NLM Starts Commercial Production of New Neutron Shielding Material

Nippon Light Metal (NLM) announced on Friday the firm’s new factory completed to produce neutron shielding aluminium plates, named “MAXUS,” which are used for casks for spent nuclear fuel. The new factory was constructed inside NLM’s Niigata plant, Japan with about 500 million yen investment. The new factory starts operation this month with an initial capacity at 200 tonnes per annum under the control of Nikkeikin Aluminium Core Technology (Nikkeikin ACT), a NLM’s subsidiary. NLM aims the annual sales at 100 million yen for the first fiscal year and 4 billion yen in fiscal 2013 ending March 2014.

MAXUS is an aluminium plate material with neutron shielding and radiating performances, whose main materials are aluminium powder and boron carbide. MAXUS shows high decay resistance and doesn’t become deformed or exfoliated by heat. NLM succeeded in the technology development for commercial production of neutron shielding material with unique performance and homogeneous metal structure. The firm started construction of a factory to commercially produce the material in November 2007.

The first productive line includes a 400-tonne heat rolling equipment and related facilities which can manufacture a plate with the size as maximum as 600-millimeter width, 2,500mm length and 2-8mm thickness. Neutron shielding capability was tested by their party institutions in Japan and USA. NLM already received some orders from domestic and overseas customers.