During the ATOMEXPO-2024 International Forum in Sochi, South Russia, TVEL Fuel Company, National Operator for Radioactive Waste Management (both enterprises are subsidiaries of Rosatom), Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, from the Russian part, and the Chinese partners – Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology (BRIUG, institution of China National Nuclear Corporation) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on participation in China’s MONEH International Collaborative Project.
Engineers from Russia and China intend to develop research and technical cooperation for validation of high-level radioactive waste (RAW) disposal, development of the relevant infrastructure for deep disposal of RAW in rock formations, as well as modeling and safety assessments.
Russian enterprises aim to participate China’s MONEH International Collaborative Project. It embraces a research program, including monitoring and evaluation of hydrogeological properties of rocks during construction and operation of the Beishan underground laboratory. The research laboratory, which will be located in a granite massif at a depth of up to 560 meters in the Gobi Desert, will be used to substantiate the possibility of long-term storage and disposal of high-level radioactive waste.
“Rosatom is interested in cooperation within the MONEH project because since a we have a similar project currently under implementation in Russia, in the Krasnoyarsk region, near Zheleznogorsk – construction of the underground research laboratory at the Yeniseysky site in a similar geological formation. Joint research, modeling, safety assessment and justification, consideration of the best international expertise will enable to improve the efficiency of facilities construction for high-level radioactive waste isolation and ensure safety of such facilities,” said Vasily Tinin, Director for National Policy for Radioactive Waste, Spent Nuclear Fuel and Decommissioning at Rosatom State Corporation.
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TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom (Nuclear Fuel Division of Rosatom State Corporation) includes enterprises for fabrication of nuclear fuel, uranium conversion and enrichment, production of gas centrifuges, as well as research and development organizations. As the sole supplier of nuclear fuel for Russian NPPs, TVEL provides fuel for more than 70 power reactors in 15 countries, research reactors in nine countries and propulsion reactors of the Russian nuclear fleet. Every sixth power reactor in the world is fueled by TVEL. Rosatom’s Fuel Division is the world’s largest producer of enriched uranium, as well as the leader of the global stable isotope market.
The Nuclear Fuel Division is actively developing new businesses in chemistry, metallurgy, energy storage technologies, 3D printing, digital products, and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. http://www.tvel.ru.
TVEL JSC is the Integrator of the Russian Nuclear Industry for Decommissioning of nuclear and radiation hazardous facilities and management of associated radioactive waste since 2019. The Integrator consolidates expertise and references of the industry, develops new technologies, implements all stages of projects from preparation of decommissioning to management of associated RAW and remediation of territories.
As part of demonstrating Rosatom’s commitment to the climate agenda, compensation of the carbon footprint of the XIII International Forum ATOMEXPO-2024 will be ensured using special certificates.
