US Patent Issued to TERRAPOWER on Aug. 12 for "Fuel handling system, layout, and process for nuclear reactor" (Washington, North Carolina Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,387,856, issued on Aug. 12, was assigned to TERRAPOWER LLC (Bellevue, Wash.).

"Fuel handling system, layout, and process for nuclear reactor" was invented by Jesse R. Cheatham III (Seattle), David L. Major (Hampstead, N.C.), Samuel J. Miller (Kirkland, Wash.), Owen Dean Nelson (Richland, Wash.), Shirly I Rodriguez Rojas (Wilmington, N.C.) and John E. Truax (Bellevue, Wash.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A method of handling spent nuclear fuel assemblies immerses the spent nuclear fuel assemblies in water in a relatively short time period when compared to traditional methods. A spent nuclear fuel assembly is removed from a nuclear reactor...