MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/. Rosatom has fulfilled a contract to supply nuclear fuel to the reactor of Nuclear Research Institute in Dalat in Vietnam, TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom reported.

"The fuel assemblies were manufactured at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant, an enterprise of Rosatom’s Nuclear fuel division in Siberia. This batch of nuclear fuel will provide reliable reactor operation through the 2030s," the report said.

The previous delivery of Russian fuel for the research reactor in Dalat was made in December 2010 (unlike nuclear power plants, nuclear fuel for research reactors is supplied irregularly and for a long period at once). Nuclear fuel supply of the Dalat research reactor is a part of the Russia-Vietnam Interdepartmental Roadmap for Developing Nuclear Technologies up to 2030, which was signed by Rosatom’s Chief Executive Officer Alexey Likhachev and Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam Nguyen Manh Hung in May 2025. The document also covers issues related to building a center for nuclear science and technology, and participation of the Vietnamese side in the International Center for Research based on the multi-purpose fast neutron research reactor (MBIR) consortium, as well as personnel training for Vietnam's nuclear industry.

The Soviet-redesigned reactor has been operating on-site since 1984. It was installed instead of the American-designed TRIGA Mark-2 research reactor that first went into service in 1963 but was shut down during active combat operations in Vietnam. Over its 40 years of operation, the Dalat nuclear reactor has safely operated more than 70,000 hours. The facility is applied for producing radioisotopes, neutron activation analysis, scientific research, as well as training and professional development. Currently the Institute supplies over 15,000 Curies (non-SI unit of radiation measurement) of various radioactive drugs weekly to 23 hospitals across the country, ensuring prompt diagnosis and treatment for approximately 500,000 patients annually. Moreover, the Institute successfully applies nuclear and isotope technologies in areas such as agriculture, geology, oil and gas, archaeology, transportation, irrigation, and environmental protection.