Will The Russians Become Fuel Supplier To U.S. Nuclear Power 
Plants? http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2016/05/31/will-the-russians-become-fuel-supplier-to-u-s-nuclear-power-plants/#413acf8f2638 Kenneth Rapoza , 31 May 16,
It’s not unprecedented. While the U.S. does not currently use Russian technology at any of its nuclear power stations, a deal between Global Nuclear Fuel Americas and TVEL would be the first to make it happen. Global Nuclear Fuel-Americas is a GE-led joint venture that includes its main nuclear power plant partner Hitachi and rival Toshiba, which owns Westinghouse.
Under the agreement proposed May 24, GE partners and TVEL will “work together toward the licensing, marketing and fabrication of fuel” for U.S. pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Global Nuclear Fuel and TVEL would create a strategic alliance with the purpose of introducing the Russian fuel rods into the U.S. market.
“We believe strongly in the TVEL technology,” said Jonathan Allen, a spokesman for GE Hitachi.
TVEL’s latest nuclear fuel assembly technology is for use in Westinghouse-designed reactors. There are currently 35 of these reactors operating in the U.S., but none of them are allowed to use TVEL’s technology because it has not yet been approved U.S. nuclear industry regulators. The assembly rod, known as the TVS-K design, has been used for many years in Rusatom’s VVER-1000 nuclear power plants at 78 nuclear power reactors in 15 countries, most of them in the former Soviet bloc.
“This (deal gives) additional diversification of fuel supplies to U.S. reactors,” said Oleg Grigoryev, Vice President of Commerce and International Cooperation at TVEL.
Russia’s entrance into the U.S. market comes at a time when its partner in the deal, Toshiba, is also trying to capture some of TVEL’s market share in Finland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Ukraine. Washington has actually lent support to Westinghouse in sales pitches to governments looking to move out of Russia’s energy orbit. A move to bring Russian technology to the U.S. could also be seen as a fig leaf to Moscow, which has been locked in an energy security battle for Europe over the last year.
Opening the U.S. market to Russian tech would be the same as the traditional Russian markets, including Ukraine, opening up to Westinghouse.
Fuel assembly rods are essentially the batteries of nuclear power plants. They hold the uranium that goes into the reactor that generates electricity. Westinghouse is TVEL’s biggest competitor. But Chinese developers, working close with Westinghouse and Toshiba in China in a tech sharing deal, are also moving up market and could become rival suppliers at some point in the future.
TVEL has a roughly 17% global market share of fuel assemblies, with Westinghouse and Areva competing for first place with close to 30%.
