Framatome: Committed to helping states reach carbon emission goals
The topic of climate change continues to boil to the top in the midst of presidential election debates, with all candidates having their own ideas about the national energy portfolio needed to reduce carbon footprints. Meanwhile, as the debate goes on, several states and utilities have committed to being carbon free by 2050.
With the lowest carbon footprint of any state thanks to an energy portfolio consisting primarily of hydroelectric, nuclear and wind, Washington has a head start and thinks we can reach carbon free by 2040.
As a leading global energy company, Framatome supports state goals to reduce carbon emissions, and thus to recognize nuclear energy as part of the solution. Today, 5 percent of all electricity in the U.S. is generated by Framatome-produced fuel used in U.S. nuclear power plants. This is why we continue to invest in advancing our technologies and products. We are committed to supporting utilities and nuclear plant operators in extending the operating life of their plants.
2019 – A milestone year
In addition to celebrating 50 years in the Tri-Cities community manufacturing nuclear fuel for commercial reactors, Framatome in Richland celebrated several other milestones throughout the year and continued to make progress advancing our product offerings.
Just as we flipped the calendar to 2020, we wrapped up delivery of our first reload of ATRIUM 11 fuel, our most advanced boiling water reactor fuel design, to a customer. This year, we will manufacture our second reload, approximately 250 fuel assemblies, for another U.S. reactor. The result of more than 10 years of development by our global team of experts, this fuel design provides nuclear plant operators several improvements over the previous generation of design.
In January 2019, Framatome introduced its PROtect enhanced accident tolerant fuel (EATF) technologies to the U.S. market. These two new technologies are part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Accident Tolerant Fuel program that originated after the Fukushima incident in 2011, challenging companies like Framatome to develop products that can withstand the loss of cooling for an extended period of time in the reactor.
These two accomplishments are testament to the perseverance of our workforce and the acceptance of new technologies by our customers, and further show our determination to improve the nuclear fuel industry.
We are also proud to announce the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently completed its licensee performance review (LPR) of our site and found no areas needing improvement. This is the 14th consecutive year we have earned this distinction, setting us apart from our competition, and ensuring we deliver a secure supply of fuel to our customers.
What’s next?
In just a few short months our new uranium recovery facility will begin commercial operation. This new facility continues our mission of reducing waste on our site and further demonstrates our commitment to employee safety and the environment.
We look forward to celebrating another milestone late this year and early next year by manufacturing our first reload of our latest pressurized water reactor design, GAIA. We will continue to advance our PROtect program and will investigate additional technologies that could change the status quo for fuel design.
Nuclear energy is part of the solution for carbon reduction now and for future generations. Framatome will continue to invest in new technologies and products to ensure the continued operation of the country’s existing fleet and next generation of reactors.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 5:01 PM.