Levelized Cost of Fuel (LCOF) Studies for Microreactors Using TRISO Fuel in Hydride and Beryllium-based composite Moderators in Open and Closed Fuel Cycles

Sai Prasad Balla and Jacopo Buongiorno

Report Date: March 2025
Program:    NFC (Nuclear Fuel Cycle)
Type:     TR
RPT. No.: 135

Executive Summary Excerpt:

Nuclear batteries (NBs) are small, advanced microreactors with a thermal output of under 20 MWth. These compact reactors promise plug-and-play capability, ensuring reliable operation

with high capacity factors and reducing expensive transmission infrastructure requirements in remote areas. The bulk of these microreactors are based on graphite-moderated high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) design. Graphite exhibits unfavorable properties under irradiation and tends to undergo non-uniform shrinkage followed by volumetric expansion and increased residual stress during irradiation, limiting its operational lifespan. Composite moderators, which combine a radiation- and chemically-stable magnesium oxide (MgO) host matrix with an entrained beryllium or hydride moderating phase, have shown potential as suitable alternatives for the graphite used in HTGRs.

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