| NEWS
Russia Final test-cycle of Remix fuel begins At unit 1 of Russia’s Balakov nuclear power plant, the third 18-month cycle of experimental industrial operation of fuel assemblies using Remix uranium-plutonium fuel is underway. Six TVS-2M fuel cassettes were first loaded into the core of the VVER-1000 at the end of 2021 in which all 312 fuel elements were composed of Remix fuel – a mixture of regenerated uranium and plutonium obtained from used nuclear fuel from VVER reactors, with the addition of enriched uranium. In future, Remix fuel is intended for use in
fast neutron reactors as well as classical light- water thermal reactors, Rosatom’s fuel company TVEL noted. This will expand the raw material base of nuclear energy by closing the nuclear fuel cycle, and will use irradiated fuel instead of storing it. The experimental use of the Remix fuel at the Balakov NPP is overseen by regulator Rostekhnadzor. The fuel cassettes will undergo the standard operating cycle for nuclear fuel at VVER-1000 reactors – three fuel campaigns of 18 months each. At the beginning of 2026, during scheduled maintenance outage, they will be transferred from the reactor core to the used fuel pool before being sent for post-reactor use studies.
“During the operation of the first two fuel
loads of TVS-2M Remix assemblies, there were no deviations from normal operation. The neutron-physical and resource characteristics did not exceed the reasonable limits of safe operation,” said Balakov NPP’s Deputy Chief Safety Engineer, Yuri Ryzhkov commenting on the experimental fuel. “After completion of the pilot industrial
operation programme and post-reactor research, Rosatom will have sufficient justification to offer a new product to the market in support of a closed fuel cycle. At the next stage, we plan the phased implementation of such fuel at one of the VVER high-power units,” said Alexander Ugryumov, Senior Vice President of Scientific & Technical Activities at TVEL.
Unlike uranium-plutonium fuel for fast
reactors – mixed dense nitride uranium- plutonium (SNUP) and mixed oxide (mox), Remix is characterised by a lower plutonium content (up to 5%). Its neutron spectrum is similar to standard enriched uranium fuel, so the behaviour of the fuel in the reactor core and the amount of plutonium generated are generally identical. Remix fuel can be used without changes in the design of the reactor and brings significant additional safety measures. Experimental production of uranium-
plutonium fuel assemblies for VVER-1000s began in 2021 at the Siberian Chemical Combine in Seversk, Tomsk Region in cooperation with the Mining & Chemical Combine in Zheleznogorsk Krasnoyarsk Territory, which manufactured the uranium-plutonium fuel pellets used.
United Kingdom BWRX-300 completes first GDA step GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy International’s proposals for its BWRX-300 nuclear reactor have progressed to the next step of the UK Generic Design Assessment (GDA), according to a statement from UK regulators. GE-Hitachi applied for a two-step GDA which it is expected to complete in December 2025. The Environment Agency, Office for Nuclear
Regulation (ONR) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said the focus of the regulators during Step 1, which started in January 2024, has been on ensuring the necessary arrangements, processes and submissions are in place to begin Step 2 of GDA. They added: “An agreed scope and schedule for the technical assessment of the GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 reactor design are in place. Based on the evidence provided, the regulators are satisfied that GE-Hitachi has demonstrated its readiness to proceed.” The GDA process enables regulators to begin
assessing the safety, security, safeguarding and environmental aspects of new nuclear power station designs at an early stage and to provide confidence that these new designs can be constructed, operated, and decommissioned. During Step 2, regulatory activity will
be targeted on assessing the fundamental adequacy of the BWRX-300 design for deployment. “This will consider the suitability of the methodologies, approaches, codes, standards and philosophies identified by GE-Hitachi in the generic safety, security, safeguards and environment cases for securing future regulatory permissions and permits.” Saffron Price-Finnerty, the Environment
Agency’s New Reactors Programme Manager, said the Agency was now ready to move from Step 1, Initiation, to Step 2, Fundamental Assessment. Rob Exley, ONR’s Head of Regulation for the GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 design, said Step 2 of the GDA “will mark the beginning of ONR’s technical assessment of the BWRX-300. GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy is receiving some funding for its own costs and those of the regulators for this GDA from the UK government’s Future Nuclear Enabling Fund programme. Separately, they have been selected by Great British Nuclear to advance to the next phase of the small modular reactor competition for the UK nuclear programme. If the BWRX-300 is proposed for construction
in England or Wales, then a further period of detailed design assessment would be needed before significant construction could commence and environmental permitting could be completed. This could be carried out on a generic basis with GE-Hitachi if it chooses to return to GDA to complete Step 3, or with a site- specific licensee or operator. GDA assessments are also ongoing for Rolls-
Royce SMR’s design and Holtec International’s SMR-300. In August, Westinghouse’s AP300 was accepted for a GDA review. Newcleo recently applied for approval for a GDA of its LFR-AS-200 small modular lead-cooled fast reactor.
round up
D&D
MORE THAN 700KG of explosives have been used in the first stage demolition of four concrete plinths that bore the weight of two turbo generator units weighing 605 tonnes each at the UK’s Sizewell A NPP. Sizewell A’s two 210 MWe Magnox gas-cooled reactors operated from 1966 until 2006. Defuelling began in 2009 and the fuel was placed in the site’s used fuel storage ponds before being packaged in transport containers for shipment to the Sellafield site in Cumbria for reprocessing.
CLEAN-UP THE US DEPARTMENT of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and its contractor United Cleanup Oak Ridge have finished fieldwork and begun monitoring groundwater elevations for a study at the Environmental Management Disposal Facility (EMDF) site. EMDF is a vital piece of infrastructure to provide the waste disposal capacity OREM needs to complete clean-up at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
ADVANCED REACTORS FRANCE-HEADQUARTERED NUCLEAR start-up newcleo has submitted an application to the UK Department of Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) for approval to enter the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for its LFR-AS-200 small modular lead-cooled fast reactor. In May 2021, the UK government opened the GDA process to advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs).
SMRs
US-BASED ENERGY Northwest has selected AtkinsRéalis Group as the Owner’s Engineer for its small modular reactor (SMR) project development in Washington state. In 2023, Energy Northwest said X-energy’s Xe-100 was its preferred SMR technology. The company recently announced an agreement with Amazon and X-energy to develop 4-12 SMRs.
TATA CHEMICALS SODA Ash Partners (TCSAP), a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals North America, has signed a letter of intent to explore development of up to eight microreactors in the Green River area of Sweetwater County in Wyoming. This follows a co-operation agreement signed in 2023 with BWXT Advanced Technologies to investigate the feasibility of using BWXT’s BANR microreactor development.
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