Fuel fabrication
Fuel fabrication turns enriched uranium into the ceramic fuel pellets, rods, and assemblies loaded into a reactor. How nuclear fuel fabrication works.
Fuel fabrication is the final step of the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle, where enriched uranium is turned into finished reactor fuel. It is the point at which uranium stops being a bulk material and becomes an engineered component built for a specific reactor design.
How nuclear fuel is fabricated
- Conversion to powder. Enriched uranium arrives as uranium hexafluoride (UF₆) and is converted into uranium dioxide (UO₂) powder.
- Pellet pressing. The powder is pressed into small cylindrical pellets, each roughly the size of a fingertip.
- Sintering. The pellets are baked at high temperature into a dense ceramic, then ground to precise dimensions.
- Fuel rods. The pellets are stacked into metal tubes, usually zirconium alloy, which are filled with helium and sealed.
- Fuel assemblies. The rods are bundled into fuel assemblies engineered for a particular reactor design and loaded into the reactor.
Nuclear fuel pellets
Nuclear fuel pellets are the ceramic uranium dioxide cylinders at the core of most reactor fuel. A single pellet produces as much energy as roughly a tonne of coal. Advanced reactors may use other fuel forms, such as metallic fuel or TRISO particles made with HALEU.
Fabrication and the uranium market
Fabrication sits well downstream of the traded uranium commodity. The uranium market centers on yellowcake (U₃O₈) at the front of the cycle, while fabrication is a manufacturing service priced separately, alongside uranium, conversion, and enrichment.
FAQ
Nuclear fuel fabrication is the process of turning enriched uranium into reactor fuel. Enriched uranium hexafluoride is converted into uranium dioxide powder, pressed and sintered into ceramic pellets, sealed into fuel rods, and bundled into fuel assemblies for a specific reactor.
Most nuclear fuel pellets are made of uranium dioxide (UO₂), a ceramic produced from enriched uranium. The pellets are sintered at high temperature, ground to precise dimensions, and stacked inside sealed metal fuel rods.