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French Orano has signed a contract with Japan's Nuclear Fuel Industries (NFI) for the fabrication of 32 MOX fuel assemblies for the Takahama 3 and 4 reactors operated by Kansai Electric Power Company (Kansai). Mixed oxide fuel, or MOX, is nuclear fuel made from reprocessed plutonium and uranium.

The supply of MOX fuel assemblies to Kansai is a follow-up to agreements signed with Japanese utilities stretching back over several decades, Orano said. To date, 44 reactors worldwide have generated electricity from MOX fuel since 1972, it added.

Pascal Aubret, director of Orano's recycling business unit said the contract with its longstanding Japanese partner, Kansai, "underlines the relevance of recycling for our customers as a responsible and efficient solution for managing their used fuel".

The MOX fuel assemblies will be manufactured at Orano’s Melox plant in Chusclan, in southerm France.

It was reported in April 2019 that Kansai would receive a shipment of MOX fuel assemblies this year for Takahama 3 and 4. In 2017, French Orano delivered MOX fuel assemblies for Takahama. At the same time, Orano signed a contract with NFI for the fabrication of 32 MOX fuel assemblies for the same plant.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Date: Friday, 07 February 2020
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Orano-wins-further-MOX-order-from-Japan