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Natural Resources Canada - SAFE-T Project

The SAFE-T project is underway, exploring the long term storage of TRISO based fuels.


This NRCan-funded, multi-institutional research project advances critical knowledge of TRISO fuel behaviour under long-term repository disposal conditions.

An image of a TRISO fuel particle.


By Jackson Ainsworth & Neil Alexander

On March 5, 2025, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced that Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), as part of their Enabling Small Modular Reactors Program, would allocate 5 million dollars to the SAFE-T project. This multi-institutional project, involving Western University, Ontario Tech University, McMaster University, York University, and Canadian Nuclear Labs, is developing a simplified repository performance assessment model, to determine the suitability and management approach for the disposal of Tri-Structural ISOtropic (TRISO)-based used fuels in a deep geological repository. TRISO fuels are a key fuel technology underpinning many small modular reactor (SMR) designs, which are projected to form an important component of future national energy mixes. The project has advanced into applied research aimed at informing deep geological repository performance for TRISO fuels.


The project is currently underway, with exploratory research focused on TRISO surface interactions, material characterization, and irradiation behaviour to enable accurate modelling of TRISO behaviour under long-term storage conditions. This work is critical for any future planning concerning TRISO fuel disposal in a deep geological repository. By embedding safety and waste management considerations within fuel development, this project ensures that long-term handling of spent TRISO fuels is addressed from the outset rather than retroactively. The team is undertaking a critical assessment of TRISO fuel storage, including a comparative modelling analysis with Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) fuel, interactions with container materials, and groundwater behaviour. In doing so, the project bridges advanced fuel innovation with long-term waste stewardship, ensuring disposal considerations keep pace with reactor and fuel development.


Over the coming year, the SAFE-T project will focus on achieving its primary objective: the development of a TRISO-specific simplified repository performance assessment model. This model will support academics, industry, regulators, policymakers, and the general public by enabling proactive, evidence-based evaluation of TRISO fuel safety and waste management considerations. The SAFE-T project strengthens the evidentiary foundation required for informed decision-making on advanced nuclear fuels.