Framatome 3D fuel components complete operating cycle at Goesgen

摘要

In a November 4 press release, Framatome announced that fuel elements produced through 3D printing (additive manufacturing) successfully completed their first cycle under operating conditions of irradiation at the Goesgen nuclear power plant in Switzerland. The company plans to carry out further analysis to verify the behavior of the fuel elements under real world operating conditions. In 2019, the steel and nickelbased alloy components were first installed at the Swiss plant for a five-cycle program. “We are very interested in the innovation and opportunities offered by additive manufacturing of nuclear fuel,” said Goesgen’s head of Nuclear Technology, Dr. Gaeetan Girardin. “We continually explore technological advancements that drive the efficiencies and performance of our plants. This is why we decided to be the first to introduce these experimental components in our power reactor.”