Russia’s Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrate Plant (NZHK), part of Rosatom’s fuel company TVEL, has signed a 10-year contract with the Atomic Energy Organisation of Egypt for the supply of uranium and aluminium components of low enriched nuclear fuel for the ETRR-2 research reactor.
The ETRR-2 was supplied by Argentinian company Invap and located at the National Egyptian Centre for Nuclear Research in the city of Inhas. It is used for scientific research in the field of particle physics, materials science, as well as for producing radioisotopes.
ETRR-2 is a 22MWt open pool reactor research reactor that started up in 1997, which uses fuel made of 19.75% enriched uranium alloy.
“The long-term contract was a logical continuation of a series of successfully executed contract documents over the past three years for individual deliveries to Egypt of fuel components manufactured by NZHK,” said Oleg Grigoryev, senior vice president for commerce and international business at TVEL. “Our plants have more than 40 years of experience in the serial fabrication of fuel for research reactors and can produce fuel components for all the major Russian and foreign design reactors in the world.”
TVEL is also expected to supply nuclear fuel for Egypt’s nuclear power plant planned for El-Dabaa, which will have four VVER-1200 reactors. In addition, for the project for the construction of a dry container storage facility for used nuclear fuel at the El-Dabaa NPP, the Central Design Institute, also part of the TVEL Fuel Company, is a subcontractor for the design.
Photo: Egypt's ETRR-2 research reactor
