MOX fuel provides electricity for nuclear plant

The Genkai nuclear plant on Kyushu Island has been producing electricity from AREVA's MOX fuel. The plant is owned by Kyushu Electric Power Company.

Following the contract signed in 2006 between AREVA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., a first fuel assemblies delivery took place on May 2009. The contract comes as part of Japan's nuclear program to recycle used fuel, and follows contracts signed from 2006 to 2009 with Japanese utilities Chubu, Kyushu, Shikoku, Kansai, EPDC and Chugoku.

On October 2009 the MOX loading operations took place in unit 3 of the Genkai Nuclear Power Plant followed by restarted power generation tests and gradually increase output for normal operation on December 2nd. This recycled fuel was fabricated on 2008 at AREVA's MELOX plant in southern France using the plutonium recovered from the treatment operations of used fuels performed at AREVA's La Hague plant.

Loading of MOX fuel from AREVA's MELOX plant in Japan is the result of a successful and a 30-year longstanding partnership with Japanese utilities. For Jean-Pierre Gros, Executive vice-president Recycling of AREVA, "We are proud to contribute to provide electricity to Japanese citizens for the first time through recyclable fuel MOX which demonstrates its safe, reliable and sustainable energy."