Originally Posted by
ORAC
The French subs use commercial grade grade fuel, hence needing refuelling every 5 years, covered under existing IAEA regulations.
The UK and USA reactors use weapons grade fuel, which is why they last for the life of the sub.
if you want a comparison, Iran has the first - everyone is twitching about them enriching it to the second.
Naval reactors do use more highly enriched fuel than most civil power ones, but I think describing it as 'weapons grade' is a bit of an exaggeration. Surely all Uranuim reactors rely on U235 to fission?
Not so sure about American submarine reactors, but the
Astute class SSN is the first RN nuclear boat to be designed not to need refuelling. This is a big thing as it means a massive refit that takes the boat out of service for years is no longer needed. They have the same PWR 2 reactor as the
Vanguard class SSBN (which have needed refuelling) but with a new reactor core that is designed to last longer.
Has France not gone down a similar route?
I was slightly surprised to recently learn that Australia has no nuclear industry, apart from Uranuim mines. The only reactor is a small one used for research and making radionuclides for scientific and medical purposes.