Safety of low enriched fuel for research reactors - securing the supply of medical radioisotopes
Closed
Status as published by the data source.
Expected Outcome:Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
• Develop competencies and ensure continuity in the EU’s excellence in research reactors while contributing to Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and implementing the Strategic Agenda for Medical Ionising Radiation Applications (SAMIRA).
• Support the future of European high-performance research reactors (HPRRs) and medium power research reactors (MPRRs) as world-leading neutron sources and reliable production facilities for medical radioisotopes by ensuring knowledge and technologies for an adequate supply of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel and targets.
• Address the relevant requirements of the Nuclear Safety Directive, Basic Safety Standards Directive and Radioactive Waste Management Directive, and improve the sharing of best practices between the European nuclear industry, research and other relevant organisations (e.g. for metrology), universities, technical support organisations, the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group and the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association, thereby maintaining the high safety standards for research reactors in the EU. Scope:Europe has a unique portfolio of HPRRs and MPRRs. They are vital to a number of scientific areas, from basic research and materials research, nuclear physics, medical and life sciences to the education and training of highly qualified experts. These are essential for implementing the highest nuclear safety standards in Europe.
These first-class research reactors are mostly used for irradiation testing of existing and future materials. This enables scientific advances crucial to the development of applied technologies, production of homogeneously doped silicon for high-performance semiconductors and production of radioisotopes for industry and nuclear medicine. This enables a stronger European Health Union and a more secure, better-prepared and more resilient EU.
Euratom research will be driven by further development and qualification work by European HPRR and MPRR operators to enable their research reactors to be converted from highly enriched uranium to low-enriched uranium, and/or to ensure the supply of alternative fuels, including reactor-specific prototype demonstrations. Challenges relate among others to innovative manufacturing technologies for nuclear components and metallic nuclear fuel using HALEU, specifically in the domain of monolithic UMo-based fuel production in the EU as the highest density HALEU fuel possible to improve uranium economy in the conversion of current research reactors and the design of future research reactors, without excluding other alloys and metals.
To secure the supply of HALEU, it is necessary to carry out R&D on the metallisation of low-enriched uranium by alternative methods to provide options to potential future EU manufacturers of HALEU. Advanced post-irradiation examinations and thermal conductivity measurements to support the qualification of high-density fuels and reactor‑specific licensing are also necessary.
Action should improve HPRR and MPRR operational safety and serve for state-of-art licensing procedures by developing, verifying and validating advanced modelling and simulation tools in relation to neutronics, thermal hydraulics and the mechanical stability of reactor cores using codes developed in Europe, e.g. SERPENT 2, but also by introducing digital technologies and artificial intelligence to reactor design. As a result, the action should increase regulators’ trust in introducing modern quality assured techniques into the licensing procedures of nuclear facilities and the evaluation of reactor safety margins.
- Status
- Closed
- Deadline
- (time not stated)
- Opens
- Published
- Total budget
- €7,000,000
- Grant range
- €7,000,000 – €7,000,000
- Country
- European Union (EU-wide)
- Programme
- Euratom Research and Training Programme (EURATOM)
- Official page
- Open at the source portal
Other calls under Euratom Research and Training Programme (EURATOM)
- Key enabling technologies for fusion power plants (European Partnership on Fusion Energy)
- Key enabling technologies for fusion power plants (European Partnership on Fusion Energy)
- European Partnership for research in radiation protection and detection of ionising radiation
- Safety of SMRs, advanced and innovative nuclear reactors and fuels
- Safety of operating nuclear power plants and research reactors
- Co-funded European partnership for research in nuclear materials
- Support for the Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform to address cross-sectoral challenges and non-power applications of ionising radiation
- Strengthening a European user facility for nuclear research
All calls under this programme
Similar opportunities
- Towards a European production of stable isotopes for novel nuclear medicine therapies (SAMIRA/ERVI)
- Safety of SMRs, advanced and innovative nuclear reactors and fuels
- Strengthening a European user facility for nuclear research
- European Nuclear Skills Initiative – towards European Nuclear Skills Academy
- Enhancing the European nuclear competence area
- Preparatory phase for a European production capability to secure a supply of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel
Where this came from
- Source document
- https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/data/topicDetails/horizon-euratom-2023-nrt-01-08.json
- Document fingerprint
b90f1da53d36ce86(SHA-256, first 16 hex characters)- Retrieved
- First recorded here
What has changed
- url first recorded as https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/horizon-euratom-2023-nrt-01-08 on
- currency first recorded as EUR on
- amount_max first recorded as 7000000.00 on
- amount_min first recorded as 7000000.00 on
- budget_total first recorded as 7000000.00 on
- deadline first recorded as 2023-11-08 on
- opens_on first recorded as 2023-04-04 on
- published_on first recorded as 2023-03-17 on
- status_basis first recorded as source_status on
- status first recorded as closed on
- title first recorded as Safety of low enriched fuel for research reactors - securing the supply of medical radioisotopes on
Data source
© European Union, 2026. Source: EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU — CC BY 4.0.
Retrieved from the source on .
The source last updated this document on Tue, 01 Jul 2025 07:57:22 GMT.
Personal data of natural persons has been dissociated by quiescence.eu.
This service is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by the data publishers.