Oxide and Nitride TRU Fuels: Lessons Drawn from the CONFIRM and FUTURE Projects of the 5th European Framework Program

The FUTURE and CONFIRM projects of the 5th European Framework Program address the issues of the design and fabrication of oxide and nitride fuels, respectively, for the transmutation in an accelerator-driven system (ADS). They started in December 2001 and September 2000, respectively. Advantages and drawbacks of transuranic oxides and nitrides in terms of performance and fabricability have been analyzed. Recommendations on the fuel design will be given and used for the next step of the 6th European Framework Program related to the design and the feasibility assessment of an industrial ADS prototype dedicated to transmutation.