Impact of uranium enrichment process on economic performance of microreactor using HALEU

Abstract

Micro-reactors have recently attracted attention as a new energy source to replace existing large-scale power plants with high safety and miniaturized facilities. High energy efficiency of micro-reactors requires the use of high-purity low-enriched uranium (HALEU) with a concentration of 5 to 20%, which affects the economic feasibility of the reactor. In this thesis, the economic impact of uranium enrichment process on microreactors using HALEU is studied, and this study confirmed that the optimization of uranium enrichment process using meta-heuristic techniques can reduce levelized cost of electricity.