Latest news with #VVER
Business Wire
10-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Westinghouse and Energoatom Reinforce Ukraine's Energy Independence with Partnership for Fuel Assembly Capability
ROME--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Westinghouse Electric Company and JSC 'NNEGC 'Energoatom,' Ukraine's national nuclear power company, signed an agreement at the Ukraine Recovery Conference to jointly pursue final fuel assembly capability in Ukraine. This cooperation deepens the partnership between both companies around security of fuel supply for Ukraine's nuclear fleet, leveraging the Westinghouse VVER fuel solution, the only fully Western VVER fuel offering. Petro Kotin, Acting CEO of JSC 'NNEGC 'Energoatom,' and Aziz Dag, Westinghouse Senior Vice-President of Global BWR and VVER Fuel Business, signed the declaration in the presence of Ukraine's Minister of Energy, German Galuschenko The agreement confirms the intention to establish an assembly line for VVER-1000 fuel elements at the facilities of Energoatom's affiliate AtomEnergoMash. It is expected that the final agreement will be signed in the near future. Earlier this year, Westinghouse approved AtomEnergoMash as a qualified supplier for the manufacturing of top and bottom nozzles for Westinghouse's VVER-1000 fuel assemblies in Ukraine, paving the way for this new advanced fuel assembly capability in the country. "We are continuing our path to establishing our nuclear fuel assembly line in Ukraine by implementing advanced Westinghouse technologies. I am very grateful to our partners for their trust, based on many years of successful cooperation. Step by step, Energoatom is moving towards becoming the centre of nuclear energy in Eastern Europe," said Petro Kotin, head of JSC 'NNEGC 'Energoatom'. 'We are proud to extend our strong partnership and shared commitment to energy security in Ukraine,' said Tarik Choho, Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel President. 'Westinghouse has an excellent track record of VVER nuclear fuel design used in VVER-1000 and VVER-440 nuclear power plants in Ukraine, with two decades of exceptional operational performance. Our best-in-class fuel assemblies help Ukraine and other countries reduce their dependence on Russian nuclear fuel supply chains and advance a carbon-free future.' Besides providing Ukraine's existing nuclear fleet with its industry-leading fuel, Westinghouse has committed to build nine AP1000 ® reactors in Ukraine. The AP1000 reactor is the only operating advanced Generation III+ reactor with fully passive safety systems, modular construction design and the smallest footprint per MWe on the market. There are six AP1000 reactors currently setting operational performance and availability records worldwide, with twelve reactors under construction and six more under contract. There will be 18 units based on AP1000 technology in operation globally by the end of the decade. The AP1000 technology has also been selected for nuclear energy programs in Poland and Bulgaria and is also under consideration at multiple other sites in Europe, the United Kingdom and North America. Westinghouse Electric Company is shaping the future of carbon-free energy by providing safe, innovative nuclear and other clean power technologies and services globally. Westinghouse supplied the world's first commercial pressurized water reactor in 1957, and the company's technology is the basis for nearly one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants. Over 135 years of innovation makes Westinghouse the preferred partner for advanced technologies covering the complete nuclear energy life cycle. For more information, visit and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and X.
Euractiv
03-07-2025
- Business
- Euractiv
How close is the EU to quitting Russian energy?
Halfway into the third year of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU has yet to cut the flow of fossil fuel cash to Moscow, casting doubts on its promise to end its addiction to Russian energy by 2027. Despite 17 sanction packages and repeated vows to end reliance on Kremlin-linked hydrocarbons, Russian oil, gas, and LNG still flow into Europe's economy. The bloc imports even uranium, as five EU countries (Finland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria) still operate Russian-designed VVER nuclear reactors. While this dependency is partially fuelled by legacy infrastructure, it is political: Slovakia and Hungary – both close to Moscow – are blocking the bloc's 18th sanctions package to force the Commission to review its 2027 phase-out plan. The facts In 2024, the EU spent an estimated €21.9 billion on Russian fossil fuels imports – just 1% less than the previous year. To put that into perspective: the amount exceeds the €18.7 billion in financial aid the EU provided to Ukraine in the same year. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), crude oil revenues only dropped by 6% year-on-year, or about €2.6 billion – largely because Russia has shifted to using the so-called 'shadow fleet' to get around the restrictions. In the third year of the invasion, 61% of Russia's seaborne oil exports – worth €83 billion – were moved using 558 of these ships. The Commission's latest sanctions proposal would lower the price cap on seaborne Russian crude to $45 per barrel and go after the shadow fleet. The plan Under its REPowerEU roadmap, the Commission laid out a timeline to cut Russian energy ties by 2027. No new gas contracts should be signed from early 2026, and even short-term deals must end by mid-2026. Long-term agreements covering oil, gas and LNG would be phased out entirely by 2027. A carve-out exists for landlocked EU countries still bound by legacy pipeline contracts – they will have until the end of 2027 to comply. Brussels also plans further restrictions targeting Russian uranium and other nuclear imports. Most Russian pipeline gas has already been cut off, with only the TurkStream line continuing to supply the bloc with Russian gas, and talks have been held to expand its capacity . In practice, however, due to the shadow fleet , the flow of Russian LNG to the EU has been steady. The concerns Energy security is often seen as a 'trilemma': balancing reliable supply, environmental protection, and affordability. For EU countries still hooked on Russian fossil fuels, cost is a main concern, and national perspectives differ widely. Hungary and Slovakia argue that maintaining reliance on Russian energy keeps prices low. Germany, by contrast, has largely shifted its gas supply away from Russia toward Norway, and France has secured a 27-year deal for natural gas with Qatar. As for oil, the EU's best bets might be the US and Libya. If the EU can successfully secure alternative suppliers and end the political deadlock on sanctions, it could cut Russia's fossil fuel export revenues by €51 billion a year, data shows. This would slash about 22% of its total earnings, moving it closer to gaining its independence from the Kremlin. (mm)
