{"id":481555,"date":"2026-10-30T16:46:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T16:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/481555\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T16:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T16:46:14","slug":"texas-am-awarded-5-4-million-to-explore-turning-nuclear-waste-into-fuel-texas-am-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/481555\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas A&#038;M awarded $5.4 million to explore turning nuclear waste into fuel \u2013 Texas A&#038;M Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>      <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/TEES-Nuclear-Press-Conference-11-1408x814.jpg\" alt=\"A photo of a man in a suit standing at a lectern between the U.S. and Texas flags.\" width=\"1408\" height=\"814\" \/><\/p>\n<p>U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy James P. Danly a $5.4 million Department of Energy grant supporting the Texas A&amp;M Engineering Experiment Station as it develops innovative reactor fuel technology.<\/p>\n<p>Credit: Danny Palomba\/Texas A&amp;M University College of Engineering<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy\u00a0James P. Danly\u00a0announced on Thursday, Oct. 29, that the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tees.tamu.edu\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Texas A&amp;M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES)<\/a>\u00a0has been awarded a $5.4 million <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energy.gov\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)<\/a> grant to develop innovative reactor fuel technology that could help transform long-lived nuclear waste into a valuable energy resource while advancing the future of nuclear power.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The project,\u00a0Turning Nuclear Waste into Fuel with a Thorium Molten Salt Reactor, is led by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/engineering.tamu.edu\/nuclear\/profiles\/shao-lin.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dr. Lin Shao<\/a>, professor in the <a href=\"https:\/\/engineering.tamu.edu\/nuclear\/index.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&amp;M University<\/a>. It brings together researchers from TEES, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.srnl.gov\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Savannah River National Laboratory<\/a> and industry partner, Natura Resources, to address one of the most significant challenges facing the nuclear energy sector \u2014 the management of used nuclear fuel and its long-lived radioactive components.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/TEES-Nuclear-Press-Conference-18-1408x814.jpg\" alt=\"A photo of a woman at a lectern speaking to a crowd.\" width=\"1408\" height=\"814\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Texas A&amp;M University President Dr. Susan Ballabina<\/p>\n<p>Credit: Danny Palomba\/Texas A&amp;M University College of Engineering<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Danly announced the award during a visit to the Texas A&amp;M campus, where he met with university leaders, toured energy research facilities and learned more about the institution\u2019s contributions to advancing the nation\u2019s energy security and nuclear innovation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAmerica\u2019s energy future depends on bold innovation and strong partnerships between the federal government, national laboratories, universities and industry,\u201d Danly said. \u201cThis project demonstrates how we can address long-term nuclear waste challenges while advancing technologies that strengthen our nation\u2019s energy security. The Department of Energy is proud to support research that has the potential to unlock new value from existing nuclear materials and accelerate the deployment of advanced reactor systems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The grant represents a significant milestone for Texas A&amp;M\u2019s research enterprise and highlights the university\u2019s growing role in furthering technologies crucial to the nation\u2019s energy future. The project exemplifies the collaborative approach needed to solve challenges at the intersection of energy security, innovation and reliability.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Department of Energy\u2019s investment in this project reflects the critical role universities play in advancing technologies that serve our state and nation,\u201d said\u00a0Texas A&amp;M University\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/president.tamu.edu\/about\/index.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">President Dr. Susan Ballabina<\/a>. \u201cTexas A&amp;M is proud to contribute research that addresses complex energy challenges while creating opportunities for innovation, workforce development and economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The project further expands Texas A&amp;M Engineering\u2019s leadership in advanced nuclear energy research and reinforces the university\u2019s longstanding partnership with the DOE.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/TEES-Nuclear-Press-Conference-06-1408x814.jpg\" alt=\"A photo of a man at a lectern giving a thumbs-up.\" width=\"1408\" height=\"814\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Dr. Robert H. Bishop, vice chancellor and dean of Texas A&amp;M Engineering and director of TEES<\/p>\n<p>Credit: Danny Palomba\/Texas A&amp;M University College of Engineering<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTexas A&amp;M Engineering is honored to receive this support from the Department of Energy to advance groundbreaking nuclear energy technologies,\u201d said\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/engineering.tamu.edu\/contact\/profiles\/bishop-robert.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dr. Robert H. Bishop<\/a>, vice chancellor and dean of Texas A&amp;M Engineering and director of TEES. \u201cThis research aligns directly with our mission to solve the nation\u2019s most pressing engineering challenges through innovation and collaboration. We have an opportunity to develop solutions that reduce nuclear waste, improve energy reliability and help maintain American leadership in advanced nuclear technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Shao, the project aims to address two critical national priorities, including reducing the long-term burden of nuclear waste and developing advanced reactor technologies capable of delivering reliable energy for future generations. Researchers will integrate fuel preparation, experimental testing, computational modeling and reactor design throughout the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As energy demand continues to grow nationwide, advanced reactor concepts such as molten salt reactors are drawing increasing interest for their potential to provide reliable, carbon-free power while improving fuel utilization and addressing long-term waste management concerns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The grant-supported research builds on Texas A&amp;M Engineering\u2019s extensive nuclear energy research portfolio and its commitment to developing technologies that strengthen U.S. energy security and economic competitiveness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy James P. Danly a $5.4 million Department of Energy grant supporting the Texas&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-481555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}