The first complete accident-tolerant fuel assembly has been created and is now in use at a power plant, the Office of Nuclear Energy said in a Nov. 8 release.
The accident-tolerant fuel is the first-of-its-kind and involves a lead fuel assembly that is inserted into a commercial nuclear reactor, agency officials said. It was created through the DOE Accident Fuel Program by Framatome and is in use at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant in Maryland.
Accident-tolerant fuels involve cladding and fuel pellets designs that increase performance and severe accident response times in nuclear energy, agency officials said. They improve fission production retention and are more resistant to radiation, corrosion and high temperatures. They are also expected to last longer and could lead to less waste and lower fuel costs.
"Loading the first complete accident-tolerant fuel assembly is a huge milestone for Framatome and the nuclear energy industry," senior executive vice president for the Fuel Business Unit at Framatome Lionel Gaiffe said. "This is the next step in our PROtect program and further demonstrates our commitment to advancing nuclear fuel technology by offering more efficient and reliable solutions to support the production of low-carbon energy."
The release called the lead fuel assembly a "major upgrade."
It was created at the Framatome manufacturing facility in Richland, Wash., in part of a contract with Exelon Generation. The assembly was inserted into the Unit 2 reactor during this spring's refueling outage. The lead fuel assembly includes 176 chromium-coated fuel rods as well as chromic-enhanced pellets. This is expected to reduce corrosion and hydrogen production. This is the first major upgrade to the technologies since the 1970s.
"US-based @Framatome announced that it has delivered the first 100% accident tolerant fuel assembly (ATF) to Exelon Generation's Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby, Maryland," Nuclear Engineering International magazine tweeted about the new fuel assembly.
Framatome works with DOE to develop fuel and cladding mixtures aimed at improving reactors. Along with Westinghouse and General Electric, Framatome is set to have accident tolerant fuels ready for batch loading in the mid-2020s, and they should be widespread by 2030.
