Keep updated! Subscribe to PuMMA's newsletter and follow the project on LinkedIn
Subscribe to PuMMA's mailing list

pumma’s

Objectives & impacts

PuMMA has the ambition to perform excellent scientific and technological research
that advances the knowledge on MOX fuel significantly
objective 1

 To study the plutonium management in Generation IV reactors and to understand its impact on fuel cycle parameters

objective 2

 To assess the impact of plutonium management on fuel safety limits

objective 3

To share the expertise and the skills on the management of plutonium in fast reactors

8 work packages
PuMMA will advance greatly the state of the art on the understanding of MOX fuels enhancing the atomistic and thermodynamic modelling in the evaluation of thermal properties

1

Study of plutonium management in connection with the fuel cycle: scenario studies

2

Fuel Pin behaviour in reactor with high Pu content: Nominal and transient

3

Fuel properties with high PU content: Measurements and modelling

4

Comparison of irradiation results in fast spectrum vs thermal spectrum (MTR)

5

Impact of Pu content on fuel dissolution

6

Education and training,
dissemination and communication

7

Project management

8

Ethics requirements

expected impacts
Placing the EU at the forefront of the development of safety standards for Generation IV reactors, thereby helping EU safety standards to be adopted worldwide whilst also boosting EU technological and industrial competitiveness
Scientific & Technical Impact

Enhancement of thermal and mechanical properties of the fuel with new measures

Coupling of thermomechanical and thermochemical simulation for fuel behavior

Contribution of atomistic and thermodynamic modelling in the evaluation of thermal properties

Better knowledge of the dissolution of Pu-rich MOX fuels (rate, kinetics, residues)

Technological Impact

Impact of fuel cycle options on reactor, cycle and waste performance

Impact of Pu management on the cycle facilities (manufacturing, reprocessing, intermediate storage) and transport

Analysis and recommendations on MTR irradiation devices for qualification of fast fuels

Evaluation of the performance of the industrial process for the dissolution of irradiated fuel

political Impact

Allowing each EU nation to have data in support of the decisions on nuclear strategy

Placing the EU at the forefront of the using existing plutonium stockpile

Contributing to proliferation resistance thanks to the inclusion of more plutonium in the fuel and the absence of uranium enrichment

Safety and cost at the core of decisions about reactor types and cycles, facilitating coherence and a hope for a better acceptance of the public

economic & environmental Impact

Evaluation of the cost of each fuel cycle scenario to highlight the feasible solutions for the deployment of Generation IV

Evaluation of plutonium management as a whole with reduction of resources use will result in reduction of the fuel cycle cost

No new uranium needs and no enrichment thanks to the use of depleted uranium that comes from reprocessing

Reduction of High Level waste by a factor 9 compared to open cycle

check out the results

Project results will be uploaded to the website as they become available to the public.

Discover the project's deliverables