Accident tolerant fuels (ATF) are a set of new technologies that have the potential to enhance safety at U.S. nuclear power plants by offering better performance during normal operation, transient conditions, and accident scenarios.
On January 14, 2019, the President signed the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA). NEIMA, Section 107, "Commission Report On Accident Tolerant Fuel," which provides a definition of ATF as a new technology that:
(1) makes an existing commercial nuclear reactor more resistant to a nuclear incident (as defined in section 11 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014)); and
(2) lowers the cost of electricity over the licensed lifetime of an existing commercial nuclear reactor.