Rosatom to make remix fuel for VVER-1000 reactors

• 3 years ago (2020-08-27)
• David Flin

Europe 1061 Nuclear 640

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Rosatom has said that it will make remix (regenerated mixture) uranium-plutonium fuel for VVER-1000 reactors. According to Rosatom, the remix fuel will be made at the Siberian Chemical Combine (SCC), part of the TVEL Fuel Company.

Rosatom will modernise the SCC factory, resulting in a new production line to assemble VVER-1000 fuel rods and fuel bundles for the TVS-2M model. The uranium-plutonium fuel pellet project is scheduled for completion in 2023.

The remix fuel matrix is made from a mixture of reprocessed uranium and plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel, with the addition of small amounts of enriched uranium. Rosatom said the remix fuel has a low plutonium content of up to 1.5 per cent. As a result, remix fuel assemblies behave in the reactor core in a very similar way to standard fuel assemblies. Rosatom said that this means remix fuel can be used without any changes in reactor design or additional safety measures.

Three TVS-2M fuel assemblies, each containing six experimental remix fuel rods, among 312 rods in one bundle, have been undergoing pilot operation at unit 3 of the Balakovo nuclear power plant in Russia since 2016. The third 18-month cycle started in 2020. According to Rosatom, the fuel bundles with the experimental remix fuel rods have successfully completed the first two cycles.

Rosatom said: “The next step should be loading of full remix fuel assemblies in a reactor. It is planned to launch fabrication of such fuel at the SCC.”