Ian Hore-Lacy
Director of Public Communications
World Nuclear Association
Fuel Cycle Facilities: front end
Many of Russia’s fuel cycle facilities were originally developed for military use and hence are located in former closed cities (names bracketed) in the country. In 2009 the conversion and enrichment plants were taken over by the newly-established JSC Enrichment & Conversion Complex, a subsidiary of Atomenergoprom.
Conversion
The main operating conversion plant is at Angarsk near Irkutsk in Siberia, with 18,700 tonnes U/yr capacity. It is part of the JSC Angarsk Electrolysis & Chemical Combine, whose prime function is conversion and enrichment of uranium.
The Elektrostal conversion plant, 50 km east of Moscow, has 700 tU/yr capacity for reprocessed uranium, initially that from VVER-440 fuel. It is owned by Maschinostroitelny Zavod (MSZ) whose Elemash fuel fabrication plant is there. Some conversion of Kazakh uranium has been undertaken for west European company Nukem, and all 960 tonnes of recycled uranium from Sellafield in UK, owned by German and Netherlands utilities, has been converted here.
Enrichment
Four enrichment plants totalling 24 million kg SWU/yr of centrifuge capacity operate at Novo-Uralsk near Yekaterinburg in the Urals, Zelenogorsk (Krasnoyarsk-45), Seversk near Tomsk, and Angarsk near Irkutsk – the last three all in Siberia. The first two service foreign primary demand and Seversk specialises in enriching reprocessed uranium, including that from western Europe.
The Novouralsk (Novo-Uralsk) plant is part of the JSC Urals Electrochemical Combine in the Sverdlovsk region. It has operated 8th generation centrifuges since 2003, and is trialling 9th generation units.
The Zelenogorsk plant is also known as the PA ElectroChemical Plant (ECP) in the Krasnoyarsk region (120 km east of that city), and has ISO 14001 environmental accreditation. It is the site of a new deconversion plant.
The Seversk plant is part of the JSC Siberian Chemical Combine (SKhK), Tomsk region, which opened in 1953. It is about 15 km from Tomsk. As well as the enrichment plant the site has several plutonium production reactors (now closed), a MOX plant and other facilities.
http://www.shk.tomsk.ru
Angarsk, near Irkutsk in Siberia, is part of the JSC Angarsk Electrolysis & Chemical Combine. It is also the site of the new International Uranium Enrichment Centre (IUEC) and fuel bank.
Diffusion technology was phased out by 1992 and all plants now operate modern gas centrifuges, with further fitting of 8th generation equipment in progress. The last 6th & 7th generation centrifuges were set up in 2005, 8th generation equipment has been supplied since 2004, now at about 240,000 units per year and are replacing 5th generation models. (6th generation units are still produced for export to China.) The technology is attributed by Nuclear.Ru to VNIPIET in St Petersburg, though Tenex has taken over responsibility for manufacturing the equipment through JSC Russian Gas Centrifuge and JSC Khimprom Engineering.
The Novouralsk plant is the largest (10 M SWU/yr) and can enrich to 30% U-235 (for research and BN fast reactors), the others only to 5% U-235. The JSC Electrochemical Plant (ECP) at Zelenogorsk is 5.8 M SWU/yr and is introducing ISO9001 quality assurance system.
A significant proportion of the capacity of both plants – some 7 M SWU/yr – is taken up by enrichment of former tails (depleted uranium), including for west European companies Areva and Urenco. According to WNA sources, about 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes of tails per year, with U-235 assays between 0.25% and 0.40%, has been shipped to Russia for re-enrichment to about 0.7% U-235 since 1997. The tails are stripped down to about 0.10% U-235 and remain in Russia, being considered a resource for future fast reactors there. The contracts for this work end in 2010.
A portion of the Zelenogorsk capacity, about 4.75 M SWU/yr, is taken up with re-enrichment of tails to provide 1.5% enriched material for downblending Russian HEU destined for USA. It is also the site for downblending of ex-weapons uranium for sale to the USA.
Seversk capacity is about 3 M SWU/yr, and some recycled uranium (from reprocessing) has been enriched here for Areva, under a 1991 ten-year contract covering about 500 tonnes UF6. (French media reports in 2009 alleging that wastes from French nuclear power plants was stored at Seversk probably refer to tails from enrichment of the recycled uranium.) It is understood to be enriching the 960 tU of reprocessed uranium from Sellafield in UK, belonging to its customers in Germany and Netherlands, sent to Elektrostal in eight shipments over 2001-09.
Angarsk, near Irkutsk, is the smallest of three Siberian plants, with capacity of about 2.6 million SWU/yr. In 2008 Kazatomprom set up a 50-50 joint venture with Tenex for financing a 5 million SWU/yr increment to the Angarsk plant, with each party to contribute about US$ 1.6 billion and hold 50% equity. It now appears that initial JV capacity will be about 3 M SWU/yr, with first production in 2011. However, in 2010 Rosatom announced that this would not proceed, due to surplus world capacity, but other joint venture enrichment arrangements with Kazatomprom have been offered, notably up to a 49% share in Novouralsk or Zelenogorsk.
The International Uranium Enrichment Centre (IUEC) is being set up at Angarsk (see following section). Two projects are under way to increase the capacity of this from 2.6 to 4.2 and then to almost 10 million SWU/yr by 2015. The latter stage will be with Kazakhstan and other IUEC partners, who will share the $2.5 billion cost.
See section below.
