DOE’s ARPA-E selects eight transuranic fuel development projects

[Marlin]

After reading this article I am convinced that the DOE has an office of acronyms. 

DOE's ARPA-E selects eight transuranic fuel development projects

https://www.ans.org/news/2026-10-29/article-8532/does-arpae-selects-eight-transuranic-fuel-development-projects/

[Core Content]

The Department of Energy selected eight research projects to receive up to $50 million through the HORNIG program. The awards fund the development of advanced reactor fuels using recycled transuranic waste elements derived from weapons production and used nuclear fuel inventories.

The program aims to shorten fuel qualification timelines to under seven years by combining manufacturing, modeling, and testing early in the process. Participating organizations include commercial vendors, national laboratories, and universities working on metallic, molten salt, and TRISO fuel technologies for Generation IV reactors.

The Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) division has chosen eight research projects to receive funding as part of its High-Performance Optimized Recycled Nuclear Isotopes for Gen IV Reactors (HORNIG) program.

The program, announced in April, seeks to advance Executive Order 14302, "Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base," by supporting projects that will develop fuel technology for advanced nuclear reactors. The projects selected for HORNIG will explore ways to repurpose materials from used nuclear fuel inventories—specifically the transuranic waste elements derived from nuclear weapons production, including plutonium—in the domestic production of fuel for commercial reactors.

Read the full article at ans.org:
https://www.ans.org/news/2026-10-29/article-8532/does-arpae-selects-eight-transuranic-fuel-development-projects/