A fuel supply contract will have an impact on GE facilities in Wilmington.
Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) recently announced that GNF ENUSA Nuclear Fuel S.A., a joint venture between ENUSA Industrias Avanzadas S.A. and GNF, has been selected by Vattenfall to provide fuel reloads for the Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant near Forsmark, Sweden, according to a news release.
GNF, a supplier of boiling water reactor fuel and fuel-related engineering services, is a GE-led joint venture with Hitachi Ltd. and operates primarily through Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas LLC in Wilmington and Global Nuclear Fuel-Japan Co. Ltd. in Kurihama, Japan.
The new fuel supply contract awarded to GENUSA, which is majority owned by GNF, runs from 2020 through 2023 and includes a total of eight reloads of GNF2, a high-performance fuel assembly designed to deliver increased energy output while decreasing overall fuel cycle costs, officials said in the release. The eight reloads comprise four reloads each at units 1 and 2, respectively.
"This contract further enhances our position in the European boiling water reactor segment," said Jon Allen, spokesman for GE Hitachi.
The first fuel delivery of GE design for Vattenfall, a European energy company, dates from 1993. Since then, more than 2,500 fuel assemblies have fueled the Vattenfall reactors in Sweden.
“We continue to enhance our fuel products to further improve reliability for customers and we are pleased that Vattenfall, one of Europe’s leading energy companies, has selected GNF2 for these upcoming reloads,” Amir Vexler, CEO of GNF and president of the GENUSA Board of Directors, said in the release.
The assemblies, whose components are designed by GNF, will include the enhanced GNF2 spacer, as well as the Defender PLUS debris filter that significantly improves the chance of stopping debris before it reaches the fuel assembly, officials said in the release.
Fuel for units 1 and 2, utilizing GNF-supplied components, will be fabricated by ENUSA in Spain at its Juzbado Nuclear Fuel Manufacturing Plant, officials said.
According to Allen, GNF will supply all of the components, most of which are manufactured in Wilmington.
Since its incorporation in 1996, ENUSA has manufactured fuel sold by GENUSA to operators of boiling water reactors across Europe, officials said in the release.
"It is a satisfaction knowing that after more than 20 years of collaboration Vattenfall continues trusting in the GENUSA supply of products and services,” Jose Luis Gonzalez, president and CEO of ENUSA, a Spanish company, said in the release. “These new contracts will strengthen our relationship with Vattenfall."F
