PREPARATORY PHASE FOR A EUROPEAN PRODUCTION CAPABILITY TO SECURE A SUPPLY OF HALEU FUEL

Project Information

PreP-HALEU

Grant agreement ID: 101164744

EC signature date 5 June 2024

Start date 1 September 2024

End date 31 August 2026

Funded under

• Euratom Research and Training Programme (EURATOM)

Total cost

€ 1 070 293,75

EU contribution

€ 997 637,50

Coordinated by

COMMISSARIAT A L ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PreP-HALEU (PREPARATORY PHASE FOR A EUROPEAN PRODUCTION CAPABILITY TO SECURE A SUPPLY OF HALEU FUEL)

Reporting period: 2024-09-01 to 2025-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

High-assay low-enriched uranium metal (HALEU) is a critical resource required for the operation of research reactors and the production of pharmaceutical radioisotopes. Its availability is essential for advancing nuclear energy safety, materials science, basic scientific research, and the performance of about 40 million nuclear medicine procedures worldwide each year. Until recently, EU has relied on Russia and the USA for its supply of HALEU. Russian supplies are expected to be unavailable for an extended period, and the future availability of US supplies remains uncertain: it is thus imperative for EU to establish its own HALEU production capacity. The PreP-HALEU initiative represents a preparatory phase aimed at producing essential components and evaluating the technical pathways for establishing this capacity in EU. This project consortium brings together all key stakeholders, including enrichment companies, fuel manufacturers, research organizations, and medical radioisotope producers. Through this collaborative effort, PreP-HALEU intends to: • Generate substantial technical, economic, and regulatory information to support the decision-making process. • Foster alignment among the countries and parties involved in establishing a EU HALEU capability as a shared asset. Within the framework of PreP-HALEU, the quantitative requirements for HALEU metal will be updated, and working groups will delve into enrichment, metallization, and transportation considerations. The integration of these elementary bricks will be extensively discussed to create a coherent project dynamic and consistently consolidate results into an executive summary, a key input for the decision-making phase. The PreP-HALEU project, initiated in response to the Horizon-Euratom 2023 NRT01-11 call for proposals, is a cornerstone in the establishment of a EU production capacity for metal HALEU. It plays a pivotal role in securing activities in the fields of research, healthcare, and innovation throughout EU.

A discussion paper proposing a roadmap was circulated and gave rise to exchange in several EU capitals. The aim of this document is to circulate among the organisations and capitals concerned by the subject. It is important for the future of this project because this created a dynamic for strategic reflection.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In this year, the HALEU needs in terms of quantity and in terms of enrichment for research reactors and medical radio-isotopes are studied. Looking purely at the European demand, the yearly HALEU demand estimate ranges between 1038 – 1675 kg / year in 2035. This includes both the HALEU demand for research reactor fuel, as well as the HALEU needs for medical isotope targets. Since several research reactors outside EU are supplied from Europe, some 214 – 274 kg/year could be considered as an additional demand potential.

Another topic adressed this year is the implementation of a base-line roadmap to realise an autonomous European HALEU supply chain, including description of required facilities to sustain the needs of EU research reactors for R&D and medical radioisotope production. These solutions will be assessed from a technical, commercial, financial and regulatory point of view. In order to achieve this objective, a staged approach for the Information Exchange Meeting (IEM) is proposed through 3 Information Exchange Meetings (at T0+6 months, T0+12 months, T0+18 months). Two integration workshops were organised:
• 1st Integration Meeting from 13 – 14 February 2025 in Rez, Czech Republic,
hosted by CVR
• 2nd Integration Meeting from 23 – 24 June 2025 in Warsaw / Otwock, Poland,
hosted by NCBJ

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

This item is part of the 2nd year work.
It will then be included in the final report.