Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom’s subsidiary TVEL has signed with the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA) a contract to supply the ETRR-2 research reactor in Egypt with uranium components for low-enriched nuclear fuel produced by the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant.
The ETRR-2 is used at the National Center for Atomic Research in Inshas city in the field of physics of particles and materials science and is also used to produce stable isotopes.
Oleg Grigoriev, the senior vice president for commerce and international business at TVEL, said that supplying nuclear fuel is a major leap in the company’s traditional trade work.
“Our establishments can manufacture any components of metal and uranium nuclear fuel for energy reactors and research, not just with a Russian design, but also with foreign designs, like ETRR-2,” Grigoriev added.
He explained that TVEL gives special attention to developing the production establishments as well as the technologies to manufacture fuel to produce new products and provide clients with high-quality fuel for good trade conditions.
In 2017 and 2018, Egypt was supplied with a wide range of uranium and aluminum in nuclear fuel produced by the open shareholding company, especially for the ETRR-2 reactor within the framework of implementing a series of contractual documents.
“The prospects of developing the commercial business of the shareholding company, TVEL, in the Egyptian market are related to providing Al Dabaa nuclear energy plant that has four VVER-1200 reactors with nuclear fuel,” Grigoriev stated.
Furthermore, Grigoriev pointed out that the Central Institute for Engineering Design is also part of TVEL, contributing to a project to establish a dry container to store the nuclear fuel consumed at Al Dabaa nuclear plant as a subcontractor.
Amgad El Wakel, head of the Nuclear Power Plants Authority, during his participation in Atom Expo 2019, reviewed the most prominent accomplishments in the field of nuclear energy in Egypt since 2007 until the contract to build Al Dabaa nuclear power reactor was signed with Russian Rosatom.
He explained the steps of the agreement with the Russian company in terms of financing and construction since 2015 until now, especially with regard to the requirements related to the procurement work related to the project of Al Dabaa nuclear power plant; in order to maximize the participation of Egyptian national companies in the implementation activities of the project in order to achieve the strategic objectives to localize nuclear energy in Egypt and improve quality standards in the Egyptian industries.
El Wakel also pointed out the role Rosatom plays through offering the best technologies in the field of nuclear energy and using third generation technologies in building Al Dabaa. He also spoke about the organizational structure of the authority and the work of committees to serve the objectives of the Egyptian nuclear project.
He stressed the importance of the role that qualified human cadres play to ensure the success of this major project. He said that the authority is preparing technical cadres specialized in the field of nuclear energy plants since 1976 and is making major efforts to qualify human cadres to benefit from the grants and training courses offered by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Arab Atomic Energy Agency, and are held in and out of Egypt.
