Development of 5-year refuelling cycle at Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant, Czech Republic

In PWR fuel enrichment is permanently increased together with the content of burning absorbers with the aim to improve characteristics of burning and reduce fuel costs at the energy market. In parallel, deployment of a new generation of advanced PWR 440 fuel types implies further development of the fuel cycle of the Dukovany NPP as a more aggressive policy of fuel charges reduce fuel costs. To achieve the economic advantage offered by these new fuel types and maintain the level of safety and reliability of reactor operation the process of charge design is continuously improved together with safety assessment and introduction of advanced procedures of on line monitoring of the reactor core.