All other sodium reactors use oxide fuels, while PRISM uses a metal fuel, an alloy of zirconium, uranium, and plutonium, and the fuel rods sit in a bath of liquid
sodium at atmospheric pressure.
Unlike the current generation of light - water nuclear reactors, PRISM uses metallic fuel, such as an alloy of zirconium, uranium, and plutonium, and PRISM's fuel rods sit in a bath of a liquid metal —
sodium —
at atmospheric pressure, which ensures that the transfer of heat from the metal fuel to the liquid
sodium coolant is extremely efficient.