Emirates Nuclear Energy Company (Enec) announced on 17 July that it had signed an agreement to source nuclear fuel for its four-reactor 5.6GW Barakah facility from US-based nuclear energy firm Framatome. While neither company specified how much fuel would be supplied or over what time period, they did say it will come from Framatome’s fabrication facility in Washington state.
Up until now Enec had secured all its fuel from Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) which helped build the Barakah facility and holds an 18% stake alongside Enec’s 82%. Enec confirms that Framatome supplies will be in addition to those from Kepco, not a replacement. “Our objective is to diversify our fuel supplies to ensure long-term sustainability of the civil nuclear program. Therefore, the agreement with Framatome is in addition to our existing agreement with Kepco Korea Nuclear Fuels (KNF) for fuel assemblies,” says a spokesperson. (CONTINUED - 165 WORDS)