TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom has started implementation of nuclear fuel supply contract for units 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam NPP. The contract embraces the entire lifetime of the power units from the starting loading of the reactor cores. Units 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam NPP of the Russian design, powered by VVER-1000 reactors, are under construction in South India.
During the operation of the power units 1 and 2 of the first stage of Kudankulam NPP, Russian and Indian specialists have accomplished a large amount of work to improve their efficiency by introducing advanced nuclear fuel and extended fuel cycles. Since 2022, Kudankulam NPP has been supplied with nuclear fuel of improved design TVS-2M. The new fuel ensures more reliable and cost-efficient operation of reactors due to its rigid skeleton, new-generation anti-debris filter and higher uranium mass. Its introduction also enabled it to increase the fuel cycle of the reactors from 12 to 18 months (i.e. the time of continuous operation of the reactor before shutdown for unloading irradiated fuel and loading fresh fuel). Operation in longer fuel cycles also improves the economic efficiency of NPPs: the power unit is shut down less often for fuel reloading and generates more energy during the year.
“The facilities of the second stage of the Kudankulam NPP will be the first VVER-1000 reactors in history to be launched in an extended 18-month fuel cycle. This is a result of our successful cooperation in recent years, as the efficient solutions which have been previously implemented at similar reactors in Russia and China were also introduced at the Kudankulam operational power units. Throughout the entire NPP life cycle, ROSATOM not only supplies nuclear fuel, but also provides engineering services, improving the efficiency of power units through new solutions for fuel and fuel cycle,” Natalia Nikipelova, President of TVEL Fuel Company, commented.