Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF, a GE Vernova-led alliance with Hitachi, Ltd. and affiliate of GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy) today announced it has been awarded a contract by Entergy to continue to fuel its Grand Gulf and River Bend Station nuclear power plants.
The new agreement extends the current fuel supply contract through 2035 and includes four reloads of the new GNF4 fuel design.
“We have fueled Grand Gulf and River Bend continuously since 2008 and are proud to support Entergy with our newest, most advanced fuel design, GNF4,” said Craig Ranson, Installed Base CEO, GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy and CEO of GNF. “We look forward to bringing the economic and performance benefits of GNF4 to Entergy.”
Lead use assemblies of GNF4 will be loaded into River Bend in 2027, while GNF4 reloads are scheduled for Grand Gulf in 2030 and River Bend in 2031.
Introduced in October 2025, the 11x11 GNF4 next generation fuel product features two advanced components that are licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Ziron cladding, which was developed to better resist corrosion, and aluminosilicate doped uranium dioxide pellets, which delivers Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) benefits through an extra layer of reliability.
“Entergy is proud to continue our long-standing relationship with GE Vernova for fueling our BWR units,” said Jack Davis, GM Nuclear Fuels & Integrated Risk Services, Entergy. “Entergy has been at the forefront of ATF technology advancements, translating high-technology readiness innovations into practical applications. The innovative GNF4 product allows us to achieve the same power levels with less uranium and less enrichment which translates into savings for our customers.”
Fuel for the plants will be fabricated by GNF at its Wilmington, NC facility.
GNF provides a wide range of services to support nuclear power plants including expert core and fuel cycle engineering, reload licensing and core management services, predictive reports and fuel reliability risk assessments, cyber-secure core monitoring and fleet analytics, fuel examination services and consulting on reactor operations and long-term fuel storage.
