Established in 1917, this facility manufactured munitions before it was redirected toward production for the USSR’s military and civil nuclear programs. In 1954, Elemash began to produce fuel assemblies, including for the first nuclear power plant in the world, located in Obninsk. In 1959, the facility produced the fuel for the Soviet Union’s first icebreaker. Its fuel assembly production became serial in 1965 and automated in 1982. 1

Today, Elemash is one of the largest TVEL nuclear fuel production companies in Russia, specializing in fuel assemblies for nuclear power plants, research reactors, and naval nuclear reactors. Its fuel assemblies for RBMK, VVER, and fast reactors are used in 67 reactors worldwide. 2 It also produced MOX fuel assemblies for the BN-800 and the fuel for Russia’s first floating nuclear power plant in 2011. 3 Elemash manufactures BWR and PWR fuel assemblies for Areva, and also supplied fuel assemblies to start up China’s CEFR fast reactor. 4

Elemash has two operational critical assemblies, both powered by HEU.

In addition, Elemash manufactures barium-ferrite magnets, boasting one of the largest magnet production capabilities in Russia. 5 It also produces corrosion-resistant steel tubes used in fuel rods and assemblies. 6

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, or agents. Copyright 2022.

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