Westinghouse Electric Company received a $7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) on October 29 to continue developing its PowerBlock advanced nuclear fuel technology. The project, titled "Additively Manufactured Metallic Fuel," falls under the "High-Performance Optimized Regenerated Nuclear Isotopes for Gen IV Reactors" (HORNIG) program, according to information disclosed by the American Nuclear Society. The project will develop technology for manufacturing metallic nuclear fuel using the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process, in which a laser selectively melts metal powder to form components for use in new fuel fabrication. PowerBlock aims to improve on conventional nuclear fuel assembly designs, targeting a 24-month fuel cycle for reactors with thermal power exceeding 4,200 MW. Westinghouse said the technology will combine new fuel structure designs with advanced manufacturing methods to further enhance fuel performance and operational flexibility. The HORNIG program is set to launch in 2026 with total funding of up to $50 million; eight R&D projects were selected, focused on producing advanced reactor fuel from transuranic (TRU) elements recovered from spent nuclear fuel inventories and other strategic materials. The R&D scope covers fuel design, manufacturing, testing, modeling, and qualification. ARPA-E's stated program goals include establishing a domestic U.S. transuranic fuel supply chain and shortening the qualification and regulatory acceptance cycle for new fuels to under seven years. Westinghouse's project funding will be used to continue advancing PowerBlock technology development and to generate technical data for subsequent evaluation and deployment decisions. The current announcement did not disclose the specific material composition, cladding concept, test facilities, or expected completion timeline for the PowerBlock fuel, nor did it indicate whether the technology has entered reactor irradiation testing or commercial application.