Physicist models new use for nuclear waste: Turning it into super-rare fusion fuel
(2025/08/18)
- Reference: 1755551142
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/08/18/physicist_nuclear_waste_fusion_fuel/
- Source link:
Tritium is ridiculously rare, incredibly expensive, and central to most fusion energy reactor designs. If research out of Los Alamos National Lab proves to hold true, it might soon become easier to obtain.
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen with two neutrons, and is typically used with the non-radioactive deuterium isotope (which contains one neutron) to power prototype fusion plants. The American Chemical Society on Monday [1]shared preliminary findings from Los Alamos physicist Terence Tarnowsky, who has uncovered evidence – albeit from simulations – that the waste from traditional nuclear reactors could be further refined into tritium, turning more than [2]90,000 metric tons of useless and deadly garbage into a valuable resource.
And by valuable, we mean valuable .
[3]
"Right now, the value of commercial tritium is about $15 million per pound [$33 million per kilogram], and the US doesn't have any domestic capability to create it," Tarnowsky told the ACS for the announcement of his research, which has yet to be published. According to an abstract of his paper [4]shared with the press release, a 1 GW(th) deuterium–tritium fusion plant would require more than 55 kg of tritium per year.
[5]
[6]
Deuterium-deuterium fusion reactor designs [7]do exist , but they're even more experimental than D-T units, one of which was used at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility in its [8]2022 nuclear fusion breakthrough .
According to the ACS, the United States' current commercial tritium sources are dominated by Canada, where the CANDU nuclear reactor design is known to produce tritium as a byproduct of its reaction.
[9]
CANDU reactors randomly convert some heavy water, which is H2O containing deuterium rather than regular hydrogen atoms, into tritium, which is then processed for storage or sale, [10]according to a pamphlet from Ontario Power Generation.
Unfortunately, a single CANDU reactor produces only around 0.1 kg of tritium per year, per Tarnowsky's abstract. There are [11]27 CANDU reactors around the world, 17 of which are in Canada. Even if the US were to sign deals with all 27 CANDU reactors in the world, it would only end up with about 2.7 kilograms of tritium per year - far short of what a 1 GW(th) D‑T plant needs.
Spinning up a domestic source of tritium
From [12]export-controlled glowing rings to watch faces and exit signs, trace amounts of tritium appear in lots of places – including the nuclear waste produced by traditional nuclear reactors. According to Tarnowsky's simulations, all one would need is a particle accelerator to "jump-start atom-splitting reactions" in the waste that would "ultimately produce tritium after a series of other nuclear reactions."
[13]UK dumps £2.5 billion into fusion pipe dream that's already cost millions
[14]Nvidia bets on Gates-backed nuclear startup to keep its AI ambitions from melting down
[15]Microsoft wants us to believe AI will crack practical fusion power, driving future AI
[16]Uncle Sam plows $42M into nurturing fusion breakthrough
The idea isn't new, Tarnowsky admitted, but modern tech finally makes it practical.
According to his research – all simulated thus far, mind you – an accelerator-driven system running at about a gigawatt of thermal power could produce around 2 kilograms of tritium per year, roughly matching the annual commercial output of Canada's CANDU reactors.
That's all well and good, but ACS fails to mention some things in the preliminary bit of information it shared ahead of Tarnowsky's presentation at its Fall expo this week. It's not clear what the ratio of nuclear waste input to tritium output is, for example. ACS also didn't mention if there are other byproducts of the process that could be harmful. The org noted in its release that efficiency calculations are the next step Tarnowsky has planned for his ongoing project, and the group didn't respond to questions before publication.
[17]
There may have been a [18]few fusion [19]breakthroughs of late, but the world has yet to produce something that's truly energy positive, sustained, or practical. Then again, with just a few kilograms of fusion fuel being produced per year right now, every gram helps. ®
Get our [20]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.acs.org/pressroom/presspacs/2025/august/nuclear-waste-could-be-a-source-of-fuel-in-future-reactors.html
[2] https://www.gao.gov/nuclear-waste-disposal
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aKOiczSDfC_4SyVw9YS96gAAAEI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1093762?
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aKOiczSDfC_4SyVw9YS96gAAAEI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aKOiczSDfC_4SyVw9YS96gAAAEI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/07/first_light_nuclear_fusion/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/14/nuclear_fusion_doe/
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aKOiczSDfC_4SyVw9YS96gAAAEI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/18/candu-tritium.pdf
[11] https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-a-f/canada-nuclear-power#:~:text=Today%2C%20there%20are%2027%20Candu%20power%20reactors%20in%20seven%20countries
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2002/11/20/the_truth_about_tritium/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/13/uk_dumps_25_billion_into/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/18/nvidia_ai_smr_investment/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/09/microsoft_ai_fusion/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/08/nuclear_fusion_research_funding/
[17] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aKOiczSDfC_4SyVw9YS96gAAAEI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/22/china_tokamak_plasma_record_claim/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/12/modeling_fix_for_fusion_particle_escape/
[20] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen with two neutrons, and is typically used with the non-radioactive deuterium isotope (which contains one neutron) to power prototype fusion plants. The American Chemical Society on Monday [1]shared preliminary findings from Los Alamos physicist Terence Tarnowsky, who has uncovered evidence – albeit from simulations – that the waste from traditional nuclear reactors could be further refined into tritium, turning more than [2]90,000 metric tons of useless and deadly garbage into a valuable resource.
