Clean Core Thorium Energy and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories have signed a landmark 2026 agreement to manufacture ANEEL fuel bundles, a move that could fast-track India’s transition to thorium-based nuclear energy using existing PHWR infrastructure. (File image)
Chicago-based nuclear fuel company Clean Core Thorium Energy (CCTE) and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) have announced an agreement to manufacture demonstration irradiation bundles of ANEEL advanced nuclear fuel. Clean Core’s patented new fuel ANEEL, or Advanced Nuclear Energy for Enriched Life, is a thorium-based fuel that blends thorium with a more concentrated type of uranium—HALEU—for pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs). The announcement could be significant for India, given the partnership for ANEEL fuel between state-owned NTPC and CCTE.
Demonstration irradiation (DI) bundles are prototypic ANEEL fuel bundles matching actual reactor fuel bundles designed for interface and irradiation testing. Manufactured by CNL at the Chalk River Laboratories in Canada, these bundles will enable Clean Core to conduct demonstration irradiation which will provide practical, in-reactor data for to support future qualification and potential deployment of ANEEL fuel in CANDU reactors—Canadian-developed PHWRs—and other PHWRs. CNL will lead the development, qualification and manufacturing of the fuel under Canadian Standard Association requirements for manufacturing nuclear fuel.
In December 2024, state-owned NTPC and CCTE had announced a strategic partnership to explore the development and deployment of ANEEL for existing nuclear stations in India, subject to regulatory clearances. “The expected benefits of ANEEL fuel include the utilization of thorium as a fuel in existing PHWR reactors, significant reductions in nuclear waste, enhancing India’s energy security using domestically available thorium, and improved safety and proliferation resistance. Additionally, ANEEL fuel offers cost savings by delivering greater energy output within existing safety margins and lowering the operating costs of current reactors,” NTPC had said in December 2024.
Apart from exploring development and deployment of ANEEL fuel in India, NTPC and CCTE intend to collaborate for exploring the possible indigenization of its manufacturing with local supply chain development, establishing supply chain for HALEU (High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium), and supply of Uranium to India with sovereign guarantee. Clean Core, whose founder and CEO Mehul Shah is of Indian origin, is only the second American company to have secured an export license from the US Department of Energy (DAE) to sell nuclear technology to India in nearly two decades.
On the agreement with CNL, Clean Core said the pact follows successful completion of a collaborative Canadian Nuclear Research Initiative project which provided model verification and validation of the computer codes and analysis methods used in the design and safety analysis of ANEEL fuel.
The initiative is a core component of Clean Core’s broader ANEEL fuel development programme, which includes model validation, irradiation testing and regulatory progress.
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