Contract
The project aims to develop high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel in accordance with the technical and functional specifications for Jimmy’s fuel manufacturing plant in le Creusot, France. NUKEM was responsible for designing and integrating the corresponding fuel manufacturing process.
The consortium A-E-N composed by AMEC Foster Wheeler France and NUKEM (for the first phase also EAI Ingénierie) was contracted by ITER Organization for the Optimization of the ITER Deactivation Scenario.
Description
Jimmy Energy is developing and implementing small modular reactors based on HTGR fuel technology to supply high-temperature heat for industrial applications. The small-reactor concept under development uses fuel compacts embedded in graphite blocks. The associated fuel fabrication facility is designed to manufacture fuel compacts containing uranium enriched to 19.75% U-235, also known as HALEU. Within the framework of several partnerships for the production of TRISO fuel compacts, the initial focus is on engineering the HTGR fuel production process. The project between Jimmy Energy and NUKEM was carried out in two phases between 2022 and 2025.
The study was focused on the provision of engineering services to re-assess and technically and economically optimize the ITER deactivation scenario. The study also focusses on cost and time issues as well as radwaste amount updates, all with views of the relevant French safety regulations.
Services
NUKEM provided basic and detailed design services for the final fuel production process. This included preparing technical specifications for fuel production plant equipment and developing technical inquiry packages for long-lead items. NUKEM also advised Jimmy on the licensing process throughout the project and on nuclear safety-related matters.
The work is divided in the following tasks: Task 1: Data collection and consolidation, Draft report Task 2: Time to perform Deactivation operation, Detailed Report Task 3: Details for Neutral Beam Cell Task 4: Details for Tokamak Cooling Water System Task 5: Full Data Collection Table Task 6: Final Report including Deactivation costs NUKEM was responsible for the Hot Cell Complex in Task 2 and Task 4, AMEC for the other tasks. During the project the consortiums first results lead to optimizations during construction phase already leading to introduction of Task 7: update of optimized deactivation scenario Leading also to updates of tasks 5 and 6.
