SHINE joins GE Vernova in DOE-funded nuclear fuel tracking project

SHINE, a fusion energy company based in Janesville, Wisconsin, has joined a project led by GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV) to develop an AI-based system for tracking spent nuclear fuel through the recycling process, according to a press release.

The project is funded by the Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program and is led by GE Vernova's Advanced Research Center. SHINE is participating as a subcontractor, working on sensor deployment and AI-powered material-tracking systems.

The technology being developed is called Monochromatic Assays Yielding Enhanced Reliability, or MAYER. It is designed to track and measure nuclear material in real time as it moves through a recycling facility and feed data into a virtual digital twin. The stated goal is to strengthen security safeguards while reducing operating costs.

Current nuclear facility practices can include redundant instrumentation, physical security measures, repeated manual sampling, and periodic shutdowns for inventory checks. These requirements are part of a safeguards program overseen by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

"There's a better way to handle material control and accountability at spent nuclear fuel recycling facilities — one that doesn't mean permanent cost and disruption," said Ross Radel, SHINE's chief technology officer. "Get that right, and these facilities will be more cost-effective and have less downtime."

SHINE said its work on the MAYER project supports a broader goal of building a commercial nuclear fuel recycling facility that would qualify for a lower-security NRC category, which the company said would reduce physical security requirements and associated costs.

The company also announced a separate partnership related to nuclear fuel recycling, though details of that arrangement were not fully disclosed in the release. Both partnerships are said to support SHINE's recycling process, which it calls REDUCE, targeting the extraction of uranium, plutonium, and other materials from spent nuclear fuel.

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