Olkiluoto fuel supply contracts renewed

Tuesday, 18 November 2014

Areva and Westinghouse are to supply fuel for units 1 and 2, respectively, of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant between 2016 and 2019 under renewed contracts with Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO).

Olkiluoto 1 and 2 (Image: TVO)

"The fuel assemblies covered by the new contracts reflect improved considerations of aspects related to production and economy," TVO said. Olkiluoto 1 and 2 - both boiling water reactors - require a total of some 200 fuel assemblies annually, it noted. The value of the contracts has not been disclosed.

Under its contract, Areva will supply ATRIUM 10XM fuel assemblies for Olkiluoto 1. The fuel will be fabricated at its Lingen plant in Germany. According to Areva, TVO plans to upgrade, as early as 2018, to its ATRIUM 11 fuel design, which is already being used by three European utilities.

Westinghouse Electric Sweden is to supply SVEA-96 Optima 3 fuel assemblies for Olkiluoto 2, which will be made at its Västerås facility in Sweden.

TVO said it procures nuclear fuel using a diversified procurement chain, conducts negotiations itself and awards contracts to suppliers at every step of the procurement chain. It noted there are several suppliers for every step of the chain and competitive bidding processes are organized on a regular basis. The company also designs the fuel composition itself as well as the way the fuel is used, TVO said.

TVO's senior vice president for nuclear safety Marjo Mustonen said, "This is not a very common approach; instead, fuel is often procured on a 'turnkey' basis from a single supplier. The approach based on a diversified procurement chain that TVO has selected contributes to the strengthening of our role as a leading Finnish producer of nuclear energy and helps ensure that high-level research and education in nuclear technology will continue to exist in Finland also in the future."

Both Areva and Westinghouse "have been our cooperation partners for years and their fuel fulfils our strict quality criteria," she added.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News