Under the guidance of the Nuclear Science Committee (NSC), the Working Party on Scientific Issues of Advanced Fuel Cycles (WPFC) studies advanced nuclear fuel cycles, including fuel cycle scenarios, innovative fuels and materials, separation chemistry, waste disposal and coolant technologies

Created in 2004, the WPFC was restructured in 2020 with a revised scope that puts additional emphasis on the back-end of nuclear fuel cycles and on advanced fuel cycles of innovative systems.

The WPFC's objective is to provide the member countries with up-to-date information, preserve knowledge on, and develop consensus in the following areas.

Fuel cycle scenarios

• Assessment of advanced fuel cycles scenarios, including resource utilisation, waste management and transition phases;
• Fuel cycle tools, databases, and evaluation of associated uncertainties.

Recycling and waste technologies

• Keep updated information, assess and preserve data on separation technologies, including advanced aqueous and pyrochemical processing issues for different fuel cycle scenarios;
• Improve waste management in advanced fuel cycles: reduce, recycle and reuse.

Innovative fuel elements

• Keep updated information and preserve data on fuel and fuel element (fuel and cladding) development for implementing in advanced systems and associated fuel cycles;
• Evaluate innovative fuels and fuel elements (fuel and cladding), including fabrication processes, characterisation, behaviour, property measurement, performance and qualification.

Reactor coolant and components technologies

• Keep updated information and preserve data on coolant technologies and interactions between the coolants and components/materials;
• Assess the environmental effects relevant for construction standards based on a fundamental understanding of materials behaviour;
• Answer key technical issues to address radiological impact, operation, handling, maintenance and inspection as relevant for licensing.

Advanced fuel cycles, partitioning and transmutation (P&T) and accelerator-driven systems

• Discuss and exchange on recent developments in the field of
  • advanced fuel cycles including P&T and Pu management;
  • accelerator and neutron source; subcritical system design and relationship to nuclear fuel cycles.

The WPFC also aims at:

• providing advice to the nuclear community on the developments needed to meet the requirements for qualification of fuel cycle technologies;
• preserving and evaluating data through collection and sharing experimental results;
• providing recommendations to the nuclear community and decision makers;
• disseminating information through the organisation of workshops and information exchange meetings;
• assessing and defining Technology Readiness Level (TRL) requirements and metrics.

The WPFC liaises closely with other NEA working groups, joint projects and task forces especially with the Committee for Technical and Economic Studies on Nuclear Energy Development and the Fuel Cycle (NDC), the Working Party on Nuclear Energy Economics (WPNE) and with the Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC) to ensure the respective programmes of work are complementary and to provide advice and support where required, undertaking jointly work where appropriate. Particularly close working relationships are maintained with the Working Party on Scientific Issues and Uncertainty Analysis of Reactor Systems (WPRS), the Working Party on Materials Science Issues in Nuclear Fuels and Structural Materials (WPFM), the  Generation IV International Forum (GIF), and the NSC Task Force on Demonstration of Fuel Cycle Closure including Partitioning and Transmutation (P&T) for Industrial Readiness by 2050 (TF-FCPT). The WPFC also works in co-operation with other international organisations (European Commission, International Atomic Energy Agency).