A new research project is being launched at the US Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Argonne National Laboratory to learn how to get more use from nuclear fuel.

INL has won a research grant that could help nuclear fuel be recycled or used for longer periods of time to produce more energy. The INL team will collaborate with scientists at the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (Atlas) facility in Illinois.

An INL spokesman said the project demonstrates the DOE’s commitment to carrying out more basic research on nuclear fuel recycling.

Thanks to 2 million US dollars (1.3 million euro) in funding from the DOE’s Office of Science, INL researcher Gilles Youinou aims to give nuclear scientists a better understanding of how elements within fuel rods respond to neutron irradiation.

“If we're going to recycle nuclear fuel or burn it longer, we need a clearer understanding of how the daughter products respond to neutron irradiation,” said Mr Youinou.

INL is one of the DOE’s 10 national laboratories. The laboratory performs work in a number of areas including energy and national security.

There is more information about the INL nuclear fuel research project on the laboratory’s website.