Working meeting was held between specialists from the National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NNC RK) and representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

From January 26 to 30, a working meeting was held in Kurchatov between specialists from the National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NNC RK) and representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The discussions focused on the further development of the program to convert the IGR research reactor to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel.

During the meeting, the Kazakhstani side presented the current results of their work on developing new uranium-graphite LEU fuel for the IGR reactor. Both miniature samples and two full-size experimental graphite LEU fuel blocks were demonstrated. Results of studies on the physical properties of the graphite planned for use as a base material for the LEU fuel were also presented.

A separate session of the meeting took place in Ust-Kamenogorsk at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant JSC, where participants discussed scaling up the LEU fuel fabrication technology and its implementation in industrial production.

As a result of the meeting, the parties outlined the next steps for refining the LEU fuel fabrication technology to achieve the necessary characteristics for the safe operation of the IGR reactor. Additionally, studies are planned to assess the sensitivity of the IGR reactor’s performance to potential allowable deviations in LEU fuel parameters.