Amid delays in the use of plutonium held by electric power companies, the Federation of Electric Power Companies, which is made up of major electric power companies, is processing some of the plutonium stored in France, owned by power companies whose nuclear power plants have not restarted, into nuclear fuel. Kyushu Electric Power and Shikoku Electric Power announced plans to use it at their nuclear power plants.
Since the plutonium contained in spent nuclear fuel can also be used as a raw material for nuclear weapons, electric power companies are promoting ``pluthermal power generation,'' which is sent to the UK and France to be processed into nuclear fuel and used in domestic nuclear power plants, to reduce the amount they have. We have been working to reduce this.
However, in the UK, a factory that processes plutonium into nuclear fuel was closed in 2011, and approximately 21.7 tons of plutonium is no longer available.
On the other hand, approximately 14.1 tons are stored in France, but Kyushu Electric Power and Shikoku Electric Power, which implement "pluthermal power generation", have run out of inventory, and other power companies are not making any progress in restarting operations, so overall Usage is delayed.
For this reason, the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan has decided to exchange the 1.7 tons of plutonium stored in the UK by Kyushu Electric Power and Shikoku Electric Power with the plutonium stored in France by five companies, including Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power, which have not restarted operations. The company announced plans to process the fuel into nuclear fuel and begin using it in 2027.
According to the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan, the amount of plutonium held by electric power companies in Japan is expected to reach approximately 40.1 tons as of the end of this fiscal year, and they hope to reduce their holdings through these efforts.