Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB) said on 11 March that INB and nuclear utility Eletronuclear had signed a contract on 25 February for the supply of fuel elements for five recharges each at unit 1 of the Angra NPP (28th to 32nd) and at Angra 2 (19th to 23rd), making a total commitment for delivery of ten recharges. The previous nuclear fuel supply contract between INB and Eletronuclear was signed in 2011.
Angra 1 and 2, which are of different pressurised water reactor designs. Angra 1, based on Westinghouse technology, uses 121 4-metre-long fuel assemblies, each containing 235 rods rigidly positioned in a metal frame formed by 10 spacer grids, one protective grid, 20 guide tubes and one instrumentation tube; and two nozzles, one bottom and one top. Angra 2 uses Siemens technology and uses 193 5-metre-long fuel assemblies, each containing 236 rods rigidly positioned in a metal frame formed by 9 spacer grids, one protective grid, 20 guide tubes and two nozzles, one bottom and one top.
The new contract model was prepared after extensive negotiations between representatives of the two companies and met the necessary updates to the current legislation (Law 13,303/2016), the Companies' Bidding and Contracts Regulation, and the most current market and governance practices, INB said. At INB, a Working Group was created with representatives from different areas to study the necessary technical-commercial adjustments.
“Signing this contract was important to harmonise our needs with those of Eletronuclear. It was a win-win contract, in which we managed to adjust the supply conditions and agreed on the steps of the two companies”, explained João Carlos Tupinambá, INB's Strategic Planning and Marketing superintendent and coordinator of the Working Group. In addition to balancing prices and commercial conditions, as well as adjusting technical details, the new contract fits the needs of both companies.
The president of INB, Carlos Freire Moreira, highlighted the importance of this new agreement for the future of INB. “It is yet another milestone that demonstrates the competence of our technical staff. In addition, a very important result for the company. It is certainly one more step towards achieving our main strategic goal, which is financial self-sufficiency.”
INB will supply the fuel from its fuel fabrication plant at Resende. The plant, designed by Siemens, has a capacity of 120 tonnes a year of pellet production and 280 tonnes a year of fuel assembly production.
