Our business

Nuclear Fuel Cycle Production (NFC)

Kazatomprom, represented by the uranium division of Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMP), has the following competencies in the production and supply of products to the world market:
- Fuel pellets for Russian design reactors;
- Fuel pellets for light-water power reactors, including for AFA 3G fuel for reactors designed by the French Framatome.
In addition, the technology used at UMP for producing uranium oxide powders makes it possible to produce ceramic grade uranium dioxide powder enriched to 5% in 235U by processing a wide range of uranium-containing materials.

In November 2021, Ulba-FA plant was put into operation on the basis of UMP JSC to produce fuel assemblies (FA), the nuclear fuel for NPPs.  The plant was built jointly with the Chinese nuclear corporation CGNPC. This is the only production facility in the Republic of Kazakhstan to produce nuclear fuel for NPPs and has a guaranteed sales market in China for 20 years ahead. The plant's capacity is 200 tons per year in terms of low-enriched uranium.
The launch of innovative production by NAC Kazatomprom JSC allowed Kazakhstan to enter a limited circle of countries that produce and supply nuclear fuel for NPPs, opening up new opportunities for the development of Kazakhstan’s nuclear industry and prospects for cooperation in this area with other countries.
The first batch of FA was delivered to the NPP in China in December 2022. Based on the results of 2024, Ulba-FA plant fulfilled the annual production plan in full and reached the design capacity. In subsequent years, Ulba-FA plant plans to maintain this production capacity.

Since 2013, Kazatomprom, through the Kazakh-Russian joint venture Uranium Enrichment Center JSC, has had access to uranium enrichment services until 2043 in the amount of up to 2.5 million SWU per year. This uranium enrichment option is used by Kazatomprom to ensure the production of Ulba-FA LLP.
The Ulba Metallurgical Plant has been selected by the International Atomic Energy Agency as a site for the Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank. The LEU bank is a physical reserve of low-enriched uranium in the form of UF₆ with a total mass of about 90 tons, suitable for the manufacture of nuclear fuel for a standard light-water reactor, the most common type of nuclear power reactor in the world.
The purpose of the IAEA LEU Bank is to provide IAEA member states that do not have uranium enrichment technologies with a guaranteed supply of raw materials for production of nuclear fuel. In the event of a supply disruption, consumer countries can use the material stored in the LEU Bank.
The UMP site was chosen as the one that most fully meets the IAEA criteria: availability of infrastructure and qualified personnel, reliable physical protection system, transport infrastructure and accessibility. In addition, the plant has been under IAEA safeguards for 20 years.

On December 28, 2018, Kazatomprom, UMP and Cameco Corporation signed an agreement to grant the Kazakh side the right to use uranium refining and conversion technologies.
On January 28, 2020, the technologies were transferred to Kazatomprom.
At present, in order to assess the possibility of implementing the obtained uranium refining technology at the UMP, the plant is implementing an investment project called “Building 600. Reconstruction. Uranium oxide refining production with a capacity of 6,000 tons U per year”.