MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Rosatom completes first batch of nuclear fuel for Bolivia

Bolivia was the first South American country to use Russian nuclear fuel, said Rosatom's Oleg Grigoriyev

Russia's State Nuclear Energy Corporation Rosatom has completed the first batch of nuclear fuel for the reactor being built in Bolivian city of El Alto for the South American country's Center for Research and Development in Nuclear Technology (CIDTN), it was announced Monday in Moscow. The Russian Government agency also said in a statement that the chemicals manufactured at Rosatom's facilities in Novosibirsk had “passed acceptance inspection.” The fuel is to be delivered in 2025, it was also explained.

The CIDTN is a joint project seeking to strengthen Rosatom's position in the world market. The CIDTN is currently in the construction phase and will begin operation in stages. The center consists of four components: the Preclinical Radiopharmacy Cyclotron Complex (PRCC) and the Multipurpose Irradiation Center (MIC), both already in operation, while the Radioecology and Radiobiology laboratories are about to be inaugurated and the Research Nuclear Reactor Complex is currently under construction, according to Sputnik News.

With the TVS VRR-M2 fuel, the BR-01 research reactor is expected to produce radioisotopes for scientific research as well as being used in materials studies and for training purposes. The pool-type 200 kW pressurized water research reactor, developed by Russia's Research Institute of Atomic Reactors, is designed to have a service life of 50 years and is part of a Russian-Bolivian project to create a nuclear research and technology center at El Alto, at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters. The research reactor vessel was delivered and installed in its design position in 2023. It will be the world's highest-altitude research reactor.

Bolivia was the first South American country to use Russian nuclear fuel, said Oleg Grigoriyev, Senior Vice President for Commerce and International Business at Rosatom's fuel division TVEL. “Rosatom has vast experience in the construction of research reactor facilities abroad and traditionally provides them with nuclear fuel throughout their entire service life,” he added. “The Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant has been producing nuclear fuel and its components for research reactors in various regions of the world for already 50 years, including facilities of both Russian and foreign design,” he went on.

The Cyclotron Preclinical Radiopharmacy Complex is already up and running. It will produce a line of pharmaceuticals to supply Bolivian nuclear medicine centers, thus allowing for quicker and higher quality diagnosis and treatment. The Multipurpose Irradiation Centre has also been completed.

Rosatom announced the signing of the contract with the Bolivian Nuclear Energy Agency in September 2017 for the construction of the nuclear research and technology center in El Alto. Construction of the facility began in July 2021. The projected completion deadline is 2025.