The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation today announced a historic achievement for the United Arab Emirates, making it the first in the Arab world as the first country capable of operating nuclear power stations to produce electricity, which is the completion of loading nuclear fuel in the first station reactor in Barakah.

With this achievement, the UAE has joined a limited number of countries around the world that have succeeded in developing a knowledge and infrastructure system that enables it to use nuclear energy to produce primary load electricity safely and reliably.

This achievement was achieved this week, after completing the loading of nuclear fuel packages in the first plant reactor according to the highest safety and quality standards, which started after the issuance of the operating license from the Federal Nuclear Control Authority in February.

Commenting on this achievement, Eng. Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, CEO of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, said: “We have a team that has been qualified and trained for several years to reach this level today to achieve our goal which we are seeking to provide large quantities of safe, reliable and environmentally friendly electrical energy to support growth. Economic and social in the UAE, and today we are all proud of the UAE joining the group of countries producing electric energy using nuclear energy, after meeting all international conditions starting from developing policies, programs and investing in human cadres And, by having an advanced infrastructure that qualified it to join the nuclear energy sector. “

Al-Hammadi added, “The responsibility doubles our responsibility today, as we continue to work safely during the next stage to reach the entire electricity production process in the first station in Baraka.”

The process of loading nuclear fuel in the first station was carried out by the hands of a trained team at the highest level of which the Emiratis account for 90%, all of whom have obtained the license of the Federal Nuclear Control Authority as the operators of nuclear reactors, where this team has completed the process of loading 241 nuclear fuel packages in the first station reactor beginning this week.

In this context, Al-Hammadi commented: “Barakah nuclear power stations have contributed to developing human capabilities and competencies in the country, through investing in the citizen component and qualifying and training it to lead the nuclear energy sector, and the best evidence for this is the leadership of this Emirati team to process nuclear fuel loading at the plant. The first in Barakah “

With the completion of the nuclear fuel loading process at the first station, the United Arab Emirates has become the 33rd country in the world to manage and operate peaceful nuclear power plants.

The first station in Barakah today is also ready to move to the next stage, where the reactor operators at the Nawat Power Company will start the operational arm of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and the Korean Electric Energy Company (KIPCO) in the process of testing all the station systems to complete operation and commercial production of electricity, to support Economic and social growth in the Emirates for decades to come.

Since its establishment in 2009, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation has worked to develop the UAE peaceful nuclear program in accordance with the standards mentioned in the document “The UAE Policy for the Development of a Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program” issued in 2008, which included adherence to the highest international standards for safety and security Transparency and non-proliferation.

During all stages of program development, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation was keen to fully fulfill these obligations, which made the UAE peaceful nuclear program a model for all new nuclear energy projects worldwide.

To date, the Federal Nuclear Control Authority has conducted 255 review and appraisal processes to ensure that the Barakah stations and work teams adhere to the highest safety and quality standards, and the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Nuclear Operators Association have conducted more than 40 assessments and audits to ensure that the Barakah stations follow international best practices in the sector Nuclear Energy.

Nawat Power Company began loading nuclear fuel at the first station, after obtaining the operating license from the Federal Nuclear Supervision Authority on February 17, 2020, in addition to completing the necessary tests that confirmed that the plant, work teams, programs, policies and procedures adhered to the standards of the Federal Nuclear Supervision Authority, and it is also It fulfills the requirements of independent reviews of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Association of Nuclear Operators.

It is noteworthy that the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation is completing the last phase of construction operations for the remaining three stations in Baraka. As the overall completion rate in the four stations exceeded 93%, the completion rate in the fourth station reached more than 83%, the third station reached over 91%, and the second reached more than 95%.