European Consortium Approves Conceptual Design For VVER Fuel

1 Jun (NucNet): Westinghouse Electric Company and its eight European consortium partners have approved the conceptual design for VVER-440 fuel that will be used in Russian reactors operating in EU member states. The design is based on a previous Westinghouse fuel product that was delivered to the Loviisa nuclear power station in Finland from 2001-2007, Westinghouse said on 30 May 2017. Westinghouse said the ‘Essanuf’ (European Supply of Safe Nuclear Fuel) project aims to strengthen Europe’s energy security by providing fuel for Russian-designed VVER-440 reactors operating in Europe. According to Westinghouse, five EU member states (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia) are operating a total of 18 VVER units, which are 100% dependent on supply from Russian fuel manufacturers. These reactors provide up to 52% of the electricity supply in the member states concerned. Westinghouse has been leading the Essanuf project since September 2015. In the spring of 2015 the project was awarded funding of €2m ($2.2m) from the European Atomic Energy Community, or Euratom. Westinghouse said each partner brings expertise in their chosen fields. The consortium partners are: Vuje (Slovakia); ÚJV Řež (Czech Republic); Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT, Finland); National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL, UK); NucleoCon (Slovakia); National Science Centre Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology (Ukraine); Institute for Transuranium Elements of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC-ITU); and Enusa Industrias Avanzadas (Enusa, Spain).