Deconversion
Russia’s W-ECP deconversion plant is at Zelenogorsk Electrochemical Plant (ECP). The 10,000 t/yr deconversion (defluorination) plant was built by Tenex under a technology transfer agreement with Areva NC, so that depleted uranium can be stored long-term as uranium oxide, and HF is produced as a by-product. The W-ECP plant is similar to Areva’s W2 plant at Pierrelatte in France and has mainly west European equipment. It was commissioned in December 2009.
Fuel fabrication
This is undertaken by JSC TVEL, which supplies 74 nuclear power plants in Russia and abroad as well as 30 research reactors and fuel for naval and icebreaker reactors. Its operations are certified against ISO 9001.
TVEL has two fuel fabrication plants:
» the huge Maschinostroitelny Zavod (MSZ) at Elektrostal 50 km east of Moscow – known as Elemash,
» Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (NCCP) in Siberia, and
» Chepetsky Mechanical Plant (CMP) near Glazov in Udmurtiya makes zirconium cladding and also some uranium products.
Most fuel pellets for RBMK and VVER-1000 reactors were being made at the Ulba plant at Ust Kamenogorsk in Kazakhstan, but Elemash, and Novosibirsk have increased production. MSZ produces fuel assemblies for both Russian and west European rectors using fresh and recycled uranium. It also fabricates research reactor and icebreaker fuel. Novosibirsk produces mainly VVER 440 & 1000 fuel. MSZ/Elemash is the principal exporter of fuel assemblies. Total production is about 1400 t/yr.
A 60 t/yr commercial mixed oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) is scheduled to start up at Zheleznogorsk (formerly Krasnoyarsk-26, 70km NE of Krasnoyarsk) by 2014, operated by the Mining & Chemical Combine (MCC) to make 400 fuel assemblies per year for the BN-800 and future fast reactors. This is funded to RUR 5.1 billion (US$ 169 million) over 2010-12.
A small MOX fuel fabrication plant has operated at the Mayak plant at Ozersk since 1993. A new 14 tonne per year plant to fabricate dense fuel for fast neutron reactors is planned at PA Mayak, to operate from 2018. In the federal target program to 2020, RUR 9.35 billion (US$ 310 million) is budgeted for it. Later it may be expanded to 40 t/yr.
The Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (RIAR) at Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk, has a small MOX fuel fabrication plant, and under the federal target program this has been allocated RUR 2.95 billion (US$ 83 million) for expansion to produce 400 fuel assemblies per year. Its main research has been on the use of military plutonium in MOX, in collaboration with France, USA and Japan.
Another MOX plant for disposing of military plutonium is planned at Seversk (Tomsk-7) in Siberia, to the same design as its US equivalent.
TVEL’s Moscow Composite Metal Plant designs and makes control and protection systems for nuclear power reactors.
International Uranium Enrichment Centre (IUEC) and fuel bank
The IUEC concept was inaugurated at the end of 2006 in collaboration with Kazakhstan, and in March 2007 the IAEA agreed to set up a working group and continue developing the proposal. In September 2007 the joint stock company Angarsk International Uranium Enrichment Centre (JSC Angarsk IUEC) was registered and a year later Rostechnadzor licensed the Centre. Late in 2008 Ukraine’s Nuclear Fuel Holding Company took a 10% stake in it, matching Kazatomprom’s 10%. Armenia has also decided to participate in IUEC, while accession negotiations proceed with South Korea, Finland, and Belgium. Mongolia is reported to be interested, and Russia has invited India to participate in order to secure fuel for its Kudankulam plant. The aim is for Techsnabexport eventually to hold only 51%. Each 1% share is priced at US$ 7500.
The centre is to provide assured supplies of low-enriched uranium for power reactors to new nuclear power states and those with small nuclear programs, giving them equity in the project, but without allowing them access to the enrichment technology. Russia will maintain majority ownership. IUEC will sell both enrichment services (SWU) and enriched uranium product. Arrangements for IAEA involvement were being sorted out in 2009, and in 2010 a feasibility study will be commenced on IUEC investment, initially for equity in JSC Angarsk Electrolysis & Chemical Combine (AECC) so that part of its capacity supplies product to IUEC shareholders.
The existing enrichment plant at Angarsk will feed the IUEC and accordingly has been removed from the category of “national strategic installations”, though it has never been part of the military program. In February 2007 the IUEC was entered into the list of Russian nuclear facilities eligible for implementation of IAEA safeguards. The USA has expressed support for the IUEC at Angarsk.
Development of the IUEC will be in three phases:
1. Use part of the existing capacity at Angarsk in cooperation with Kazatomprom and under IAEA supervision,
2. Expand capacity (perhaps double) with funding from new partners,
3. Full internationalisation with involvement of many customer nations under IAEA auspices.
In November 2009 the IAEA Board approved a Russian proposal to create an international “fuel bank” or reserve of low-enriched uranium under IAEA control at Angarsk. It will comprise 120 tonnes of low-enriched uranium as UF6, enriched 2.0 – 4.95% U-235 (with 40t of latter), available to any IAEA member state in good standing which is unable to procure fuel for political reasons. It will be fully funded by Russia, held under safeguards, and the fuel will be made available to IAEA at market rates, using a formula based on preceding spot prices. Following an IAEA decision to allocate some of it, Rosatom will transport material to St Petersburg and transfer title to IAEA, which will then transfer ownership to the recipient.
This initiative will complement a proposed IAEA fuel bank by making more material available to the IAEA for assurance of fuel supply to countries without their own fuel cycle facilities. The 120 tonnes uranium as UF6 is equivalent to more than one full fuel load for a typical 1000 MWe reactor, and is (in 2010) worth some US$ 250 million. It is to be available by the end of 2010.
