The pilot operation of innovative nuclear fuel has begun at the first power unit of the Balakovo NPP. Rosatom engineers loaded 3 fuel assemblies of a new type into the reactor. Each cassette contains 312 rods, the shell of which is coated with chromium on top of the traditional zirconium alloy. 18 rods in each assembly operate on uranium-plutonium MOX fuel.
For the first time in history, such a solution has been implemented in a commercial high-power reactor. The project combines closed nuclear cycle technologies with the development of accident-tolerant fuel.
MOX technology uses recycled materials. Plutonium and depleted uranium are extracted from spent fuel, which are then used to manufacture fresh fuel elements. The chromium coating creates an additional barrier to the stability of the core in beyond-design-basis accidents.
Alexander Ugryumov, Senior Vice President of TVEL, explained that the strategic goal of the industry is to move to a two-component energy system. In such a system, fast and thermal reactors operate in a single closed cycle, where the waste from some installations becomes raw material for others. All current projects on fuel for VVER reactors are aimed precisely at implementing this model.
