Countries also plan to cooperate on Sofia’s geological repository plans
The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has signed a grant agreement with the Bulgarian government and its state-owned energy holding to support nuclear energy and safety projects in the Balkan country.
The agreement, signed by USTDA director Enoh Ebong with Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) during a recent visit to Sofia, is for a technical grant towards the potential deployment of small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power plant technology, the US embassy said in a statement.
Under the agreement, USTDA will present a detailed technical analysis of US-sourced SMR design options to support the planned deployment of one or more SMR plants.
The support will also examine potential sites for SMR plants and develop a roadmap outlining a path to implementation, including an approach to securing financing, said the embassy.
According to the Bulgarian energy ministry, аn agreement has also been signed for a grant to fund a feasibility study into the underground disposal of spent fuel from Bulgaria’s nuclear power plants.
The US embassy said California-based Deep Isolation will carry out and cost-share the study, which will be based on its deep borehole technology.
The ministry said the feasibility study “should answer the question” of whether there are potential opportunities in Bulgaria for burying spent nuclear fuel and highly radioactive waste in deep geological wells.
Deep Isolation’s deep borehole technology uses directional drilling to isolate waste deep underground in borehole repositories, providing many countries with an alternative to a traditional mined repository. The company has said borehole repositories can provide substantial isolation for many types of high-level waste in a wide range of locations.
The US company has signed agreements related to its deep borehole waste solutions in more than a dozen countries. In 2020 it agreed to work with Estonian nuclear development startup Fermi Energia on a preliminary study for a deep borehole solution for storing nuclear waste.
In Bulgaria, nuclear energy provides roughly 40% of the country’s electricity through the Kozloduy nuclear power station, which has two Russia-designed VVER-1000 pressurised water reactor units in commercial operation.
Bulgaria plans to construct two new nuclear power units using Westinghouse AP1000 technology at the Kozloduy site with deployment target dates in the second half of the 2030s.
