In the next two years Ukraine will create a reserve of fuel for its nuclear power plants, which is supposed to provide one year worth of fuel. A reserve of this kind is sometimes seen as one of the ways to ensure uninterrupted supply of fuel for nuclear reactors. Currently, the fuel to Ukraine is supplied by Russia, who recently raised the price of fresh fuel by about 20%. The long-term contract with the TVEL corporation is set to expire in 2010.
January 2008 Archives
Platts Nuclear reports that Russia and the United States will sign an amendment to the 1992 agreement that regulates export of Russian enriched uranium to the United States later this week:
The amendment [...] would, among other things, set new limits on how much low-enriched uranium Russia can export to the US from 2011 to 2020, the year the suspension agreement would end. It also would allow Russia to sell without limits low-enriched uranium for initial cores to US utilities building new reactors.
Update: WNN published a briefing on the issue.
On January 28, 2008 Russia delivered the final shipment of fuel to Iran. The shipments began on December 16, 2007.
The entire shipment consisted of 180 fuel assemblies (163 main and 17 reserve), which contain uranium with enrichment from 1.6% to 3.62%. 163 fuel assemblies correspond to one reactor core. It was reported earlier that each assembly includes 312 fuel elements.
The fuel was produced at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant. It was ready for shipment as early as April 2005, but the delivery was delayed by the controversy that surrounded the project as well as by delays in construction.
There were a total of eight shipments of 11 tonnes each (the final shipment was 8.6. tonnes). Deliveries took place on the following dates:
- 16 Dec 2007
- 28 Dec 2007
- 18 Jan 2008
- 20 Jan 2008
- 22 Jan 2008
- 24 Jan 2008
- 26 Jan 2008
- 28 Jan 2008
Ukraine is moving to build a spent fuel storage facility on its territory. According to a press report, the national company, Energoatom, will submit draft legislation to the parliament by the end of 2008. The facility is expected to accomodate up to 1000 VVER fuel assemblies annually. The total storage capacity is reported to be 17,000 fuel assemblies. The storage facility will be constructed by Holtec International, which won the tender in 2004. The construction is not expected to be finished before 2012.
Today, Ukraine is sending spent fuel of its VVER reactors to Russia (the price is expected to reach $730/kg in 2008). The RMBK fuel is presumably stored at reactor sites.
According to a RBC News report,Russia wants to raise the price it charges Ukraine for taking its spent fuel back by about 18% in 2008. Accoring to the report, "It cost $372 to ship a kilogram of spent fuel in 2002. The price went up to $520 in 2006, and could reach $730 in 2008." In 2007 Ukraine was reported to have made six spent fuel shipments to Russia. The same number of shipments was expected in 2008, but Ukraine may reconsider this.
Russia's TVEL corporation raised the price of fresh fuel it is suppling to Ukraine by about 20% in 2008, according to Ukrainian sources.
In a separate development, Russia was reported to ask a higher price for spent fuel takeback.
China wants Areva to supply its spent fuel reprocessing technology as well as nuclear power reactors. An AP story quotes a source as saying that "The contract will not come into effect unless Areva agrees unequivocally to transfer this (nuclear fuel treatment) technology (to China)."
The contract in question is the 8 billion euros agreement to build two reactors in China, signed in November 2007.
Rosatom reports that TVEL signed an agreement with the Atomic Energy Institute in Sverk, Poland, about supplying the Maria research reactor there with 36%-enriched HEU fuel. The fuel is expected to be delivered in the second half of 2008.
On August 9, 2006, Russia removed 40 kg of fresh HEU fuel (enrichment was reported to be in the range of 20-80%) from the site in Sverk.
