On June 10, at the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, in the presence of the Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko, SE NNEGC Energoatom and Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB representatives signed a contract for the development and delivery of licensing documentation for VVER-440 fuel assemblies for Rivne nuclear power plant unit 2. This was preceded by a working meeting of parties at Energoatom main office, during which current technical cooperation issues were discussed.

Energoatom’s Acting President Petro Kotin and Westinghouse Vice President and Managing Director Northern and Eastern Europe Aziz Dag affixed their signatures to the document.

Herman Halushchenko noted that owing to longstanding fruitful cooperation with Westinghouse, Ukraine is well on the way to strengthening energy independence.

 «Cooperation between Ukraine and the United States in the field of nuclear energy is strategically important for us. Ukraine is interested in deepening its partnership with Westinghouse, as diversification of nuclear fuel supply is the foundation of energy security. Furthermore, due to cooperation with a world-class company, we give rise to the development of domestic nuclear industry,» highlighted the head of the Ministry of Energy.

The head of Energoatom Petro Kotin stressed that this contract is an important step forward in diversifying the sources of nuclear fuel supply to Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

«By concluding this contract, Energoatom continued diversification and took another step in enhancing energy security and independence of Ukraine's energy sector,» Mr. Kotin emphasized.

He reminded that the contract for the fuel supply for Rivne NPP VVER-440 reactors was developed taking into account the existing experience of cooperation with Westinghouse on diversification of nuclear fuel supply for VVER-1000 reactors and was signed on September 30, 2020 at the Office of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky with his personal participation.

The next step before fuel introduction for VVER-440 reactors at Ukrainian NPPs is its licensing under the requirements of the legislation and regulations of Ukraine.

In turn, Aziz Dag stressed: «We are pleased to continue supporting our customer in their fuel diversification strategy. This process is a key safety pre-condition for nuclear fuel delivery and operation. As a leading company in the nuclear industry, Westinghouse has a proven track record in supporting the nuclear licensing process for its fuel designs around the world.»

The first experimental batch of fuel assemblies (up to 12 pieces) manufactured by Westinghouse is planned to be loaded into the core of Rivne NPP unit 2 in 2024. The total volume of supply under the contract provides for at least 1,056 fuel assemblies.

For reference: Westinghouse VVER-1000 fuel is already in operation in six nuclear reactors in Ukraine. By the end of 2021, fuel supplies will increase to 7 batches of refueling annually: four batches for ZNPP, two batches for SUNPP and one batch for RNPP.

The first contract between Energoatom and Westinghouse was signed in 2008.  In 2018, the contract was extended until 2025.