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Westinghouse Completes First VVER Fuel Deliveries to Temelín and Dukovany Nuclear Power Plants
Key Milestone to Support ČEZ's Long-Term Energy Security and Diversification Strategy CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa., June 16, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Westinghouse Electric Company recently completed the first VVER fuel reload deliveries to Temelín and Dukovany Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) in the Czech Republic, marking a key milestone in ČEZ's strategy to enhance energy security through fuel diversification. The VVER-1000 fuel reload for Temelín NPP is part of the long-term contract signed between Westinghouse and ČEZ in June 2022 and includes the Robust Westinghouse Fuel Assembly design (RWFA-T). Westinghouse also delivered the first VVER-440 fuel reload of its NOVA E-6 design to Dukovany NPP, under the fuel supply agreement signed between Westinghouse and ČEZ in March 2023. Both VVER fuel designs, manufactured in Västerås, Sweden, are fully compatible with non-Westinghouse fuel during the plants' transition and offer increased fuel economy and extended fuel cycles. "This is a step that significantly enhances the energy security of the Czech Republic. In addition to diversifying our nuclear fuel suppliers, we also maintain strategic reserves at both of our nuclear power plants," said Daniel Beneš, Chairman of the Board and CEO of ČEZ. "We are proud to continue supporting ČEZ to strengthen the Czech Republic's energy independence with the Western VVER fuel offering," said Tarik Choho, Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel President. "Westinghouse supplied VVER-1000 fuel to both Temelín units from 2000 to 2010. As the largest supplier of VVER fuel in Europe, we have continued to invest in advanced fuel designs to support energy security in the region. These fuel deliveries are a testament to our shared commitment to safety, reliability, and supply diversification for VVER reactors." Westinghouse is a leading supplier of nuclear fuel, providing a uniquely diversified portfolio in the industry across nuclear reactor types, including PWR, BWR, AGR, and VVER. Through our world-class manufacturing facilities in the United States, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, we focus on delivering innovative fuel technologies to meet our customers' needs for lower fuel cycle costs, increased operational flexibility and efficiency, diversity of supply, and accident-tolerant products. Learn more about our advanced fuel capabilities and how they relate to different reactors around the world: Westinghouse Nuclear > Nuclear Fuel Westinghouse Electric Company is shaping the future of carbon-free energy by providing safe, innovative nuclear and other clean power technologies and services globally. Westinghouse supplied the world's first commercial pressurized water reactor in 1957 and the company's technology is the basis for nearly one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants. Over 135 years of innovation make Westinghouse the preferred partner for advanced technologies covering the complete nuclear energy life cycle. For more information, visit and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X. View source version on Contacts media@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Hindu
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Civil defence preparedness drill conducted in Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project
In the wake of a full-fledged war-like situation with neighbouring Pakistan, the civil defence preparedness drill was conducted at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) on Friday. Since the KKNPP is operating 2 X 1,000 MW VVER reactors with Russian assistance and constructing four more reactors with similar capacity, the Central Industrial Security Force deployed there has sanitized the entire campus ever since the work started in 2001. Apart from the CISF, who guard the KKNPP site and its boundaries with neighbouring villages and the shoreline on the southern side, the Union Government has deployed modern ammunition including anti-aircraft weapon systems to neutralise the airborne threats. As the KKNPP has been categorised as 'high security complex', the civil defense preparedness drill was conducted for 85 minutes since 3.35 p.m. on Friday in the wake of the ongoing conflict with Pakistan to prepare the staff working in the nuclear power plant and the people living around to face any eventuality. After the 'plant emergency' was sounded at 3.35 p.m., the entire personnel in the KKNPP site were alerted for possible 'release of radiation'. Soon, the 'site emergency' was declared to alert the personnel for taking the precautionary measures stipulated by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. Every worker were checked for radioactivity material on them by the technicians in specially designed fully covered dress. 'Even though this exercise is conducted at regular intervals on the KKNPP site to refresh the response by the personnel, we organised it today as part of the civil defence preparedness drill,' said the KKNPP sources. Sources in the intelligence units here said 'due measures' had been put in place at INS Kattabomman in Vijayanarayanam, the low frequency communication network nerve centre for Indian Navy, and its transmission centre on Palayamkottai outskirts and also Indian Space Research Organisation's Propulsion Research Complex at Mahendragiri. 'Both the places are high security complexes and hence these places have been declared as 'no drone zone'. Anyone flying drone in these areas in violation of restriction will be warned severely and even shot at in case of any threat to these installations. So, due measures have been put in place in these places to ensure the safety and security of these complexes and the personnel deployed there,' said the sources.
