Russia’s Rosatom launches MOX fuel production for fast reactors

Rosatom, Russia’s state-run nuclear corporation, launched Tuesday the industrial production of MOX fuel (mixed-oxide fuel) for fast reactors at the Mining and Chemical Combine (MCC, part of the “Rosatom” network).

From his part, Rosatom CEO Sergei Kirienko stated during the launch ceremony that Russian has moved ahead of the United States in the MOX-fuel production technology: “I met with the US Minister of Energy who admitted that they’d had to put on hold their MOX fuel plant project. They’d started it five years before we did and have been working on it for nearly 8 years, spending $ 7.7 billion in the process,” Kirienko said.

The construction of the plant in the US is still not over, Kirienko noted. “They told us they’d suspended construction,”- said Kirienko. He added that “if you calculate the amount that we have spent on this over the last 2.5 years, it works up to only nine billion rubles, which is roughly equivalent to $ 240 million.”

Earlier in August, the Mining and Chemical Combine (MCC) at Zheleznogorsk produced the first fuel assembly (FA) with uranium pellets of MOX fuel.

The production of MOX fuel for fast reactors is designated within the framework of the Federal Program “New-generation nuclear power technologies”.  The production schedule for the BN-800 fast reactor needs is currently in the planning stages. It has been reported that the minimum controlled output power (ISU) has been reached at the BN-800 and work is underway to increase capacity in accordance with the regulations.

The Mining and Chemical Combine, established in June 1993, is the leading Russian company providing the full technology complex for spent nuclear (SNF) fuel disposal. The main services provided by MCC include SNF transfer and storage, MOX fuel plant construction, and the construction of a research and exhibition centre for SNF reprocessing.