Westinghouse Electric Company has received approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for an increase in the burn-up limit for the Westinghouse Encore fuel designs.
US pressurised water reactors currently operate on 18-month fuel cycles, and the new higher burn-up fuel will enable reductions in feed batch size, thereby improving fuel cycle economics. This is the first-time nuclear fuel batch reloads in the US will be able to exceed a burn-up limit of 62 GWd/MTU, paving the way for a future extension to benefit utilities to operate economically on 24-month fuel cycles.
The incremental burn-up approval represents a key milestone for the Encore Accident Tolerant Fuel Programme, which began in 2012 funded by the Department of Energy (DOE). It aims at increasing performance and safety of nuclear reactors in support of US energy security and climate goals.
“We are very pleased to receive approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for incremental burn-up in our nuclear fuel,” said Tarik Choho, Westinghouse President of Nuclear Fuel. “This milestone marks the start of production of nuclear fuel with increased capacity for pressurised water reactors, vastly improving fuel costs for US utility customers.”
Westinghouse offers a diversified portfolio of nuclear fuel for a range of reactor types with manufacturing facilities in the US, the UK and Sweden. The company is creating a centre of excellence for low enriched uranium plus (LEU+) fuel manufacturing in South Carolina.
