCOE decreased with increasing cycle length enabled by higher fuel enrichment. It was also observed that doubling cycle time from 24 months to 48 months netted each reactor a 1.23 $/MWh reduction in LCOE. The total savings for a 12-module SMR design were estimated to be around $5,840,000 per year. Therefore, utilizing HALEU fuel in SMRs can vastly improve their economic efficiency.