The commercial market for dry spent fuel storage in the United States

US government policy is still no more certain than before, but it is clear that utilities must manage spent fuel at sites for at least the next 10-15 years---- and probably longer. But because of lapses in design and quality control in recent years, the NRC has become more involved with existing and new projects. This situation has prevented utilities from doing anything with their excess spent fuel for the past three years. Meanwhile, a large demand is building at ever more reactor sites. The pre-2010 dry storage equipment market is conservatively estimated at about 12.000 metric tonnes. Our studies indicate the following major market factors for the US: - There is a surge of commercial activity in the period 2000 to 2005; - The first two purchasing criteria amongst US utilities today are licensability and quality control; - Dual Purpose, canister based (MPC) systems are clearly preferred, but; - This type of system has not been licensed by the NRC, and The NRC's increased scrutiny of all systems and suppliers has created problems for utilities. - There are five potential market suppliers in two groups: Established suppliers: TN West and SNC. New entrants: Holtec, NAC, and Westinghouse. Because of the 'pent-up' demand, the major near-term market share should go to the first vendor who can obtain an NRC license for a dual-purpose, MPC based system. (author)