France’s Orano has launched the serial production of ten 30B-10 cylinders designed to transport uranium hexafluoride (UF6) enriched up to 10% uranium 235 (LEU+). The 30B-10 cylinder equips the DN30-X package licensed in March 2023 by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Licensing in France is ongoing.
This DN30-X package combines the properties of the existing DN30 overpack with the new 30B-10 cylinder into which is inserted the criticality control system that uses borated steel rods to prevent criticality enabling higher enrichments of UF6 to be transported safely.
Currently, Type 30B cylinders are used to transport enriched (UF6) between fuel cycle facilities around the world but these are only certified for uranium enriched up to 5% (LEU) – the maximum enrichment level used in commercially operating NPPs. However, under development are LEU+ fuels with higher enrichment levels (5-10%) that will enable commercial light water reactors to operate for longer, periods.
In future, small modular and advanced reactors now in the design stage require enrichments of up to 20% for which new transport solutions will be required, Orano noted. Hitherto the supply of this high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) has come from Russia. However, new production facilities are now being developed in the US and Europe.
