The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved Framatome’s Advanced Fuel Management (AFM) programme at its facility in Richland in Washington state. The programme focuses on developing nuclear fuel technologies for the existing US nuclear fleet. These include uranium oxide (UO2) pellets with higher enrichment levels and advanced codes and methodologies that support higher fuel burnups.
Together, these advanced solutions support safe, reliable and economical fuel cycles, including cycle length extensions from 18 to 24 months. They also optimise fuel utilisation, reduce waste and support the continued generation of clean and sustainable energy.
“This approval is the next step in bringing fuel solutions with higher enrichment levels to the nuclear energy market”, said Lionel Gaiffe, Framatome’s Senior Executive Vice President, Fuel Business Unit. “We are getting closer to changing the landscape of the industry by going beyond traditional enrichment levels and bringing economic and value-added solutions to our customers.”
Modifications to the Richland facility have been underway since 2022 to make the physical changes needed to safely manufacture fuel with higher uranium enrichment. An operational readiness review (ORR) is scheduled with NRC in early 2027 to confirm that the amended licence requirements have been implemented at the facility. Approval of the ORR will allow receipt of the higher enriched material for processing at the site for the first reload manufacturing campaign.
This follows the recent NRC approval of Framatome’s topical report High Burnup for Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs), which supports increased fuel burnup limits for the GAIA (accident tolerant) and HTP (high thermal performance) fuel designs. Additionally, the NRC has approved the application of Framatome’s suite of PWR Advanced Codes and Methods to operating conditions with U-235 enrichments exceeding 5%. NRC also approved a licence amendment allowing Framatome to transport fresh PWR and BWR fuel assemblies within the US with U-235 enrichments up to 8% U-235.
These milestones were achieved with support from the Department of Energy’s Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) programme, supporting the advancement of technologies needed to unlock fuel with increased burnup and enrichment.
Framatome’s Richland facility began operation in 1969. Today, the Richland facility is unique as the only site in the US that integrates uranium conversion and fuel assembly fabrication in a single location. It currently serves approximately 30% of the US nuclear reactor fleet and has manufactured more than 6,000 assemblies for specific reactor types worldwide. The site employs more than 600 professionals delivering the most advanced nuclear fuel solutions.
