European country has five Russia-supplied nuclear plants in operation
Multinational uranium company Urenco has signed an agreement to supply enrichment services to nuclear power plants in Slovakia for the first time.
The long-term contract with nuclear operator Slovenské Elektrárne will provide a diversified supply of enrichment services well into the 2030s to support reactor units at the Bohunice and Mochovce nuclear power stations.
Slovakia has five nuclear reactors – two at Bohunice and three at Mochovce – generating about 60% of its electricity and one more at Mochovce is in the commissioning phase.
All six plants are Russia-designed pressurised water reactor units.
Urenco’s chief commercial officer Laurent Odeh said: “We are very proud at Urenco to be entering into a new market with a new customer, and I’d like to pay tribute to Slovenské Elektrárne for placing their trust in us.”
Slovenské Elektrárne chief executive officer Branislav Strýček, said diversity will significantly help the company continue to maintain the stable and safe operation of its nuclear power plants.
Urenco is jointly owned by the governments of the UK and the Netherlands, and two German utilities, E.ON and RWE.
Earlier this month Kazakhstan’s national nuclear company Kazatomprom signed a memorandum of understanding with Slovakia that included plans to establish supplies of natural uranium concentrate and potential deliveries of uranium dioxide for Slovak nuclear power plants.
Slovakia primarily sources its nuclear fuel from Russia, through the company Tvel, a subsidiary of state nuclear corporation Rosatom.
However, Bratislava is working to diversify its nuclear fuel supply and reduce its dependence on Russia, particularly following the invasion of Ukraine. It is in the process of securing fuel from other sources, including US-based Westinghouse and France’s Framatome.
