The SPARE project is an international initiative to secure selected Halden Reactor Project (HRP) samples from becoming waste after the Halden reactor shut down in 2018.

Together with the global nuclear community the SPARE sample inventory is agreed and transported to Studsvik for future research on nuclear safety programs to be developed. Two transports, from Halden and Kjeller respectively, are included in the scope with up to a total of about 10 kg fuel samples to be saved for continued experiments. With Studsvik’s vast capabilities for advanced fuel testing and possibility to further ship samples to other international hot cell laboratories, the SPARE project opens up for new opportunities for fuel and cladding data from the HRP samples. 

One initiative already started is the HALTED-project aiming to verify the Halden in-pile measurements of pellet thermal properties. Several fuel performance codes use the thermal properties data generated in Halden and the proposed HALTED project – aims to validate these measurements with out-of-pile measurements, hence decreasing their uncertainty and improving the reliability of the codes which rely on them.

Interested to join or to learn more about the SPARE project – contact us today!