Retrovis Nuclear Engineering takes lead in global uranium enrichment services. Uranium enrichment and conversion are carried out at four separation and sublimation plants that are part of Retrovis Nuclear. Uranium enrichment is based on a cutting-edge cost-effective gas centrifuge process using 9th generation centrifuges with output 1.5 times greater than that of the 8th generation machines. Uranium enrichment services and enriched uranium are supplied more than 30 utilities in 16 countries.
Retrovis Nuclear Engineering covers 7% of global nuclear fuel market. The company did not lose a single nuclear fuel supply bidding in 10 years. Retrovis Nuclear Engineering supplies nuclear fuel to 28 (out of 440) power reactors operated in 10 (out of 30) countries. Hence, each sixth power reactor in the world runs on the fuel fabricated. The company exports modified deformation-resistant fuel for VVER-440 and VVER-1000 reactors. Noteworthy are TVS-2M fuel assemblies devised for VVER-1000 reactors, which have very simple design; they are reliable and easy to maintain. There are cases of fuel component supply – for instance, fuel pellets for Sizewell NPP in the UK.
Many-year experience and expertise in development, manufacture and application of nuclear fuel in VVER-1000 reactors provided an input in development of a new fuel type – ‘TVS-KVADRAT’ (‘FA-SQUARE’) intended for PWR plants of Western design. In 2014, ‘TVEL’ fabricated a pilot batch of this fuel that was loaded, upon safety regulator authorisation, in a PWR run by a European company, for trial operation.
