Ukraine’s Energoatom and the US firm Westinghouse have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) relating to the development and deployment of AP300 small modular reactors (SMRs) in Ukraine.
The MoU was signed by Westinghouse CEO Patrick Fragman, seated left in the the picture above, and Energoatom President Petro Kotin. Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, standing centre, was also present for the occasion.
The companies also signed an agreement for the deepening of cooperation in the construction of nine planned AP1000 units in the country. Fragman said: “From nuclear fuel to plant services to electricity generation, Westinghouse is honoured to be a trusted partner for Ukraine today and for decades to come.”
Kotin said Energoatom was working on a range of new projects on which the country’s energy security would depend. “The company is doing its utmost to ensure that our state continues to move towards a carbon-free, clean future, an integral component of which is nuclear energy,” he added.
Halushchenko noted that the agreements included localisation of manufacturing, saying: “Ukraine has every prospect of becoming one of the clean energy leaders and increasing nuclear generation capacity both through the construction of new high-capacity power units and through the installation of small modular reactors, the first of which may appear within the next 10 years.”
The two companies have a widening range of links. Earlier this week, saw the first loading of Westinghouse fuel into a VVER-440 reactor, at Ukraine’s Rivne nuclear power plant.
Source: World Nuclear News
