Techsnabexport

In 1949, a working group was formed within the All-Union Association "Technoexport" of the Soviet Union's Foreign Trade Ministry. The working group, consisting of 10 people, focused on organization of supplies to the uranium-mining enterprises built in the Eastern European countries by the USSR. In 1952, the working group was used as a platform to create the Office for Maintenance Supply. It worked with Soviet-German stock corporation Wismuth, The Jáchymov mines in Czechoslovakia, Quartzite in Romania, Kowarskie Kopalnie in Poland, and the Soviet-Bulgarian Mining Company. In 1955, during a reorganization of the All-Union Association "Technoexport", the Office for Maintenance Supply was transferred to the Foreign-Trade Association "Mashinoexport".

Increase in the range of the products supplied, together with growing uranium imports, raised the question of expanding the Office and giving it the status of an independent foreign-sales organization.

On July 17, 1963, the All-Union Export/Import Bureau Techsnabexport (TENEX) was established by Instruction No. 1477-rs of the Soviet Union's Council of Ministers. In addition to supplying equipment to uranium mining companies in Eastern Europe and effecting clearing payments for uranium imports into the Soviet Union, the company was commissioned to export and import rare earth, rare, and refractory metals, radioactive and stable isotopes, ionizing radiation sources, control and measuring equipment, accelerator and X-ray equipment.

In 1975, the All-Union Export/Import Bureau Techsnabexport was reorganized as the All-Union Association Techsnabexport. Its main activity was providing uranium enrichment services for foreign customers.

In 1988, the All-Union Association Techsnabexport was transferred to the Soviet Union's Ministry of Medium Machine-Building (presently, State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM). In 2007, TENEX was integrated by JSC Atomenergoprom, 100% of shares of which belong to State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom.

The first contract for the supply of uranium enrichment services, signed in May 1971 with the Atomic Energy Commission of France, which meant the launch of Russian uranium products in the not only European, but also global market.

In the 1970-80s, the contracts were signed and the first supplies were made to Italy, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Finland, UK, Belgium, Republic of Korea. In 1990s, TENEX concluded agreements with RSA, China, Switzerland and Japan; in 2000s – with Mexico and Czech Republic.[3]

In October 1992, the Ministry of Nuclear Energy of Russia and the Ministry of Trade of the USA signed the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation (“Suspension Agreement”). By it, the investigation initiated in 1990s by the US natural uranium producers was frozen. The Suspension Agreement terms allowed for carrying out commercial supplies of negligible volumes of enriched uranium within the agreed quotas for up to 2002.[4]

In 1994, in order to fulfill the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the United States of America Concerning the Disposition of Highly-Enriched Uranium Extracted from Nuclear Weapons (the HEU-LEU Agreement), TENEX signed a contract with United States Enrichment Corporation – USEC. It implied supplies of LEU produced from 500 tons of highly enriched uranium extracted from nuclear weapons to the USA until the end of 2013. Russia's overall revenue amounted up to 17 billion US dollars.[5]

In 2008, Rosatom State Corporation and the Ministry of Trade of the USA signed an Amendment to the Suspension Agreement concerning the uranium supplies from Russia, which was developed upon the initiative and with participation of TENEX. It established necessary legal conditions for the Russian uranium product to commercially enter the US market that had been closed to it during the preceding decade.

During the period of radical market reforms in the Russian nuclear industry in 2002-2007, TENEX supported the industry by acquiring and consolidating productive assets in the uranium mining, engineering, and chemical sectors. After reaching economic stability, such non-core assets were transferred to other industry's enterprises, such as TVEL (acquired the Russian Gas Centrifuge holding), holding Composite (acquired the research and manufacturing complex UMATEX Group), ARMZ Uranium Holding (acquired the Russia-based and foreign uranium mining assets),[6] mechanical engineering and chemical sector companies.

To fulfill the Protocol of 2007 to the Russian-Chinese Agreement on cooperation for construction in the People's Republic of China of a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant dated 18 December 1992, in 2008, TENEX signed contracts with the China Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation (CNEIC) for providing technical support in the construction of the 4th stage of the gas centrifuge plant in China (successfully put into operation in 2011), as well as for uranium enrichment services and/or supplies of enriched uranium product in 2010-2020.

In 2012, TENEX signed a contract with the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation on Low-enrichment uranium supplies in 2015-2029 to meet the demand of the Arab first NPP Baraka.[7]

Since 2016, TENEX has been cooperating with Japanese partners on recovery after the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident to fulfill the tripartite interdepartmental Memorandum on cooperation in the field of peaceful use of atomic energy. After a competitive tender, carried out in 2017 by the Mitsubishi Research Institute, JSC TENEX in a consortium with FSUE RosRAO is working on creation of a neutron detector to search and identify fuel debris fragments in the inside reactor space.[8]

In February 2017, pursuant to the decree of the government of the Russian Federation No. 211-r, TENEX was appointed the sole organization authorized to conclude foreign trade deals related to import to Russia of irradiated fuel assemblies from nuclear power reactors.[9]

In 2017, TENEX was authorized by Rosatom to transit low-enriched uranium along the territory of the Russian Federation within the IAEA LEU Bank creation in Kazakhstan.

In February 2018, TENEX in a consortium with FSUE RosRAO, the V. G. Khlopin Radium Institute and JSC «SSC RIAR» was chosen as the Operating Entity of the project on the development of technologies for analyzing the ageing properties of fuel debris subsidized by the Japanese government. Within the framework of the project, the organizations will study the samples of corium and “lava” generated from the Chernobyl NPP accident, and will manufacture model samples of Fukushima Daiichi NPP fuel debris in order to develop a prediction model for the changes of corium properties with the aim of using it for post-accident clean-up at Fukushima Daiichi NPP.[10]

Another important activity area of the company is transportation and logistics of the supplies.

The export-import program of TENEX is conducted with engagement of freight forwarding companies, which have all necessary permits. The deliveries of uranium products are carried out by sea (through the seaports of Saint-Petersburg, Ust-Luga, Bronka, and Vostochny) and by rail (to the PRC).

Transportation and logistics services on the territory of the Russian Federation are provided by TENEX's subsidiary, JSC “SPb “IZOTOP”.

TENEX continually broadens the route network for deliveries of nuclear industry products, diversifies the export produce dispatch hubs, works on the development of its own transportation equipment fleet, licensing and customs support. The company can render logistic services of uranium product transportation for third-party customers via the Far-East transportation route.[11]

• Energy policy of Russia
• Nuclear power in Russia
• Rosatom

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• Tenam Corporation