SHINE to Support Argonne National Lab and Case Western Reserve University on High-Throughput Separation Technology to Advance Nuclear Fuel Recycling

JANESVILLE, Wis., Aug. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- SHINE, a fusion energy company with a platform serving the nuclear fuel recycling market, is collaborating with the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and Case Western Reserve University to apply chemical separation technology for the nuclear fuel recycling process SHINE is developing. The collaboration is being conducted through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) CURIE Program, with additional funding, led by Case Western Reserve University, in which SHINE is participating as a subcontractor.

Though frequently dubbed nuclear "waste," spent nuclear fuel retains some 90% of its energy potential, and its valuable byproducts have a variety of other uses as well. In recent years, federal initiatives and private investment have renewed interest in recycling spent nuclear fuel. To that end, Argonne is developing new chemical processing equipment known as Packed Centrifugal Equipment for Radiochemical Separation, or PaCERS, that spins fast enough to generate centrifugal forces beyond ordinary gravity to increase the efficiency of chemical separations. It's a high-throughput, lower-solvent approach to chemical separation that makes multiple stages of nuclear fuel recycling more economical.

Through this collaboration, SHINE is working with Argonne and CWRU to apply the PaCERS technology to multiple separation processes, like those that separate the strontium-90 and americium-241 radioisotopes for use in medicine, manufacturing and advanced power systems. PaCERS technology will also be incorporated into the process for recovering minor actinides, long-lived radioactive material left over after other elements have been extracted.

"Spent nuclear fuel is a tremendous resource, having many valuable materials that can be recovered instead of stored or even worse, disposed of. We already separate radioactive materials to produce medical isotopes today, and we're applying that same expertise to help push PaCERS toward practical use," said Ross Radel, CTO of SHINE. "It's another piece of the work we're doing to make nuclear energy effectively renewable."

The transmutation of long-lived radioactive waste into a form that reduces its required isolation period from millennia to decades is part of SHINE's longer-term plan for nuclear waste mitigation. SHINE is currently validating how fusion-generated neutrons can transmute these long-lasting isotopes through another grant with DOE.

Along with this collaboration involving Argonne and Case Western Reserve University, SHINE today announced participation on another project designed to pave the way for practical nuclear fuel recycling that turns "waste" into an energy resource. The project focuses on modernizing nuclear material control and accountability.

These technologies support the cost competitiveness SHINE is seeking in its Recover Elements – Destroy Undesirables – Create Energy nuclear fuel recycling process, called REDUCE for short. Together, they advance SHINE's work toward the first commercial application of advanced recycling technologies that aim to enable the efficient, proliferation-resistant extraction of uranium, plutonium and other high-value materials from spent nuclear fuel.

About Argonne

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology by conducting leading-edge basic and applied research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

About Case Western Reserve University

As one of the fastest-growing research universities in the United States, Case Western Reserve University is a force in career-defining education and life-changing research. Across our campus, more than 12,000 students from around the world converge to seek knowledge, find solutions and accelerate their impact. They learn from and collaborate with faculty members renowned for expertise in medicine, engineering, science, law, management, dental medicine, nursing, social work and the arts. And with our location in Cleveland—a hub of cultural, business and healthcare activity—our students gain unparalleled access to academic, research, clinical and entrepreneurial opportunities that prepare them to join our network of more than 125,000 alumni worldwide. Visit case.edu to see why Case Western Reserve University is built for those driven to be a force in the world.

About SHINE

SHINE is a fusion energy company headquartered in Janesville, Wisconsin. We are leading the transition to the fusion economy through a vertically-integrated platform that supplies critical products to global markets, each one funding the next.

Today, we supply defense and research customers with neutron-based testing. Our medical radioisotopes diagnose heart disease and treat cancer, and the world's largest commercial-scale medical isotope facility is now under construction. We are developing the technology to recycle used nuclear fuel, targeting a commercial pilot to draw down the 94,000 metric tons that have accumulated in the United States. Our long-term purpose is to put fusion energy on the grid. Learn more at www.shinefusion.com.

SOURCE SHINE Technologies, LLC