TVEL JSC and Centre for Energy Research of Hungarian Academy of Sciences have signed contract for supply of Russian nuclear fuel for Budapest research reactor (BRR). The long-term contract embraces fuel supplies starting from 2019.
Budapest research reactor is utilized for scientific and applied research in nuclear physics and material studies, in particular, for the purpose of developing nuclear power in Hungary. As the major research facility of Budapest Neutron Centre, BRR is used for studying the properties of reactor materials and nuclear fuel cycle.
“From the early nineties, Centre for Energy Research has been playing an increasingly important role in support of Paks NPP operations. Nuclear power was determined as a strategic priority for the national energy system, and the Hungarian government pays special attention at development of the domestic research expertise in this field. This includes, in particular, radiation ageing of reactor structural materials, spent fuel and radiation waste management, closing nuclear fuel cycle, reactor physics, and thermomechanical behavior of nuclear fuel” , said Ákos Horváth, Director General of Centre for Energy Research.
“TVEL Fuel Company of ROSATOM produces a wide range of nuclear fuel and its components for various types of research reactors of Russian and non-Russian design, acting conventionally as a reliable supplier. But what is especially important in this case, is the comprehensive Russian-Hungarian partnership in development of nuclear power technologies. Hungarian scientists together with Paks NPP and TVEL engineers accomplished a unique project of VVER-440 fuel cycle elongation up to 15 months. Currently, our specialists jointly work on development and validation of VVER-1200 fuel for the future Paks-2 NPP. We are grateful to our Hungarian partners for their trust in Russian technologies, and it is delightful that our cooperation in research installations and development of large-scale nuclear power are going hand-in-hand”, commented Oleg Grigoriyev, Senior Vice-President for Commerce and International Business at TVEL JSC.
For reference:
Budapest research reactor is one of the oldest and most powerful in Central Europe. BRR is a VVR-type (water-cooled, water-moderated) Soviet design reactor. It went critical in 1959, and since that has been several times upgraded and modernized. During all this time, the facility has been working on fuel produced by Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (an enterprise of TVEL Fuel Company). From 2012, the reactor core has been entirely loaded with low enriched fuel assemblies only.
