Urenco and Orano sign consortium agreement to develop 30B-X cylinder for LEU+ and HALEU fuel transport

On the occasion of the WNA symposium in London, Orano and Urenco announced the signing of a consortium agreement for testing and development of Orano's new 30B-X cylinder designed to transport uranium enriched up to 19.75%. The 30B-X cylinder is used within Orano's innovative DN30-X packaging.

This new cylinder is designed for LEU+/HALEU fuel[1] transport. New fuel designs and the developing Advanced Reactor market will need solutions for transporting uranium enriched to up to 19.75%. Orano's Versa-Pac 55 is one of the very few options available on the market today.

The new DN30-X packaging combines the properties of the existing DN30 overpack with the new 30B-X cylinder containing the unique Criticality Control System (CCS), which uses control rods with neutrophilic characteristics to ensure transport safety.

Two versions of the 30B-X cylinder are available for optimized transport capacity depending on the level of uranium enrichment, with a different number of CCS control rods: one model with a capacity of 1,460 kg of uranium enriched up to 10%, and a second with a capacity of 1,271 kg of uranium enriched up to 19.75%.

The DN30-X package was licensed in March 2023 by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Licensing in France is in progress and is expected in the second semester of 2024. Licensing for other countries will follow upon request.

In parallel to licensing in France, two prototypes of the 30B-X cylinder were delivered to two enrichment facilities for testing of the integration of the cylinders into their plant processes: at a Urenco enrichment site and at Orano’s Tricastin conversion and enrichment facility.