www.ft.com
Brussels to help EU countries end reliance on Russian nuclear fuel
European Commission will assist in speeding up the process of licensing alternatives
The Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary. The facility says it has enough fuel for the long term, but is also working to diversify fuel procurement © Akos Stiller/Bloomberg
Andy Bounds in Brussels and
Marton Dunai in Budapest
Brussels is to help EU countries end their dependency on Russian nuclear fuel as it seeks to cut the bloc’s ties to Russian energy by 2027.
The European Commission said it would assist the five EU states that use Russian-designed reactors to speed up the process of licensing alternative fuel.
The Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Finland need Russian atomic fuel for reactors built to Russian design and in some cases the Russian company Rosatom is the only licensed provider. Russian aircraft supplying the fuel are currently exempt from EU sanctions against Moscow.
National regulators in each country approve nuclear fuel and the commission will help with technical support, along with international energy agencies.
The announcement was contained in the
RepowerEU plan, a road map released this week, outlining how the EU can wean itself off Russian oil and gas by 2027. It comes as US company Westinghouse, confirmed it was seeking quick approval from national governments for a replacement fuel that would work in Soviet-designed reactors in the former Communist countries and Finland.
There are two models, the older VVER440 reactors and the newer and more powerful VVER1000.
Westinghouse said it was seeking approval from the countries’ regulators to use a fuel that it had supplied in the past to the VVER 440s.
“We previously supplied VVER 440 fuel to Finland until 2008 and this was certified in other European countries. We are on a fast-track programme to certify our VVER 440 [fuel] design in all the countries where those reactors are operated in order to be in a position to supply reloads in 2023,” the company told the Financial Times.
Westinghouse’s VVER1000 fuel is already being used in Ukraine and it is seeking approval to supply the Czech Republic and Bulgaria too.
EU officials expect the green light by 2024 at the latest.
Bulgaria, which has around two and half year’s worth of fuel left for its two nuclear reactors, confirmed it was in talks with Westinghouse and was working to certify its fuel quickly.
EU countries including Germany and Poland are pushing for a nuclear ban in the next package of sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. But the sixth package has been held up by Hungary, which says it needs more time to find alternative energy sources.
An EU diplomat said it should include a ban on Russian companies building new power stations and on research collaborations. “We should end nuclear co-operation with Russia as soon as possible. We don’t want to help them develop their nuclear industry.”
However, a Finnish official cautioned that there were still some unresolved questions. Westinghouse fuel is likely to be more expensive than Russian and there would also need to be a waste plan, as Rosatom is also responsible for handling spent fuel.
Slovakia has said it would switch once an alternative was available. It has around two years’ worth of fuel stockpiled after taking delivery of the exempted Russian fuel after the EU banned Russian airlines from its airspace.
Karol Galek, state secretary at Slovakia’s economy ministry, told the FT the country wanted to switch to alternative fuel for its VVER440 reactors as soon as possible. “We are already in discussion with other companies,” he said. But Bratislava could not support a ban until there is a certified alternative. “We will see what happens with discussions.”
Fortum, which operates the Loviisa power plant in Finland, said it had a fuel deal with Rosatom’s TVEL subsidiary until the current operating licenses expire in 2027 and 2030. The Finnish company applied to the government to extend the plant’s life until 2050.
A spokesman for the Paks nuclear plant in central Hungary said its fuel supply was ensured. “We still have enough fuel for the long term, which we procured from TVEL. Of course, in line with the current situation, we are working with similar nuclear power plants to diversify fuel procurement.”
Additional reporting by Richard Milne in Oslo