Natural Uranium Equivalent FuelPowering the future with recycled uranium-based fuelRecycling Nuclear Spent FuelNatural Uranium Equivalent (NUE) fuel is an innovative fuel designed to work in synergy with current and planned spent fuel reprocessing technologies around the globe. It blends recycled uranium (RU) with depleted uranium (DU) to create NUE fuel powder that is used to fabricate fuel pellets and CANDU® reactor fuel bundles.

SNC-Lavalin – Reliable, ProvenWith more than a century of experience in the power sector, and over 60 years invested in the nuclear industry, SNC-Lavalin develops nuclear projects, products and services tailored to our clients’ needs. Safety, quality, innovation and excellence in project execution are the values we live by. We strive to think like an operator to bring you solutions to issues before they arise.

Proven SuccessSince 2008, Canada and China have proven, through an in-core irradiation demonstration in the Qinshan CANDU reactors, that NUE fuel can be used successfully as a natural uranium substitute. This partnership has completed a full-core commercial design project, and a full-core conversion to NUE fuel in the existing Qinshan CANDU reactors is planned in the near future.

NUE Implementation in CANDU ReactorsNUE fuel behaves similarly to natural uranium fuel and can be used for full-core implementation in existing or new CANDU reactors. The fuel flexibility of CANDU reactors allows for the use of multiple advanced fuels including NUE. This flexibility is due to the reactors’ neutron economy, fuel channel design versatility and simplicity of fuel bundle design. Comprehensive analyses and in-reactor testing proved that the reactor core behavior remains unchanged when fuelled with NUE. To use NUE as a substitute for natural uranium, only a few changes are required to current operating reactor designs, safety parameters and licensing case.

Benefits of using NUE fuel in CANDU reactors include:

> Front-end fuel cycle cost reduction, as the cost of NUE is expected to be significantly lower than that of natural uranium

> Re-introduction of what would otherwise be waste products into the energy stream for electricity production

> Diversification and independence of resources from the natural uranium market

> Reduction in spent fuel burden also reduces the need for monitoring and storage

> Elimination of the need for re-enrichment of RU

> Increased regional overpower protection (ROP) margins

> Synergistic relationship with other nuclear reactor technologies, which increases the sustainability of nuclear power

Nuclear

Toward Closing the Fuel CycleAbundant ResourcesNUE fuel capitalizes on the abundant stock of RU and DU worldwide, which is mostly kept in storage. The world’s stock of DU is estimated to be 1.2 million tonnes and is expected to grow as nuclear power capacity increases. Approximately 90,000 tonnes of RU have already been reprocessed from commercial power reactors, and the current global fuel recycling capacity is estimated at 4,000 tonnes per year.

The isotopic compositions of RU used in NUE fuel varies depending on its initial enrichment, fuel exit burn-up, type of fuel used and subsequent processing. Therefore, we have developed a proprietary technology to satisfy NUE technical specification requirements and to optimize the amount of RU and DU used to produce NUE fuel. This technology takes large inventories of diverse RU and DU stockpiles and determines the precise mixing strategy, while reducing human error.

Enriched Uranium

Spent Fuel

Recycled Uranium

Depleted Uranium

Natural Uranium

Natural Uranium

CANDU

Enrichment

Reprocessing

Uranium Mine

PWR

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NUE

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