The National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom and Westinghouse Electric have extended the term of the agreement on the supply of nuclear fuel until 2025. Such a decision was made by both parties at a meeting in Brussels on Monday, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
“The contract includes nuclear fuel shipments to seven of Ukraine’s fifteen nuclear power reactors between 2021 and 2025, extending the existing deal for six reactors that was supposed to expire in 2020,” Westinghouse said in a press release, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
The manufacturing and assembly of the nuclear fuel will be carried out by the Westinghouse facility in Vasteras, Sweden, where parts of production lines are dedicated exclusively yo VVER-1000 fuel. Shipments under the agreement will start in 2021, immediately following the conclusion of the agreement.
“This agreement extension solidifies Westinghouse’s role as a strategic partner for Energoatom and shows our ability to support Ukraine in its energy diversification attempts. Under the terms of the new agreement, our relationship will be strengthened through our plan to source some of the fuel components from a Ukrainian manufacturer,” Westinghouse President and CEO Jose Emeterio Gutierrez noted.
Energoatom President Yuriy Nedashkovsky said that Energoatom is the only operating utility of VVER-1000 reactors in the world that has fully diversified sources of nuclear fuel supply.
“Cooperation with Westinghouse was integral to achievement of this goal,” Nedashkovsky said.
