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The 200 tU Ulba-TVS plant began operations in November 2021 after receiving certification from Framatome. The plant also received recognition as a certified nuclear fuel supplier from end user CGNPC-URC.and delivered its first batch of fresh fuel to CGNPC-URC in December 2022 followed by a second in May 2023. The company has a guaranteed sales market for 20 years going forward. The joint venture, Ulba-TVS, was set up
in 2015 by UMZ and CGNPC-URC. In 2016, construction of a nuclear fuel fabrication plant began as a joint project involving Kazatomprom, CGN and France’s Areva (now Framatome).
Japan Kyoto-Karlsruhe cooperate on fusion Kyoto Fusioneering (KF) and Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have signed a Cooperation Agreement to advance research and development for fusion power plant technologies. The initial focus will be on fuel cycle technology, specifically tritium handling, aiming to rapidly advance essential fusion plant engineering technologies. Going forward, the partnership “aims to extend into high-priority and challenging domains crucial for the societal implementation of fusion energy across various fusion fields”. Satoshi Konishi, KF Co-founder, CEO &
Chief Fusioneer said: “Achieving socially implementable fusion energy requires collaboration transcending government, private industry, and academia.” Dr Klaus Hesch, Head of the KIT Fusion
Programme said KF “is an ideal private fusion company to partner with because of its expertise in plant engineering and its accelerated timeline for deployment of commercial fusion plant technology”. KIT is a global leader in fusion research,
boasting extensive expertise across many fusion technology fields, including neutron-resistant materials, liquid metals for heat transfer, tritium breeding blankets, fusion fuel cycle and tritium handling. KIT, the Research University in the Helmholtz Association, is one of Germany’s universities of excellence.
United States DOE presses ahead with HALEU The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for uranium enrichment services to help establish a reliable domestic supply of fuels using high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). Currently, HALEU is not available in quantity from embryonic US-based suppliers, and boosting domestic supply is seen as vital for the development and deployment of advanced reactors in the US. According to DOE, more than 40 tonnes of
HALEU could be needed by 2030, with additional amounts required each year, to deploy a new fleet of advanced reactors. HALEU will also allow developers to optimise their systems for longer life cores, increased efficiencies and better fuel utilisation. The 2020 Energy Act authorises DOE to establish and carry out a programme to support the availability of HALEU for civilian domestic research, development, demonstration, and commercial use. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 provided $700m to the HALEU availability programme. In total, the IRA will provide up to $500m
for HALEU enrichment contracts selected through this RFP and a previous one, released in November, for services to deconvert the enriched uranium into metal, oxide, and other forms to be used as fuel for advanced reactors. DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy plans to award one or more contracts to produce HALEU from domestic uranium enrichment capabilities. Under the HALEU enrichment contracts, which have a maximum duration of 10 years, the government assures each contractor a minimum order value of $2m, to be fulfilled over the term of the contract.
DOE is supporting several activities to
expand the HALEU supply chain for advanced commercial reactors, including recycling used fuel from government-owned research reactors. In November, DOE reached a key milestone under its HALEU Demonstration project when Centrus Energy Corp produced first 20 kg of HALEU, providing a first of its kind production in the United States in more than 70 years. ■
round up
RADWASTE THE CANADIAN NUCLEAR Safety Commission has amended the nuclear research and test establishment operating licence held by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories for Chalk River Laboratories (CRL). The 169-page amendment authorises the construction of a near surface disposal facility (NSDF) on the CRL site, in Deep River, Ontario.
SPAIN’S COUNCIL OF Ministers has approved the seventh General Plan for Radioactive Waste proposed by the Ministry for Ecological Transition & Demographic Challenge, which sets the roadmap for treatment of wastes from NPPs. This plan, approval of which was delayed for some years, is essential to support Spain’s nuclear phase out plans.
D&D ITALY’S SOCIETA GESTIONE Impianti Nucleari SpA (Sogin) has begun dismantling the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) of the boiling water reactor, at the Garigliano NPP (municipality of Sessa Aurunca, Caserta). The upper part, or head, of the RPV has been opened and Sogin together with subsidiary Nucleco has begun the complex dismantling activity.
ADVANCED REACTORS CHINA’S FDS CONSORTIUM is currently working on projects to develop a family of reactors that use heavy metal as a coolant, Dr Liu Chao of the International Academy of Neutron Sciences in Chongqing a conference at Russia’s NA Dollezhal Scientific Research & Design Institute of Power Engineering. Dr Liu explained that neutron sources are an important experimental platform for the R&D of advanced nuclear energy and nuclear technology applications.
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