And by valuable, we mean valuable .
[3]
"Right now, the value of commercial tritium is about $15 million per pound [$33 million per kilogram], and the US doesn't have any domestic capability to create it," Tarnowsky told the ACS for the announcement of his research, which has yet to be published. According to an abstract of his paper [4]shared with the press release, a 1 GW(th) deuterium–tritium fusion plant would require more than 55 kg of tritium per year.
[5]
[6]
Deuterium-deuterium fusion reactor designs [7]do exist , but they're even more experimental than D-T units, one of which was used at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility in its [8]2022 nuclear fusion breakthrough .
According to the ACS, the United States' current commercial tritium sources are dominated by Canada, where the CANDU nuclear reactor design is known to produce tritium as a byproduct of its reaction.
[9]
CANDU reactors randomly convert some heavy water, which is H2O containing deuterium rather than regular hydrogen atoms, into tritium, which is then processed for storage or sale, [10]according to a pamphlet from Ontario Power Generation.
Unfortunately, a single CANDU reactor produces only around 0.1 kg of tritium per year, per Tarnowsky's abstract. There are [11]27 CANDU reactors around the world, 17 of which are in Canada. Even if the US were to sign deals with all 27 CANDU reactors in the world, it would only end up with about 2.7 kilograms of tritium per year - far short of what a 1 GW(th) D‑T plant needs.
Spinning up a domestic source of tritium
From [12]export-controlled glowing rings to watch faces and exit signs, trace amounts of tritium appear in lots of places – including the nuclear waste produced by traditional nuclear reactors. According to Tarnowsky's simulations, all one would need is a particle accelerator to "jump-start atom-splitting reactions" in the waste that would "ultimately produce tritium after a series of other nuclear reactions."
[13]UK dumps £2.5 billion into fusion pipe dream that's already cost millions
[14]Nvidia bets on Gates-backed nuclear startup to keep its AI ambitions from melting down
[15]Microsoft wants us to believe AI will crack practical fusion power, driving future AI
[16]Uncle Sam plows $42M into nurturing fusion breakthrough
The idea isn't new, Tarnowsky admitted, but modern tech finally makes it practical.
According to his research – all simulated thus far, mind you – an accelerator-driven system running at about a gigawatt of thermal power could produce around 2 kilograms of tritium per year, roughly matching the annual commercial output of Canada's CANDU reactors.
That's all well and good, but ACS fails to mention some things in the preliminary bit of information it shared ahead of Tarnowsky's presentation at its Fall expo this week. It's not clear what the ratio of nuclear waste input to tritium output is, for example. ACS also didn't mention if there are other byproducts of the process that could be harmful. The org noted in its release that efficiency calculations are the next step Tarnowsky has planned for his ongoing project, and the group didn't respond to questions before publication.
[17]
There may have been a [18]few fusion [19]breakthroughs of late, but the world has yet to produce something that's truly energy positive, sustained, or practical. Then again, with just a few kilograms of fusion fuel being produced per year right now, every gram helps. ®
Get our [20]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.acs.org/pressroom/presspacs/2025/august/nuclear-waste-could-be-a-source-of-fuel-in-future-reactors.html
[2] https://www.gao.gov/nuclear-waste-disposal
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aKOiczSDfC_4SyVw9YS96gAAAEI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1093762?
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aKOiczSDfC_4SyVw9YS96gAAAEI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aKOiczSDfC_4SyVw9YS96gAAAEI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/07/first_light_nuclear_fusion/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/14/nuclear_fusion_doe/
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aKOiczSDfC_4SyVw9YS96gAAAEI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/18/candu-tritium.pdf
[11] https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-a-f/canada-nuclear-power#:~:text=Today%2C%20there%20are%2027%20Candu%20power%20reactors%20in%20seven%20countries
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2002/11/20/the_truth_about_tritium/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/13/uk_dumps_25_billion_into/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/18/nvidia_ai_smr_investment/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/09/microsoft_ai_fusion/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/08/nuclear_fusion_research_funding/
[17] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aKOiczSDfC_4SyVw9YS96gAAAEI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/22/china_tokamak_plasma_record_claim/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/12/modeling_fix_for_fusion_particle_escape/
[20] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/