ROSATOM’s plant launches new manufacturing site for CFR-600 (China) fuel fabrication

Moscow, March 4 - Neftegaz.RU. Elemash Machine-building plant (an enterprise of ROSATOM’s TVEL) has launched a production site for fuel fabrication for the CFR-600 reactor, China’s flagship project in the field of fast neutron reactors.

The enterprise has modernized the whole shop-floor for fast reactors, which involved development and installation of unique equipment.
The 《dummy》fuel bundles for CFR-600 are already manufactured for testing.

The new production site was established for fulfillment of the contract between TVEL and the Chinese CNLY (a subsidiary of CNNC Corporation) for supply of uranium fuel for the CFR-600 reactor, including start-up loading, as well as refueling for the 1^st 7 years of the power unit operation.
The start of the CFR-600 fuel supplies to China is scheduled for 2023.

Natalia Nikipelova, President of TVEL, stated:

• Russian nuclear industry has a unique 40 years long experience in fast reactors operation and production of fuel for such installations;
• The Fuel Division of ROSATOM fully accomplishes its obligations within the Russian-Chinese cooperation in development of fast reactor technologies;
• These are unique projects when foreign design fuel is produced in Russia;
• Since 2010, the 1^st Chinese fast breeder reactor CEFR has been operating on fuel manufactured at Elemash plant, and to provide the supply of the CFR-600 fuel, a team of the Elemash and TVEL specialists has successfully completed a complex high-tech project to modernize the fabrication facility.

The new equipment will be also used to produce fuel for both Chinese CFR-600 and CEFR fast reactors, as well as for the Russian BN-600 reactor of the Beloyarsk NPP.
In the near future, production of the standard BN-600 will start on the new shop-floor.