Completed in 2025, coinciding with the nuclear industry’s 80th anniversary, the upgrade supports Rosatom’s fuel production goals. Sergey Filimonov, Director General, said: “It is symbolic that a significant historical milestone in the modernisation of the main equipment was reached in the year of the 80th anniversary of the nuclear industry. The technical re-equipment of our enterprise is significant for the successful implementation of the production programme of the Fuel Division of Rosatom in the coming years, including for providing nuclear fuel for new nuclear power units of Russian design in the country and abroad.”
The project ensures a steady supply of nuclear fuel for Russian-designed reactors globally. Natural uranium, with 0.7% fissile uranium-235 (U-235) and mostly non-fissile uranium-238, is enriched to 3.5%–5% U-235 for low-enriched uranium (LEU) used in most reactors. Advanced reactors may require high-assay LEU (HALEU) with 5%–20% U-235, while some, like Canada’s Candu, use unenriched uranium.
Enrichment employs gas centrifuges, spinning uranium hexafluoride (UF6) to separate isotopes by mass. Heavier uranium-238 concentrates near the outer wall, while lighter U-235 gathers at the center, enabling precise fuel production.
The modernization enhances Zelenogorsk’s capacity to meet global nuclear fuel needs, improving efficiency and supporting sustainable energy production.
