At a meeting last Friday, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved a five-member supervisory board of Energoatom, the Ministry of Economy reported.
In particular, Timothy John Stone, who has experience as an independent director of Horizon Nuclear Power, a non-executive director of the European Investment Bank, and heads the Nuclear Industry Association of Great Britain (NIA), became an independent member of the board.
The Board also includes Michael E. Kirst, who has held senior positions at Westinghouse Electric Company throughout his career. Prior to joining Westinghouse in 1996, Mr. Kirst was Director of the Economic Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels. He is the founder and managing director of EuroAtlantic Partners.
In addition, Jarek Neverovic, former Minister of Energy of Lithuania and Chief Advisor to the President of Lithuania on Environment and Infrastructure, became an independent member of the NNEGC. He also held various positions in the government of his country related to the operation of the electricity transmission system, management of investment funds and cooperation with national and multinational corporations.
The representatives of the state in the Supervisory Board of Energoatom are Tymofiy Mylovanov, former Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine, now President of the Kyiv School of Economics, and Vitaliy Petruk, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, who headed the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management in 2015-19.
“We managed to attract world-class professionals as independent candidates. We expect that this Supervisory Board will strengthen the company’s energy capabilities and help attract much-needed investments in the nuclear industry,” said First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko.
As reported, the decision to establish Energoatom, a 100% state-owned company, was made by the Cabinet of Ministers on December 29, 2023.
In January 2024, the state registration of the company and its charter took place, and in February the company received a certificate of registration of the issue of shares for more than UAH 306 billion.
In early March, NNEGC Chairman Petro Kotin announced that more than 40 applications had been submitted for the competition to select independent members of the Supervisory Board of NNEGC Energoatom.
State enterprise NAEK Energoatom (Kiev) on June 11 announced a tender for compulsory motor third party liability insurance for owners of land vehicles (MTPL).
According to the Prozorro electronic public procurement system, the total expected cost is UAH -1.645 mln.
The deadline for submitting tender documents is June 19.
NNEGC Energoatom and Korean Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. (HDEC) have signed a memorandum of cooperation on the design, construction and commissioning of new nuclear power units in Ukraine.
The relevant agreements were signed in Kyiv on Monday by Energoatom’s acting Chairman of the Board Petro Kotin and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Hyundai Engineering and Construction Yong Choi in the presence of Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Ukraine Hyun Tae Kim.
At a briefing after the signing of the memorandum, the head of the Energy Ministry noted that this is the beginning of cooperation in the completion of new units and in general for the future, including joint work on new reactor models.
“But now we are talking about specific projects – those that we are currently implementing at the Khmelnytskyi NPP,” the minister added.
As Kotin noted at the briefing, South Korea has a very extensive nuclear industry and a great deal of expertise in it, so the issue of cooperation with Hyundai, which is a leader in this area, is very important for Energoatom.
He also noted that cooperation with this company has already begun, recalling that part of the equipment for KhNPP-5, for the purchase of which an agreement was signed with Westihghouse last year, was manufactured by Hyundai.
“Their support will be very important for us in the future, for the success of our nuclear projects. And we have a very big plan,” Kotin emphasized.
In its release following the meeting, the Ministry of Energy added that the document, in particular, provides for the assistance of Korean partners in the development of production facilities to localize equipment production in Ukraine.
Galushchenko also thanked the Republic of Korea for the assistance provided to the Ukrainian energy sector since the beginning of the full-scale war with Russia, in particular for 10 cargoes of humanitarian aid, including 20 backup power plants and mini-excavators.
At the same time, Hyun Tae Kim emphasized that the Korean side is outraged by the recent Russian attacks that have caused enormous damage to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. According to him, the government of the Republic of Korea is working to help the Ukrainian energy sector, in particular Kharkiv. At the end of last year, 60 diesel generators were transferred to Ukraine, and another 200 are planned for this year. Korea will also increase support for the Ukrainian energy sector through international organizations.
Hyun Tae Kim noted that the signing of the memorandum between Energoatom and Hyundai will contribute to the development of Ukrainian-Korean cooperation in the nuclear industry, in particular, the exchange of experience in nuclear technologies.
The Ministry of Energy also added that the memorandum of cooperation between the companies was developed in accordance with the agreements set forth in the letter of intent signed during the World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris at the end of November 2023.
As reported, Ukraine has begun construction of KhNPP-5 infrastructure using the AR1000 technology of the American Westighouse. In addition, it is planned to build KhNPP-6 using this technology, as well as two units at the South Ukrainian NPP. In total, the parties agreed on 9 new units.
