US nuclear company Westinghouse Electric has filed an appeal against the Czech Republic’s decision to select South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) as the preferred bidder for the construction of a multi-billion-dollar nuclear project.

The Czech Government selected KHNP to build two nuclear reactors at the Dukovany power plant, with each set to cost $8.65bn, after a competitive bidding process in July. KHNP was selected over France’s EDF in the final round, with two sources close to the matter saying that KHNP put forward a significantly less costly bid than EDF.

Westinghouse put in a bid but did not make it to the final stage, as “it did not meet the necessary conditions”.

The US company filed an appeal as it claims KHNP does not have the right to transfer and sublicense the nuclear technology offered in its bid as it replicates Westinghouse technology. It also said that it is the only company with the legal right to obtain the required approval from the US Government to export its technology.

In a press release, Westinghouse said it will “continue to vigorously defend its intellectual property rights and compliance with U.S. export control laws via the ongoing international arbitration and U.S. litigation”.

A decision from the arbitration process is not expected until the second half of 2025. The Czech anti-monopoly office, UOHS, said it would study the appeal.

This is not the first conflict Westinghouse has had with the European nation. In 2010, the country’s Temelín VVER-1000 stopped using Westinghouse-generated fuel and switched to Russian supplier TVEL, officially for economic reasons but allegedly also due to technical incompatibilities with the Westinghouse fuel.

The Czech government has been looking to expand the country’s nuclear fleet as it phases out coal-fired power. The central European nation currently has six nuclear reactors that generate around one-third of its electricity.