PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
On the occasion of the WNA symposium organized in London, Orano and Urenco have announced the signing of a consortium agreement for testing and development of the new 30B-X cylinder designed to transport uranium enriched up to 20%. The 30B-X cylinder equips the innovative DN30-X packaging.
This new cylinder is designed in light of future LEU+/HALEU fuel1 transport. For the upcoming new fuel designs and the evolution of the Small Modular Reactor market, solutions will be required for the transport of uranium enriched to up to 20 %, as they are not currently available on the market.
This DN30-X packaging combines the properties of the existing DN30 overpack with the new 30B-X cylinder into which is inserted the Criticality Control System (CCS) to ensure transport safety thanks to control rods with neutrophilic characteristics.
Two versions of the 30B-X cylinder are available for optimized transport capacity depending on the level of uranium enrichment, with a different number of CCS control rods: one model with a capacity of 1,460 kg of uranium enriched up to 10%, and a second with a capacity of 1,271 kg of uranium enriched up to 20%.
The DN30-X package was licensed in March 2023 by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Licensing in France is in progress and is expected in the second semester of 2024. Licensing for other countries will follow upon request.
In parallel to licensing in France, two prototypes of the 30B-X cylinder were delivered to two enrichment facilities for testing of the integration of the cylinders into their plant processes: at a Urenco enrichment site and at Orano’s Tricastin.
1 Fuel consisting of enriched natural uranium with an enrichment rate ranging from 6% (LEU, Low Enriched Uranium) to up to 20% (HALEU, High-Assay, Low Enriched Uranium).
About Orano
As a recognized international operator in the field of nuclear materials, Orano delivers solutions to address present and future global energy and health challenges. Its expertise and mastery of cutting-edge technologies enable Orano to offer its customers high value-added products and services throughout the entire fuel cycle. Every day, the Orano group’s 17,000 employees draw on their skills, unwavering dedication to safety and constant quest for innovation, with the commitment to develop know-how in the transformation and control of nuclear materials, for the climate and for a healthy and resource-efficient world, now and tomorrow.
Orano, giving nuclear energy its full value.
About Orano NPS
With over 60 years’ experience, Orano NPS, a subsidiary of the Orano Group, provides global solutions to its customers throughout the world, from the design of packaging, its approval, its manufacturing, through the transportation of nuclear materials. Orano NPS carries out more than 6000 transportation operations worldwide throughout the fuel cycle, meeting the highest French and international safety standards.
