Important signal: EU, federal government and Bavaria fund with a total of 12.8 million euros

Research on conversion of FRM II can continue

Like the FRM II, other research reactors in Europe have also committed to converting their fuel elements from high to low enriched uranium. Institutes and companies from Germany, France, Belgium and the Czech Republic have therefore joined forces in the EU-CONVERSION project. The long-term goal of the cooperation and the basis for EU participation via the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) is to ensure a secure supply of medical radioisotopes for Europe.

“In this research alliance, TUM will focus on the development of simulations and experiments to qualify the new fuel elements,” explains Dr. Bruno Baumeister, project manager of the FRM II conversion and coordinator of EU-CONVERSION. In addition, there is an international master's program with leading European and international universities with the aim of significantly improving training in nuclear technology topics.

As part of the FRM2427 project, which is funded by the federal and state governments until mid-2027, researchers at FRM II will develop an optimized design for a fuel element with low-enriched uranium and carry out important validation experiments. They are thus continuing their many years of joint funding for the conversion. “We want to provide the best possible fuel element for the FRM II,” says Dr. Christian Reiter, Head of the TUM Center for Nuclear Safety and Innovation. “After all, this is a world-class large-scale research facility that is of enormous importance for medicine, materials science and basic research, among other things.”