---
title: "Texas A&M in College Station Wins $5.4M Nuclear Fuel Grant"
url: https://www.herecollegestation.com/2026/10/31/texas-am-nuclear-waste-fuel-grant-college-station/
date: 2026-10-31T07:23:25-05:00
modified: 2026-10-31T07:23:25-05:00
author: "Clinton Shelton"
categories: ["Education"]
site: "HERE College Station"
attribution: "HERE College Station"
---

# Texas A&M in College Station Wins $5.4M Nuclear Fuel Grant

> COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M University researchers in College Station will get $5.4 million in federal Energy Department money to test whether spent nuclear fuel, long treated as a waste problem, can be turned back into reactor fuel. Deputy Energy Secretary James P. Danly came to campus Thursday to announce the award to the

*Source: [HERE College Station](https://www.herecollegestation.com/2026/10/31/texas-am-nuclear-waste-fuel-grant-college-station/) — October 31, 2026 by Clinton Shelton*

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M University researchers in College Station will get $5.4 million in federal Energy Department money to test whether spent nuclear fuel, long treated as a waste problem, can be turned back into reactor fuel.

Deputy Energy Secretary James P. Danly came to campus Thursday to announce the award to the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, known as TEES. He met with university leaders and spent the afternoon touring energy research facilities.

The money comes through ARPA-E, the agency’s arm for early-stage, high-risk energy ideas that are not yet ready for private investors. It is one piece of about $50 million in grants handed out nationwide the same day, and Texas A&M was the lone Texas university chosen.

Dr. Lin Shao, a professor of nuclear engineering, heads the work, which centers on a thorium molten salt reactor. Working with him are TEES researchers, scientists at Savannah River National Laboratory and the company Natura Resources.

Its two aims are to shrink the long-term burden of used fuel and its long-lived radioactive parts and to help build advanced reactors that can supply steady power. Danly said recycled fuel still holds 98% of its useful value and should be seen as an asset rather than a liability.

Dr. Robert H. Bishop, the engineering dean and TEES director, said the thorium-based approach takes a different path than other fuel recycling research. University President Dr. Susan Ballabina said the award shows the role universities play in energy work that benefits Texas and the nation.