Russia
Fuel Company of Rosatom (TVEL)
This page is part of the Facilities Collection.
In 1991, the Soviet Ministry of Atomic Energy and Industry established TVEL as part of TVEL Corporation. 1 AtomRedMetZoloto acquired TVEL’s uranium exploration and mining ventures in 2007. As of 2011, all four of Russia’s uranium enrichment facilities operate under TVEL, and it is responsible for Russia’s uranium conversion, enrichment, and nuclear fuel fabrication. 2
The company operates its main uranium conversion facility in Angarsk as part of the Angarsk Electrolysis & Chemical Combine (AECC). This complex provides a foundation for the development of the International Uranium Enrichment Center (IUEC). 3
TVEL manufactures 17% of the world’s consumed nuclear fuel, and produces Western PWR fuel for the global market. The two TVEL fuel fabrication plants, TVEL-MSZ and TVEL-NCCP, located in Elektrostal and Novosibirsk respectively, provide fuel for 74 Russian and international nuclear power plants, in addition to numerous research reactors. 4 In 2010, TVEL won a contract to build a fuel fabrication plant in Ukraine, which is expected to come online in 2013. 5
Glossary
- Uranium
- Uranium is a metal with the atomic number 92. See entries for enriched uranium, low enriched uranium, and highly enriched uranium.
- Enriched uranium
- Enriched uranium: Uranium with an increased concentration of the isotope U-235, relative to natural uranium. Natural uranium contains 0.7 percent U-235, whereas nuclear weapons typically require uranium enriched to very high levels (see the definitions for “highly enriched uranium” and “weapons-grade”). Nuclear power plant fuel typically uses uranium enriched to 3 to 5 percent U-235, material that is not sufficiently enriched to be used for nuclear weapons.
- Research reactor
- Research reactor: Small fission reactors designed to produce neutrons for a variety of purposes, including scientific research, training, and medical isotope production. Unlike commercial power reactors, they are not designed to generate power.
Sources
- “История” History, Топливная компания «Росатома» (ТВЕЛ) Fuel Company of Rosatom (TVEL), www.tvel.ru.
- “Russia’s Nuclear Fuel Cycle,” World Nuclear Association, April 2014, www.world-nuclear.org.
- “Uranium Conversion and Enrichment,” JSC Atomenergoprom Website, www.atomenergoprom.ru.
- “Russia’s Nuclear Fuel Cycle,” World Nuclear Association, April 2014, www.world-nuclear.org.
- “Nuclear Power in Ukraine,” World Nuclear Association Website, March 2014, www.world-nuclear.org.