Westinghouse completes reload deliveries to Temelín and Dukovany
Westinghouse has completed the first VVER fuel reload deliveries to the Temelín and Dukovany nuclear power stations in the Czech Republic, marking what the US company called “a key milestone” in Prague’s strategy to increase energy security by diversifying supplies.
The VVER-1000 fuel reload for Temelín is part of the long-term contract signed between Westinghouse and Czech state power company ČEZ in June 2022 and includes the Robust Westinghouse Fuel Assembly design (RWFA-T).
Westinghouse also delivered the first VVER-440 fuel reload of its NOVA E-6 design to Dukovany, under a fuel supply agreement signed between Westinghouse and ČEZ in March 2023.
Both VVER fuel designs, manufactured at Westinghouse’s facility in Västerås, Sweden, are fully compatible with non-Westinghouse fuel during the plants’ transition and offer increased fuel economy and extended fuel cycles, Westinghouse said.
“This is a step that significantly enhances the energy security of the Czech Republic,” said Daniel Beneš, ČEZ chairman and chief executive officer.
“In addition to diversifying our nuclear fuel suppliers, we also maintain strategic reserves at both of our nuclear power plants.”
The move is part of the Czech Republic’s broader energy security plan, developed in the wake of geopolitical tensions and a European push to reduce energy dependence on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Czech Republic’s fleet of six commercial reactors provided about 40% of the country’s electricity generation in 2023.
