Power Technology

Framatome to provide Slovakia with VVER fuel

The French company has acquired the ability to produce the Russian originated fuel.

French state-owned nuclear company Framatome has signed a contract with Slovak utility Slovenské elektrárne to provide fuel to its water-water energetic (VVER) reactors from 2027.

Under the long-term contract, Framatome will provide fuel to reactors at Bohunice and Mochovce. The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding signed by the two companies in May.

Referring to the war in Ukraine, Framatome said in a press release that the international context has “accelerated the need for a European fuel solution to avoid disruption to critical services and reduce dependency on imports from outside of Europe”.

Many nuclear reactors in eastern and central Europe are Soviet-era VVER reactors, which relied on fuel supply from Russia. Framatome has now acquired the ability to fabricate the fuel, allowing countries such as Slovakia to pivot away from reliance on Russia.

While Framatome is currently fabricating the VVER fuel, it said it is developing and qualifying “European sovereign fuels of its own design” for the VVER 440 and 1000 models, which will not be based on the Russian design.

A total of 19 VVER reactors are currently in operation in the EU, including four VVER 1,000MW reactors in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, and 15 VVER 440MW reactors in the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia.

Lionel Gaiffe, senior executive vice-president of the fuel business unit at Framatome, said: “This contract marks a new milestone in the long-standing and fruitful cooperation between Framatome and Slovenské elektrárne. We are pleased to contribute to the diversification of Slovakia’s fuel supply and to the safe, reliable and uninterrupted operation of the Bohunice and Mochovce nuclear power plants.”

In partnership with US nuclear company Westinghouse, Framatome supplied the Temelín VVER-1000 plant in the Czech Republic with VVER fuel until 2010, when the plant switched back to Russian supplier TVEL. Although the country cited economic reasons for the move, there may have been technical issues with Framatome and Westinghouse’s VVER-1000 fuel.