Fuel supply contracts signed for Swedish reactors

Swedish utility Vattenfall has signed contracts - the values of which have not been disclosed - for the supply of fuel assemblies for units at the Forsmark and Ringhals nuclear power plants. France's Framatome is to supply fuel for Forsmark 3 and Ringhals 3 and 4, while US-Spanish joint venture GNF Enusa will produce fuel for Forsmark 1 and 2.

Framatome is to supply fuel to Ringhals 3 and 4 (Image: Vattenfall)

Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) announced yesterday that GNF Enusa Nuclear Fuel SA (Genusa) - its joint venture with Spain's Enusa Industrias Avanzadas - had been selected by Vattenfall to supply fuel reloads for Forsmark. The contract runs from 2020 to 2023 and includes four reloads each for the Forsmark units 1 and 2 boiling water reactors (BWRs).

The fuel, utilising GNF-supplied components, will be fabricated by Enusa at its Juzbado nuclear fuel fabrication plant in Salamanca. The assemblies will incorporate the enhanced GNF2 spacer as well as the Defender PLUS debris filter, which GNF says "significantly improves the chances of stopping debris before it ever reaches the fuel assembly".

More than 2500 GE-designed fuel assemblies have been delivered to Vattenfall for use in its Swedish reactors since the first shipment in 1993.

GNF CEO Amir Vexler said, "We continue to enhance our fuel products to further improve reliability for customers and we are pleased that Vattenfall, one of Europe's leading energy companies, has selected GNF2 for these upcoming reloads."

Jose Luis Gonzalez, Enusa CEO and president, added: "It is pleasing that after more than 20 years of collaboration, Vattenfall continues to trust Genusa's supply of products and services. These contracts will strengthen our relationship with Vattenfall."

Framatome recently announced it had been awarded contracts by Vattenfall to supply ten reloads of fuel between 2021 and 2024 to Forsmark 3 and units 3 and 4 of the Ringhals plant. The contracts include additional options for two reloads for each reactor after 2024.

For the fuel reloads at Forsmark 3, Framatome will supply its Atrium 10 XM and Atrium 11 BWR designs. For the Ringhals units, it will supply its Gaia pressurised water reactor (PWR) fuel. Framatome said both assembly types "feature high economic performance, more safety margins, greater flexibility in operations with an established track record in various reactor designs".

The fuel assemblies will be manufactured at Framatome's facility in Lingen, Germany.

Lionel Gaiffe, senior executive vice president of Framatome's fuel business unit, said: "The new contracts strengthen our position in the Nordic market. Once again we proved our ability to provide competitive fuel for diverse reactor designs and to grant our customer greater flexibility regarding products and schedule at the same time."

Researched and writtenby World Nuclear News