The Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) is a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy program led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory with support from Argonne and Idaho National Laboratory. This program was started in 2019 with the objective to combine advanced manufacturing with materials and computational sciences. The intent is to enable new advanced nuclear energy system designs, develop a new approach and paradigm for accelerated component qualification, develop high performance materials tailored to specific applications and conditions, and to advance sensing for nuclear applications.

This highly cross-disciplinary program touches on several of Argonne’s strengths. Currently, Argonne is actively supporting the TCR program in the area of advanced reactor design, material development/testing/qualification, instrumentation and controls, and regulatory framework.