High market potential in Russian nuclear fuel for PWR reactors

19.12.2016

TVEL Fuel Company (part of the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom) and Vattenfall Nuclear Fuel Company (Sweden) have signed a contract on delivering nuclear fuel of the TVS-K variety to the Ringhals nuclear power plant (part of Vattenfall Group, Sweden). The contract provides for delivering commercial reloads of nuclear fuel assemblies starting 2021. The contract’s implementation will diversify nuclear fuel deliveries for Vattenfall Company. The new fuel will also allow the nuclear power plant operating company to improve the economic performance of its nuclear power plants.

Russian specialists have been working on nuclear fuel for PWR reactors for more than a decade already, said Leonid Gusev, an expert of the analysis center of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations under the aegis of the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Rosatom practices a no-nonsense approach to the matter. Cutting-edge achievements in nuclear fuel manufacturing have been used to create TVS-K fuel. Technical parameters of the resulting product met the due attention of the market. The Russian product is fully compliant with economic and operational requirements of PWR reactor fuel.

The inclusion of the Russian company in the list of the Swedish nuclear power plant’s fuel suppliers indicates that Russian technologies are on par with foreign ones. The inclusion represents an adequate appreciation of the capabilities of the Russian nuclear industry.

The potential of the Russian fuel TVS-K on the PWR reactor fuel market is very high. It is confirmed by the signing of the agreement between TVEL company and the U.S. company GNF-A in May 2016. In line with the agreement Russian fuel will be sold in the USA. Apart from that, the first contract on the experimental and industrial use of TVS-K fuel in the USA was signed with the company in charge of operating American nuclear power plants in summer 2016. Rosatom can also find sales opportunities in Europe where there are about 70 PWR reactors.

The expert said he was glad that Rosatom makes a tangible contribution to the development of high-tech export and that the company is competitive in comparison with the world’s leading players in terms of prices and product quality.

Tags: cooperation , nuclear power industry , nuclear technologies

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