On April 1, the Rokkasho-Mura plant, in Japan's Aomori province, sheared its first used fuel assembly, thereby entering the final test phase.
Modeled on the UP3 plant at La Hague (France), this facility will enable Japan to treat its own used nuclear fuel.
The success of this stage represents a milestone in AREVA's partnership with JNFL*.
It is also a testament to the group's know-how and the involvement of the Engineering and Treatment business units teams mobilized on this project.
Tests will now go ahead in the plant right up to commissioning, scheduled for mid-2007, with power gradually ramped-up between now and then.
Our partnership with JNFL started back in 1981 with engineering studies, followed in 1987 by a technology transfer agreement to build the plant. Moreover, June 2001 witnessed the signing of a contract to provide technical assistance through full startup of the facility.
Around one hundred Japanese technicians have been trained at La Hague, and forty AREVA engineers and technicians are currently on-site in Japan.
* JNFL (Japan Nuclear Fuels Limited) is a subsidiary of the 10 Japanese electricity utilities that operate 53 reactors, generating a total of 45,200 MW(e), providing around 30% of the country's electricity (2004 figures). Three additional reactors are currently under construction.
4/4/2006