The first batch of fuel assemblies from the American company Westinghouse has been loaded at the Finnish nuclear power plant Loviisa. Previously, the station received Russian fuel. Experts believe that Fortum’s refusal to cooperate with Rosatom will not result in a big loss for the state corporation. Ahead of us is a gigantic project to build new facilities in Russia itself and many projects underway abroad.
“The first shipment of nuclear fuel from Westinghouse Electric Company was loaded at the Fortum Loviisa nuclear power plant during its annual shutdown in August. The loading of new fuel is an important milestone ensuring a reliable Western alternative for fuel supply to the Loviisa power plant. – Fortum Reports.
The company explained that in November 2022 Fortum signed an agreement with Westinghouse for the design, licensing and supply of a new type of fuel for the Loviisa nuclear power plant.
“During the 2023 annual shutdown, a Westinghouse test element was loaded into the Loviisa 2 reactor, which did not contain actual uranium pellets. Using the test element, mechanical experiments were performed on the operation of a new type of fuel. During this year’s annual shutdowns, the test element was found to be functioning as expected.” – says the message.
The Loviisa nuclear power plant consists of two units with a total capacity of 1 GW. Previously, Rosatom was the supplier. After the start of SVO, Finland began cutting projects with the state corporation. Thus, the Hanhikivi nuclear power plant was the first to be affected. In May 2022, Fennovoima announced that it was terminating the contract with RAOS Project (Rosatom Corporation) worth 7-7.5 billion euros. The station was planned to consist of a VVER-1200 reactor with a capacity of 1.2 GW and to be commissioned in 2029.
Both sides have filed claims for billions of dollars in the arbitration. A London court ruled that Finland halted the construction of a nuclear power plant with Rosatom unreasonably and for political reasons, the head of the state corporation, Alexei Likhachev, said.
Fortum reports that Westinghouse will supply fuel until a tender is announced as part of the extension of the Loviisa nuclear power plant’s operation until 2050. Previously, the American company became an alternative supplier to Rosatom in Ukraine, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.
Director of AtomInfo-Center Alexander Uvarov He notes that the Loviisa nuclear power plant consists of only two power units and its conversion to US fuel will not have a significant impact on Rosatom’s activities.
“I would like to draw your attention to the fact that Rosatom is facing a very important construction task in Russia. According to the published draft general scheme, 34 new nuclear units of different capacities will appear in Russia by 2042. All these units will need fuel, which should be produced by Rosatom, – says the director of AtomInfo-Center. According to him, Rosatom, one way or another, will have to pay more attention to the development of nuclear energy in Russia in the near future, and the issues of fuel for the Finnish nuclear power plant will automatically fade into the background.
In addition, Alexander Uvarov added, this is complemented by numerous current foreign orders placed by Rosatom in Turkey, India, Bangladesh, Egypt, China and Hungary.
