Findings will play key role in guiding economic evaluations
Nuclear fuel technology company Lightbridge Corporation is to collaborate with Romania’s Institute for Nuclear Research (Institutul de Cercetari Nucleare Pitesti) on an engineering study to assess the suitability of its fuel for use in Candu pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs).
Virginia, US-based Lightbridge said the assessment will cover areas including mechanical design, neutronics analysis, and thermal and thermal-hydraulic evaluations.
The findings will play a key role in guiding economic evaluations and helping with potential regulatory licensing issues, it added.
The company said its proprietary Lightbridge Fuel technology – which features metallic fuel rods with a helical multi-lobe design – can significantly improve reactor safety, economics, and proliferation resistance for existing light water reactors and PHWRs. It is also developing Lightbridge Fuel for small modular reactors.
Candu (Canada Deuterium Uranium) PHWR reactor technology was developed in Canada. It uses heavy water, or deuterium oxide, for moderator and coolant, and natural uranium for fuel.
According to the Candu Owners Group, 32 of the world’s nuclear power reactors are of Candu type. Lightbridge said Candu is the standard for Canadian nuclear power and is also used in Argentina, China, India, Pakistan, Romania, and South Korea.
Cernavoda, Romania’s only commercial nuclear power station, has two Candu 6, 650 MW PHWRs. Unit 1 began commercial operation in 1996 and Unit 2 in 2007.
