Top MOX : MOX fuel to feed your power plant
Orano brings to utilities flexible solutions for purchasing nuclear fuel at a competitive price
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In a context where utilities are looking for solutions to optimize the electricity production costs, use of TOP-MOX offers the opportunity of a competitive alternative to UOx fuel procurement.
TOP-MOX is a nuclear fuel solution and product developed by Orano and successfully implemented in Europe. It allows utilities burning plutonium (instead of enriched uranium) when this plutonium is not stemming from its own reprocessed used fuel - that is third party plutonium.
With this solution, Orano supports the utilities competitiveness in:
- Providing the plutonium material and depleted Uranium material;
- Manufacturing Mixed OXide (MOX) fuel according to the fuel designer requirements;
- Supplying MOX fuel made of plutonium stemming from other party reprocessed used fuel (To Other Party MOX - TOPMOX).
Such TOP-MOX fuel is provided to the utilities at competitive prices based on the fuel manufacturing cost and the sponsoring provided by the initial owner of the plutonium material (used fuel reprocessing operator). Available sponsorship of such plutonium permits UO2 competitive market prices.
- Nuclear material provided: Plutonium and depleted Uranium;
- Mixed OXide fuel (MOX fuel) manufactured according to utility / fuel designer requirements;
- Fresh MOX fuel transported to the utilities power plants.
Orano manufactures MOX fuels since the 90s for several fuel designers over the world. More than 2,600 tHM of MOX fuel have been manufactured and more than 5,000 MOX fuel assemblies (PWR and BWR designs) have been delivered since 1995 by Orano Melox plant.
The utility which has not opted for reprocessing or which would like to increase its MOX supply finds through TOP-MOX a solution to use third-party plutonium in the form of TOP-MOX in its reactors at a competitive price with the same level of performance. In the case of TOP-MOX, as plutonium is the fissile material and as Orano supplies depleted natural uranium from its own stocks for the fuel matrix, there is no need for uranium mining, conversion and enrichment services.
Used fuel reprocessing and recycling
Studies for the management of special fuels
Reprocessing of special fuels
Precycling an Advanced Used Fuel Recycling Solution
Fissile materials management
The tripe function allows both to transport, store and dispose waste with the same cask.
We have already licensed the cask in France and in Belgium for fissile content as B(U) package: Specifically developed for transport and storage of irradiated uranium residue equipped with special boron basket (fissile material)