The Guardian
06-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Unsafe for Russia to restart Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Energoatom says
It would be unsafe for Russia to restart the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and would take Ukraine up to two years in peacetime if it regained control, the chief executive of the company that runs the vast six-reactor site has said. Petro Kotin, chief executive of Energoatom, said in an interview there were 'major problems' to overcome – including insufficient cooling water, personnel and incoming electricity supply – before it could start generating power again safely. The future of the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest nuclear reactor, is a significant aspect of any negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Seized by Russia in spring 2022 and shut down for safety reasons a few months later, it remains on the frontline of the conflict, close to the Dnipro River. Russia has said it intends to retain the site and switch it back on, without being specific as to when. Alexey Likhachev, head of Russian nuclear operator Rosatom, said in February it would be restarted when 'military and political conditions allow'. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has expressed an interest in taking control of it, though this possibility is considered very remote. Kotin said Energoatom was prepared to restart the plant but it would require Russian forces to be removed and the site to be de-mined and demilitarised. He said such a restart by Ukraine would take anywhere 'from two months to two years' in an environment 'without any threats from militaries', while a Russian restart during wartime 'would be impossible, even for one unit [reactor]'. Kotin said the six reactors could only be brought online after the completion of 27 safety programmes agreed with Ukraine's nuclear regulator, including testing the nuclear fuel in the reactor cores because it had exceeded a six-year 'design term'. That raises questions about whether Russia could restart the plant after a ceasefire without incurring significant risk. The plant was already unsafe, Kotin said, given that it was being used as 'a military base with military vehicles present' and there were 'probably some weapons and blasting materials' present as well. Russia has acknowledged that it has placed mines between the inner and outer perimeters of the plant 'to deter potential Ukrainian saboteurs' while inspectors from the IAEA nuclear watchdog have reported that armed troops and military personnel are present at the site. Last month, the US Department of Energy said the Zaporizhzhia plant was being operated by an 'inadequate and insufficently trained cadre of workers', with staffing levels at less than a third of prewar levels. The US briefing said Ukrainian reactors, though originally of the Soviet VVER design, had 'evolved differently' from their Russian counterparts and 'particularly the safety systems'. Russian-trained specialists acting as replacements for Ukrainian staff were 'inexperienced' in operating the Ukrainian variants, it said. Kotin said an attempt to restart the plant by Russia would almost certainly not be accepted or supported by Ukraine. It would require the reconnection of three additional 750kV high-voltage lines to come into the plant, he said. A nuclear reactor requires a significant amount of power for day-to-day operation, and three of the four high-voltage lines came from territories now under Russian occupation. 'They themselves destroyed the lines,' Kotin said, only for Russia to discover engineers could not rebuild them as the war continued, he added. Only two lines remain to maintain the site in cold shutdown, a 750kV line coming from Ukraine, and a further 330kV line – though on eight separate occasions shelling disrupted their supply of energy, forcing the plant to rely on backup generators. Experts say a pumping station has to be constructed at the site, because there is insufficient cooling water available. The June 2023 destruction by Russian soldiers of the Nova Kakhova dam downstream eliminated the easy supply of necessary water from the Dnipro river. Two civilians were reportedly killed by Russian missile attacks on Sunday, including one in a ballistic missile strike in an eastern district of Kyiv; while Russia said it captured a border village near Sumy in north-east Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had launched more than 1,460 guided aerial bombs, nearly 670 attack drones, and more than 30 missiles over the past week. The Ukrainian president said: 'The number of air attacks is increasing.' US-brokered ceasefire talks have only achieved limited results thus far. Both sides agreed to stop attacking energy targets, though each accuses the other of violations; while a maritime ceasefire agreed to by Ukraine has not been accepted by Russia. A Russian official involved in the negotiations said on Sunday that diplomatic contacts between Russia and the US could come again as early as next week.
