From Atomic Waste to Asset: The Tech Aiming to Make Nuclear Renewable

JANESVILLE, WI – August 18, 2026 – For decades, the question of what to do with spent nuclear fuel has been the Achilles' heel of an otherwise carbon-free energy source. Across the United States, some 94,000 metric tons of this material sit in secure storage, a legacy of power generation that poses a multi-millennial management challenge. But what if we've been asking the wrong question? Instead of 'how do we store it,' what if we asked, 'how do we use it?'

That question is at the heart of a new collaboration announced today between SHINE Technologies, a Wisconsin-based fusion energy company, the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, and Case Western Reserve University. The partnership aims to commercialize a process that could fundamentally reframe our concept of nuclear waste. By leveraging advanced separation technology, they intend to prove that spent fuel isn't waste at all, but a vast, untapped resource holding roughly 90% of its original energy potential.

The Science of Separation

The core of the initiative is a technology developed at Argonne called PaCERS, or Packed Centrifugal Equipment for Radiochemical Separation. It represents a significant leap beyond traditional reprocessing methods, which have often been criticized as too costly and complex for widespread adoption in the U.S.

PaCERS devices are centrifugal contactors that spin mixtures at high speeds, using immense force to separate chemical elements far more efficiently than gravity alone. The result is a high-throughput system that uses fewer solvents and generates less secondary waste, tackling the key economic and environmental hurdles of recycling nuclear fuel. It’s a sophisticated sorting machine for the atomic level.

Through the collaboration, which is backed by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), SHINE will apply PaCERS to its own recycling process, dubbed REDUCE (Recover Elements – Destroy Undesirables – Create Energy). The first step is to extract a portfolio of high-value materials. This includes isotopes like strontium-90, used in industrial gauges and thermoelectric generators, and americium-241, critical for smoke detectors and future space power systems. It also includes recovering uranium and plutonium to fabricate new fuel.

This isn't just a theoretical exercise for SHINE. The company already has deep expertise in separating radioactive materials to produce medical isotopes that diagnose heart disease and treat cancer. "Spent nuclear fuel is a tremendous resource, having many valuable materials that can be recovered instead of stored or even worse, disposed of," said Ross Radel, CTO of SHINE. "We already separate radioactive materials to produce medical isotopes today, and we're applying that same expertise to help push PaCERS toward practical use."

A Shifting Policy Landscape

This technological push is happening at a uniquely opportune moment. The United States has historically been hesitant to embrace nuclear fuel recycling, or reprocessing. A 1970s-era moratorium, driven by concerns over nuclear proliferation, effectively halted the development of a domestic commercial reprocessing industry, setting the nation on a path of permanent disposal.

But the policy landscape is thawing. Faced with the twin pressures of decarbonization goals and a growing stockpile of spent fuel, the federal government is re-evaluating its stance. The ADVANCE Act of 2024 has signaled new support for next-generation nuclear technologies, and just this past June, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) proposed a new rule to streamline the licensing pathway for reprocessing facilities—a direct reversal of its 2021 decision to discontinue such rulemaking due to a perceived lack of industry interest.

Of course, the old proliferation concerns haven't vanished. The separation of plutonium, a key component of nuclear weapons, requires stringent oversight. SHINE and its partners are addressing this head-on by integrating modern material control and accountability into their process from the ground up. The goal is a "proliferation-resistant" system, a principle known as "safeguards by design," which makes the diversion of sensitive materials far more difficult than in older reprocessing schemes.

The Business of a Renewable Nuclear Future

While the environmental and energy security implications are profound, the project’s success ultimately hinges on economic viability. Here, SHINE’s unique business model provides a compelling blueprint. The company is built on a phased strategy, using revenue from near-term applications of fusion technology to fund its more ambitious, long-term goals.

It currently generates revenue from services like neutron-based testing for the defense and aerospace industries. It is also nearing completion of what will be the world's largest facility for producing medical isotopes. Each commercial success funds the next step on its four-phase roadmap. Nuclear fuel recycling is phase three.

By creating multiple value streams—recovering valuable isotopes for medicine and industry, fabricating new fuel, and drastically reducing the long-term liability of waste storage—the REDUCE process aims to build a powerful business case. It transforms the cost of indefinite waste management into an asset that generates revenue. This vertical integration, from isotope production to fuel recycling, is what SHINE believes will make nuclear energy "effectively renewable."

A Bridge to Fusion

For SHINE, recycling spent fuel is a critical step, but it is not the final destination. The company's ultimate objective is phase four: putting clean, commercial fusion energy on the grid. The work on recycling is a direct bridge to that future.

The most stubborn elements left after reprocessing are long-lived radioactive isotopes known as minor actinides. SHINE is already working on a separate DOE-funded project to validate how fusion-generated neutrons can be used to transmute these elements. This process would change their atomic structure, transforming them into shorter-lived or stable isotopes and reducing their required isolation period from millennia to mere decades.

This synergy—using fusion-related technology to solve fission's biggest problem—is the core of SHINE's vision. The collaboration with Argonne and Case Western Reserve University is more than just a research project; it is a foundational piece of an integrated system designed to close the nuclear fuel cycle, create economic value from a perceived liability, and pave the way for an even cleaner energy future.