A scenario analysis of once-through thorium fuel cycles with pressure tube HWRs in Canada

The deployment of the medium-burnup SEU + Th in Canada reduced resource consumption by 23% relative to the low burnup NU fuel. The medium-burnup fuel required 3% to 60% fewer Deep Geological Repository (DGR) Used Fuel Containers (UFCs) relative to the low burnup fuel, depending on the decay time (10-70 years) of the Used Nuclear Fuel (UNF). Extending the decay duration of UNF decreases its decay power per unit mass, and hence the required number of DGR UFCs per mass of UNF, at the expense of requiring more above-ground dry storage capacity.