The first three fuel assemblies with uranium-plutonium mixed oxide fuel containing transuranic elements americium-241 and neptunium-237 have been produced by Rosatom's Mining and Chemical Combine.

China has developed a 100-tonne transport container for used fuel from large fast reactors, the China Institute of Atomic Energy announced. Following test verification of a full-scale prototype container, the design has obtained design licence approval.

Lightbridge Corporation and Centrus Energy Corp are to carry out a front-end engineering and design study to add a dedicated fabrication facility for Lightbridge's next-generation nuclear fuel at the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio.

TRIGA International - a joint venture between Framatome and General Atomics - has been awarded a contract to fabricate TRIGA-like fuel for the US Department of Energy's Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation microreactor.

Ontario Power Generation has selected suppliers Cameco, Urenco USA, Orano and Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas for the first fuel contracts for its planned small modular reactor units at the Darlington New Nuclear Project, while TerraPower and uranium producer Uranium Energy Corp are to work together on the fuel supply chain ahead of the construction of the first-of-a-kind Natrium plant.

The contract will see Urenco continuing to supply Ukraine's Energoatom with enriched uranium until 2035, with an option to extend the contract to 2043. 

French company Framatome is planning the construction of a nuclear fuel fabrication facility in the UK as part of its plans to scale-up its operations in the country. In a separate development it also announced it was setting up a joint venture with Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation.

The Hungarian Parliament has reportedly supported an amendment to the country's nuclear energy policy that would allow alternative sources to be used for fuel for the Paks nuclear power plant, which has until now relied on Russian-supplied fuel.

Fresh nuclear fuel has been loaded into the starboard side reactor on the Akademik Lomonosov in the first operation of its kind, with the process due to be completed by the end of the year, Rosatom says.

Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory recently fabricated about two dozen commercial-grade high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel pellets for testing. A further 100-150 pellets are to be made for irradiation tests in the Advanced Test Reactor.

The 10-year process of dismantling the Lepse, which was used to refuel the nuclear icebreaker fleet from 1963 to 1981 and then used for the storage of used fuel and radioactive waste, has been completed, Rosatom says.

The first stage of decommissioning of the Kursk nuclear power plant's first unit has been completed with the last used fuel assembly unloaded from the reactor core.