Westinghouse in UK produces first batch of higher enriched uranium fuel

Westinghouse said in a statement Aug. 8 it had produced at its Springfields fuel fabrication facility in northern England the first batch of uranium fuel pellets enriched up to 8% for use at Southern Nuclear Operating Co.'s 1,205-MW Vogtle-2 in Georgia.

The fuel pellets were made from a "higher enriched uranium oxide power that was prepared by Idaho National Laboratory — marking the first time DOE material was used to support the increased enrichment of a commercial uranium oxide fuel above" 5% U-235, Westinghouse said.

Commercial reactor fuel is currently enriched at levels of between 3% and 5%, Westinghouse also noted in the statement.

The company added that its new "LEU+ Adopt fuel include[s] additives that are expected to improve the safety performance of the fuel while operating at increased power levels. The higher enrichment also allows the fuel to operate for longer stretches in the reactor to help reduce the number of outages needed for refueling."

The first production of the "LEU+ Adopt fuel is a key step for achieving longer fuel cycles and reducing operational costs in the nuclear fuel industry," Tarik Choho, Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel President, said in the statement.

Westinghouse added that the Adopt fuel pellets will be "fabricated into pins and included in four lead test assemblies in the UK before shipping to the US for irradiation testing" at Vogtle-2 in 2025.

The Adopt fuel is one of several accident tolerant fuels financially supported by the US Department of Energy's ATF program to "deliver new fuel pellet and cladding designs that could be commercialized before the end of the decade," Westinghouse also said.

The nuclear industry has been moving toward the use of higher enrichment levels, which it refers to as LEU+, for several years and US utilities have started to use lead test assemblies fabricated with above 5% U-235 uranium, as well as advanced coated cladding, in their reactors. Currently licensees must request exemptions from US Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations on a case-by-case basis to allow such higher enrichment levels, which are being sought as part of a move to more accident tolerant fuels and to potentially extend the length of operating cycles.

ATF is designed to withstand a loss of core cooling for a longer time than conventional fuel, giving operators more time to respond to an accident. Subject to approval of commissioners, NRC staff currently plans to issue in March 2027 a rule updating fuel licensing to accommodate increased enrichment and burnups.