Russian nuclear fuel company TVEL (part of state nuclear corporation Rosatom) plans to transfer Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant to new TVS-2M fuel in 2020.
TVEL signed an agreement to this effect with the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) and the Iranian Atomic Energy Production and Development Company (NPPD). Under the contract, fuel assemblies of the UTVS design will be replaced with TVS-2M fuel cartridges for the VVER-1000 reactor. Russian specialists will perform all the necessary calculations and justifications for licensing of the nuclear fuel by the Iranian regulator.
The second generation TVS-2M cassettes differ in their higher uranium capacity and the depth of burnout of the uranium pellets, as well as the rigidity of the fuel assembly design. The new fuel will optimise both the technical and economic parameters of plant operation and will reduce the amount of used nuclear fuel produced. “Fuel replacement has already been carried out at all reference power units in Russia, and we will continue this work together with our foreign customers, "said Alexander Ugryumov, vice president for scientific and technical activities at TVEL.
TVEL is the sole supplier of nuclear fuel to Russian reactors and also supplies 75 reactors in 14 countries, research reactors in eight countries, as well as transport reactors of the Russian nuclear fleet. TVEL said one in every six power reactors in the world runs on its fuel. Iran’s Bushehr 1 came online in 2011. Its 1000MWe reactor unit produces about 5.9GWh of electricity a year. Iran is now building a two-unit nuclear plant, Bushehr II, with Russian assistance, which is designed to add 1.8GWe of additional nuclear capacity when completed in about 2026.
Photo: TVS-2M
