Ukraine breaks ground on first nuclear fuel plant to cut foreign reliance

Energoatom says construction of the production facility for nuclear fuel assemblies will be an important step towards Ukraine's energy independence.

In July last year Energoatom and Westinghouse signed a cooperation agreement for a joint project to pursue fuel assembly capability in the country.

Energoatom, operator of Ukraine's nuclear power plants, said the Cabinet of Ministers' decision "opens a new page in the history of domestic nuclear energy ... the transition to its own fuel using Westinghouse technology will contribute to increasing the safety of the fuel component of Ukraine's nuclear power plants".

The Cabinet of Ministers' order agrees to the Ministry of Energy's proposal to locate the facility in the Mykolaiv region of South Ukraine and also gives Energoatom the go-ahead for "implementation of its design and construction work".

Energoatom said that Westinghouse had already "conducted an assessment and potential qualification of the production lines at JSC NNEGC Energoatom regarding the possibility of assembling fuel components". An environmental impact assessment has already been carried out, and a feasibility study developed.

Energoatom said: "The documentation successfully passed the state expert review, confirming the expediency and safety of the project implementation."

The company, which ended use of Russian nuclear fuel after the start of the war in 2022, has been diversifying its fuel supply and ultimately aims to create a complete nuclear fuel cycle in the country.

Ukraine has 15 operable reactors including the six at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been under Russian military control since early March 2022. The fuel assemblies produced at the new facility will be suitable for VVER-1000 reactors, which comprise the majority of the current fleet.