"Outage Optimization" brochure
Fuel, the heart of nuclear fission
Sandrine Marciano, safety engineer (France)
Integrated offer and global presence
The Fuel business unit manages the entire process for designing and producing fuel for pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs), from the production of zirconium and its alloys through to final assembly.
This integrated offer draws on a global organization which feature:
- global management of design engineering, technology, R&D and the supply chain,
- production of fuel assemblies at 7 sites in France, Germany and the United States,
- production of zirconium and its alloys at 6 sites in Europe.
Successful fuel assembly production requires complete management of design and manufacturing processes, including tubing and flat products from zirconium. Having the capacity to manufacture zirconium products within its industrial organization makes AREVA a unique fuel manufacturer worldwide with fully integrated operations. This organization contributes to fuel quality and reliability and strengthens the supply chain overall.
Having supplied nearly 190,000 fuel assemblies to operators, AREVA has captured two-thirds of the market for PWR assemblies and one-third of the market for BWR assemblies for a global market share of around 40%.
In addition, 135 of the 305 PWRs and BWRs in operation worldwide use AREVA fuel.
CEZUS is the global leader in producing zirconium for nuclear applications, with 40% market share in semi-finished products and 30% in ZY-4 and M5TM fuel cladding and structural tubing.
