TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY — Texas A&M is receiving a $5.4 million grant through the U.S. Department of Energy for research to recycle nuclear waste.
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James P. Danly, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, said the work reflects the university's larger purpose.
"This university is devoted to solving problems and bringing those solutions to the public to make the world a better place," Danly said.
Danly said nuclear waste has long been misunderstood as a burden rather than a resource.
"Which is something that has, you know, long been seen as a liability on the ledger, but in fact it's quite the opposite. It is an asset that still has 98% of its useful value in it. — It's — making them more sustainable," Danly said.
Dr. Robert Bishop, vice chancellor and dean of engineering, said the approach changes how spent fuel is handled.
"Right, because you don't just use the fuel and then store it for millions of years; you can recycle it," Bishop said.
Danly said the president has placed an emphasis on nuclear energy production, which would eventually lower electric costs for users.
"His, his vision is to quadruple the total amount of nuclear in America in just a matter of a couple of decades. That too is a remarkably ambitious goal, and we're on the way to meeting it," Danly said.
When asked about safety with nuclear energy, Danly pointed to the country's track record.
"The United States runs the largest reactor fleet in the world, right? 96 reactor, 94, 96. It's, it's almost 100 reactors been operating for decades and decades and decades. The safety record is basically unimpeachable," Danly said.
Bishop told me this research will propel Texas into a nuclear energy leader.
"Look, I think it's going to put us at the at the leading edge of, of, of energy development in, in the country, in the world really, but in the country for sure," Bishop said.
Officials told me they will be able to gauge the success of the research after three years, and they expect it to be a huge success.
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