Business news from Ukraine

Additive manufacturing reduces production and time costs while meeting the highest safety standards in the industry

CRANBURY TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania, March 2024 – Westinghouse Electric recently achieved a new milestone by producing its 1,000th fuel plate using additive manufacturing (3D printing). This is an important achievement for the industry: the first time additive manufacturing has been used to produce safety-related components that have entered mass production.

A fuel assembly component manufactured using additive manufacturing

The current additive manufacturing plates are installed in VVER-440 fuel assemblies, allowing for redesign of the lower part of the assemblies. This ensures their more reliable operation.

“This achievement demonstrates the development of additive manufacturing from prototyping to full-scale production. In addition, it creates concrete value for our customers,” said Lou Martinez Sancho, chief technology officer and executive vice president of research and innovation at Westinghouse. He also added: “This is yet another leading-edge achievement for Westinghouse in additive manufacturing technology, supporting our strategic plans to improve safety, efficiency, sustainability and energy security.”

The move continues Westinghouse’s leadership in using additive manufacturing in the nuclear industry to achieve cost and time reductions and to deliver advanced energy production solutions. In 2015, the company conducted the first-ever radiation exposure study of nuclear reactor components manufactured using additive manufacturing. In 2020, Westinghouse installed the first safety-related component made using additive manufacturing, a plugging device, in an active commercial reactor.

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The Westinghouse Electric Company is shaping the future of carbon-free energy by providing safe, innovative nuclear technologies to utilities around the world. Westinghouse installed the world’s first commercial water-water reactor in 1957, and the company’s technology powers nearly half of the world’s active nuclear power plants. More than 135 years of innovation make Westinghouse the partner of choice for advanced technologies spanning the entire nuclear energy lifecycle. For more information, visit www.westinghousenuclear.com and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

The technical launch of the International Register of Losses, a system for recording claims of individuals, legal entities and the state of Ukraine for compensation for losses, damages and damage caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine, will be announced on April 2 in The Hague at the International Conference “Restoring Justice for Ukraine”.

“In a week’s time, at the International Conference “Restoring Justice for Ukraine” to be held in the Dutch city of The Hague, in the presence of EU foreign ministers and justice ministers, it is planned to announce the start of the technical launch of the International Register of Damages, a system for recording applications from individuals, legal entities and the state of Ukraine for compensation for losses, damages, and losses from the Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the Ministry of Justice said on its website on Monday.

The register will start accepting applications for compensation for war victims. It is about opening one category of applicants. In total, the Register will include 40 categories.

The categories of applications will include: loss of life, torture and sexual violence, as well as bodily injury, forced displacement and forced resettlement of persons, loss of property and income, other forms of economic damage, damage to critical infrastructure and other state facilities, damage to historical and cultural heritage, damage to the environment, etc. All categories are defined by the Registry Board.

Each category has its own rules for submission, a separate claim form approved by the Registry’s Charter. A digital platform has been created to receive applications. It is expected that all applications will be in digital format only.

All governing bodies of the Registry have already been established. The Registry Board has adopted a set of rules and regulations of the Registry necessary for the launch. It includes the rules for submitting, processing and entering claims, as well as the categories of claims acceptable for entry into the Register of Losses.

“The technical launch is a long-awaited event, the first step towards ensuring justice and compensation for Ukrainians and the country. This was preceded by a titanic work of a large number of specialists and experts. We have enlisted the support of the UN General Assembly, 43 countries have given us the green light, we have almost passed this stage and are moving on. We are waiting for the International Commission to start its work, which will award compensation, and it will take at least a year to set up. In parallel, negotiations with partners are ongoing to open a Compensation Fund, which will be filled with seized assets of the Russian Federation,” said Iryna Mudra, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, head of the International Compensation Mechanism development.

The International Register of Losses is the first component of the Global Compensation Mechanism, the development of which was initiated by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine in May 2022 together with international partners. The Compensation Mechanism consists of the Register of Losses, the Compensation Commission and the Fund.

The documents of the Register and more detailed information are available on the website of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine at https://minjust.gov.ua/ndd/international_register_of_losses.

The international conference “Restoring Justice for Ukraine” will be held on April 2 at the World Forum in The Hague.