Rosatom Supplies Nuclear Fuel for Reactor in Uzbekistan

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Rosatom’s Fuel Division, managed by TVEL JSC, has fulfilled a contract with the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan to supply modified nuclear fuel for the VVR-SM research reactor.

The reactor is used for research in nuclear physics, radiation materials science, activation analysis, irradiation of minerals, as well as for the production of radioisotopes for medical and industrial applications.

The high-density uranium and uranium–silicide fuel manufactured by the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (PJSC NZHK), an enterprise of Rosatom’s Fuel Division, offers superior performance characteristics compared with the standard IRT-4M fuel assemblies previously supplied to Uzbekistan. Thanks to the higher uranium concentration, a proportional extension of the reactor’s fuel cycle can be achieved.

The delivery of nuclear fuel for the research reactor forms part of the broader cooperation between Rosatom and the Republic of Uzbekistan in the field of peaceful nuclear energy.

The contract for the construction of a nuclear power plant with Russian-designed RITM-200N reactors in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh region, signed in May 2024, became the world’s first export contract for the construction of a small modular nuclear power plant. At the same time, the possibility of building large-capacity power units of Russian design is also being explored.

For many years, TVEL JSC and the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan have maintained close cooperation on issues related to the decommissioning of nuclear facilities and the management of radioactive waste.

Since 2019, the Tashkent branch of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI has been providing education and training for students in the capital of Uzbekistan.