JSC Sumy Plant of Pumping and Power Engineering Nasosenergomash and JSC Research and Design Institute of Nuclear and Power Pumping are to be transferred to the management of NNEGC Energoatom.
As the Agency for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) reported on Facebook, a roadmap for the transfer of the seized assets to NNEGC is being developed following consultations with the Ministry of Economy and other authorities.
The transfer of property will take place in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 21 of the ARMA Law (Peculiarities of Asset Management in Exceptional Cases).
As reported, Nasosenergomash shares were seized on June 2, 2022.
The owner and ultimate beneficiary of Nasosenergomash through the controlled H.M.S. Capital Limited is a citizen of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Lukyanenko, the founder and one of the shareholders of the Russian group Gidromashservice, which supplies equipment for various industries, including the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation.
State enterprise “NAEK Energoatom” on April 16 reported that IC “Mega-Policy” was recognized as the winner of the tender for insurance of liability for high-risk facilities, for damage that may be caused as a result of emergencies.
As reported in the system of electronic public procurement Prozorro, the expected cost -139,515 thousand UAH, the company’s price offer of 79,520 thousand UAH.
IC “Industrial Insurance Company” also took part in the tender with the offer of UAH 41,7 thousand.
As it was informed, IC Mega-Policy was registered in 2000, specializing in risk insurance.
NNEGC Energoatom and the American company Westinghouse have launched a project to build KhNPP-5 and KhNPP-6 using AR1000 technology.
The project launch ceremony took place on April 11 at the Khmelnytsky NPP site with the participation of US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Halushchenko (information is being delayed for security reasons).
According to Energoatom’s acting Chairman of the Board Petro Kotin, the AR1000 is a proven III+ reactor with unique fully passive safety systems, modular standard design, industry-leading performance and the ability to operate in maneuvering mode.
“This is a more modern and safer technology than the ones we are currently operating. This is a new step towards more modern, reliable and safe energy. And it is in Ukraine that the first power unit in Europe based on AR1000 technology will be built. This will be KhNPP-5,” said Kotin.
“We are proud to be involved in the history that Ukraine is making in the energy sector. We can already say that our cooperation is the wedding of the year,” said Patrick Fragman, President and CEO of Westinghouse Electric Company.
He emphasized that this is an improved technology with increased efficiency, and the power unit itself is compact and has a lower cost compared to others.
“Here, at the KhNPP site, we note that the heavy equipment, which takes the longest time to produce, is already ready, and this will significantly accelerate the construction time. Thanks to the assistance of the U.S. government and the fact that the main agreements have been signed, it will be even faster,” he emphasized.
Fragman added that the AR1000 reactor is designed to operate for 60 years, but, according to him, it is likely to be longer.
“These units allow for balancing. This is a special feature of the American AR1000 technology. Now Russian aggressors are destroying Ukraine’s balancing capacities, and if we already had such a nuclear power unit, we could maneuver it and, accordingly, perform important functions for the power system,” Galushchenko emphasized.
“This is a project for the next many years. The United States is committed to fruitful cooperation with Ukraine… Together with the U.S. Congress, we are trying to support you not only in the context of armed aggression, but also economically,” Brink emphasized.
Regarding the sources of funding for the project, Kotin said the company could finance it on its own, as it has large profits, but the lion’s share of them goes to cover the electricity tariff for households (PSO).
“Last year, Energoatom spent UAH 128 billion of its net profit on PSO. If the company is exempted from PSO, we will have $3 billion of profit for which we can build a unit. If not, we will need to take out loans,” Kotin told reporters after the ceremony.
He added that the construction period for one unit is approximately 4-5 years, and its cost is about $5 billion.
As reported, on December 17, 2023, in Kyiv, Energoatom CEO Petro Kotin and Westinghouse CEO Patrick Fragman signed a contract for the purchase of a reactor unit for Ukraine’s first nuclear power unit using AP1000 technology.
Prior to this, in July 2022, the companies signed a contract to develop an updated feasibility study for the construction of two AP1000 units at the Khmelnytsky NPP site.
In September 2021, Energoatom and Westinghouse signed a memorandum on the construction of five nuclear power units in Ukraine. In June 2022, the companies signed agreements to increase the number of nuclear power units under construction using AP1000 technology in Ukraine from five to nine units and to establish a Westinghouse engineering and technical center in the country.
