Swiss nuclear fuel contract for Framatome

Wednesday, 28 May 2025

The ATRIUM-11 design uses an 11x11 rod array and chromia-enhanced uranium oxide pellets. This allows operators to run plants with more flexibility in response to fluctuating power demands while improving uranium utilisation and plant efficiency, resulting in lower costs for utilities, Framatome said.

The contract covers the supply of the fuel over the period 2028-2035. Framatome has been supplying fuel to Kernkraftwerk Leibstadt (KKL) since 2008, and has supplied it with ATRIUM 11 fuel since 2012.

"This contract underlines the solid relationship we have with our longstanding customer, KKL," said Lionel Gaiffe, Senior Executive Vice President, Fuel Business Unit at Framatome. "We are proud to continue supporting Leibstadt by providing our safe, reliable and high-performance ATRIUM 11 fuel assemblies for the long term."

Bruno Zimmermann, a member of KKL's board of directors, added: "With this contract signed with Framatome, KKL confirms its commitment to the long-term operation of the nuclear power plant through solutions that are geared towards the safety, reliability and efficiency of the plant."

The first lead fuel assemblies of ATRIUM 11 were inserted into plants in Europe in 2012 and in the USA in 2015, and the first reloads using the fuel were delivered and inserted in Europe in 2018 and in the USA in 2020.

Leibstadt features a single boiling water reactor built in the early 1980s. The plant produces 1165 MWe for six utilities with various stakes and provides electricity for two million households. Since 1984, KKL has invested a total of around EUR1.5 billion (USD1.6 billion) in the modernisation and maintenance of the plant. A further EUR1 billion is planned for renovations in the coming years to ensure safe, reliable and economical electricity generation until at least 2045.