MOX FUEL DEVELOPMENT - YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW

MOX fuel being very similar to the standard enriched U fuel routinely utilized in LWRs and quite similar to FBR oxide fuel is supported by the large experience accumulated on those fuels. MOX fuel benefits also from lessons learned from Pu utilization in other reactors: HTRs (in the past) and ATRs (still pursued in Japan). Yesterday, from the late 50s to the mid-80s, involved laboratory investigations were followed by pilot plant fabrications and provided a reliable and strong foundation on which a viable industrial activity could be build. Today, i.e. from the mid-80s until the turn of the century, is characterized by a rapid expansion of the industrial utilization of MOX fuel, limited only by the time required to implement and qualify new fabrication facilities and justified by a data base extending to discharge burnups of 50 and even 60 GWd/t HM. Tomorrow, will be after the year 2000, when new challenges will have to be met.