There has been some interest in the concept of a traveling wave reactor, a new type of breeder reactor that uses the fuel it breeds.

TerraPower is investigating a class of nuclear fast reactors called the traveling wave reactor (TWR).

The traveling wave reactor proposed in a patent by Intellectual Ventures is a fast breeder reactor designed to not need fuel reprocessing during the decades-long lifetime of the reactor.

Traveling wave reactor, a pure fission reactor with a moving reaction zone, which is also capable of consuming wastes from LWRs and using depleted Uranium as a fuel.

A proposed type of nuclear reactor called a traveling wave reactor is claimed, if it were to be built, to be able to be fueled by nuclear waste, and to be able to operate for 200 years without needing any refueling.