A nuclear fuel for use in a fission based nuclear reactor comprising an actinide nitride, said actinide nitride comprising a naturally occurring actinide, or a synthetic element, the synthetic element having an atomic number greater than 92 or an atomic weight of 231 or greater, the actinide nitride selected from the group consisting of 233U, 234U, 235U, 236U, 238U, 232Th, 239Pu, 240Pu, 241Pu, 242Pu, 244Pu, 239Np, 239Am, 240Am, 241Am, 242Am, 243Am, 244Am, 245Am, 240Cm, 241Cm, 242Cm, 243Cm, 244Cm, 245Cm, 246Cm, 247Cm, 248Cm, 249Cm, 259Cm, 245Bk, 246Bk, 247Bk, 248Bk, 249Bk, 250Bk, 248Cf, 249Cf, 250Cf, 251Cf, 252Cf, 253Cf, 254Cf, 255Cf, 249Es, 250Es, 251Es, 252Es, 253Es, 254Es, 255Es, 251Fm, 252Fm, 253Fm, 254Fm, 255Fm, 256Fm, 257Fm, 255Md, 256Md, 257Md, 258Md, 259Md, 260Md, 253No, 254No, 255No, 256No, 257No, 258No and 259No, wherein the nuclear fuel optionally includes fission products selected from the group consisting of 97Tc, 98Tc and 99Tc, wherein nitrogen is enriched to at least 50% 15N, and wherein an atomic ratio of actinide nitride is between about 1:1 to 1:2.