what fuel is used by westinghouse’s ap1000 nuclear reactor

The Westinghouse AP1000 uses low-enriched uranium fuel in a pressurized water reactor design, arranged in a 157-fuel-assembly core. Westinghouse describes it as using a two-loop PWR with a standard fuel design based on 17x17 fuel assemblies, and industry sources note the AP1000 fuel can also support MOX in some configurations.

Fuel type

• Primary fuel: low-enriched uranium dioxide fuel for standard operation.

• Core design: 157 fuel assemblies in the reactor core.

• Fuel assembly design: Westinghouse 17x17 fuel design / robust fuel assembly technology.

In plain language

It’s the same broad fuel family used in many commercial nuclear plants: uranium fuel made into ceramic pellets and loaded into fuel rods, then grouped into assemblies. The AP1000 is not a gas- or coal-fueled system; it is a light-water reactor that relies on uranium fuel to produce heat.

Note

Some references mention that AP1000 studies have shown compatibility with full-core MOX fuel, but that is not the standard fuel load most people mean when asking this question.

TL;DR: AP1000 reactors normally run on low-enriched uranium fuel.