US lab activates automated rig to strip and chop reactor fuel rods

Engineers at Idaho National Laboratory have brought online a custom automated dismantling rig that peels metal cladding off radioactive fuel rods. Nicknamed the "nuclear-grade banana peeler," the mobile system prepares spent Magnox fuel for scientific study at the Moran Nuclear Fuels Test Facility.

• The rig crimps, peels and chops fuel rods using specialized electric tooling
• The project took 20 months; first live crimping test passed on May 5
• A complete fuel-chopping run was completed on June 2
• Funded by NNSA's Athena Initiative, launched in 2022