Acceptance inspection of initial batch of fresh nuclear fuel for Unit-1 of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) has taken place at Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (NCCP), an enterprise of Rosatom’s Fuel Company (TVEL) on Wednesday (August 9).

Representatives of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC), NCCP, TVEL, and Atomstroyexport (ASE), participated in the fuel acceptance inspection.

Following the inspection, Dr. Shawkat Akbar, Project Director, of Rooppur NPP construction project, and Alexey Deriy, vice president of ASE signed the acceptance protocol, which paves the way for the shipment of the first batch of nuclear fuel to Bangladesh from the manufacturing plant. The fuel is expected to arrive in Bangladesh by September 2023.

“TVEL Fuel Company has produced for Rooppur NPP an advanced and efficient nuclear fuel, based on successful operating experience at reference VVER-1200 power units.

We have taken into account all preferences of the customer at the pre-production stage and at all stages of fuel manufacturing and also in supply to the power plant. I am positive that our fuel will once again prove the highest quality and reliability level of Russian nuclear technologies”, noted Alexander Bukhvalov, Quality Director of TVEL.

“Implementation of the Rooppur NPP construction project is going just as planned. Rosatom Engineering Division is fulfilling its obligations in all aspects, and by the time of the arrival of nuclear fuel, the construction site of Unit 1 will be fully ready to accept it and also ensure storage, meeting all the safety requirements until loading into the reactor”, confirmed Alexey Deriy, Vice President ASE and Project Director of Rooppur NPP Construction.

Similar nuclear fuel is operating successfully in power units with VVER-1200 reactors at Leningrad NPP, Novovoronezh NPP, and Belarus NPP.

Rooppur NPP is under construction at Ishwardi upazila of Pabna district. Two units of the project with a total capacity of 2,400MWe are being constructed under Russian design. Each unit will be equipped with Generation 3+ VVER-1200 reactor that fully complies with all the international safety requirements.