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.
NAEK Energoatom and the American company Westinghouse started the project of KNPP-5 and KNPP-6 construction using AR1000 technology.
The project launch ceremony was held on April 11 at the Khmelnytsky nuclear plant site with the participation of U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko (information is delayed for security reasons).
As Energoatom Acting Chairman Petro Kotin noted at the ceremony, the AR1000 is a proven Reactor III with unique fully passive safety systems, modular standard design, industry-leading performance and maneuverability.
“It is a more advanced and safer technology than the ones we currently operate. It is a new step towards a more modern, reliable and safe energy industry. And it is in Ukraine that Europe’s first power unit based on AR1000 technology will be built. It will be KNPP-5,” Kotin said.
“We are proud that we will join the history that Ukraine is making in the energy sector. We can already say that our cooperation is the wedding of the year,” Patrick Fragman, President and CEO of Westinghouse Electric Company, pointed out.
He emphasized that it is an improved technology with increased efficiency, and the unit itself is compact and lower cost compared to others.
“Here at the KNPP site, we note that the heavy equipment, which takes the longest to manufacture, is now ready, and this will significantly accelerate the construction schedule. Thanks to the assistance of the US 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 he said it is likely to be longer.
“These units provide a balancing act. This is a special feature of the American AR1000 technology. Now Russian aggressors are destroying Ukraine’s balancing capacity, and if we already had such a nuclear power unit, we could maneuver it and accordingly perform important functions for the energy system,” Galushchenko stressed.
“This is a project for the next long years. The US is set for fruitful cooperation with Ukraine… We are trying together with the US Congress to support you not only within the framework of armed aggression, but also economically,” Brink emphasized.
As for the sources of financing the project, according to Kotin, the company could provide it on its own, as it has large profits, but the lion’s share of them goes to cover the tariff for electricity for the population (PEP).
“Energoatom spent 128 billion UAH of net profit on the PCO in the previous year. If the company is exempted from the PCO, we will have $3 bln of profit for which we can build the unit. If not, we are talking about loans,” Kotin told reporters after the ceremony.
He added that the construction period of one block is tentatively 4-5 years, and its cost is about $5 billion.
As reported, on December 17, 2023 in Kiev, the head of Energoatom Petro Kotin and Westinghouse CEO Patrick Fragman signed a contract for the purchase of a reactor unit for Ukraine’s first nuclear power unit based on AP1000 technology.
More than 40 applications have been submitted for the competition to select independent members of the Supervisory Board of NNEGC Energoatom, said the company’s acting Chairman of the Board Petro Kotin.
“As far as I know, there are more than 40 applications. We welcome the fact that there are so many people willing to join the Supervisory Board of Energoatom. There are many representatives of international organizations and individuals,” Kotin told reporters at an event dedicated to the second anniversary of the occupation of Zaporizhzhia NPP by the Russian military (4 March 2022).
At the same time, he noted that the process of selecting members of the supervisory board could take about a month.
“And after that, we hope to have a supervisory board. We have been working for this for a long time. We will work in a new way,” Kotin commented.
As reported, the deadline for applications for the competition to select members of the Energoatom Supervisory Board is March 4.
On February 21, 2024, NNEGC Energoatom received a certificate of registration of a share issue worth more than UAH 306 billion.
“On February 21, 2024, the company successfully and on time overcame the next stage of corporatization: a certificate of registration of the issue of shares, 100% of which will belong to the state of Ukraine, was received,” the company said on its Telegram channel on Friday.
According to NNEGC, this step is extremely important, as it emphasizes the commitment to implement open corporate standards and transparency in the company’s management.
“The certificate of registration of the share issue makes it possible to attract new investments and increase investments in the energy sector,” Energoatom emphasized.
As reported, on December 29, 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to establish Energoatom, a joint-stock company with 100% state-owned shares.
In January 2024, the state registration of Energoatom took place and the company’s charter was registered.
“Energoatom is the operator of four nuclear power plants: Zaporizhzhya, Rivne, South Ukraine and Khmelnytsky, which operate 15 nuclear power units with a total capacity of 13.8 GW, covering about 55% of Ukraine’s electricity needs.
The refusal from Russian nuclear fuel with a parallel active entry into the global nuclear materials market allowed Energoatom to save UAH 2.3 billion on the difference in world prices since 2022.
“The effective work of Energoatom in the uranium market and its conversion and enrichment services has given Ukraine the opportunity not only to get rid of its dependence on Russian nuclear fuel, but also to save significant funds,” the company said, citing NNEGC Chairman Petro Kotin.
According to him, the decisions taken by the company in 2022-2023 to increase the purchase of uranium and uranium conversion and enrichment services, as well as the negotiations and contracts concluded in advance with Energoatom’s international partners, represented by the British Urenco and Canadian CAMECO, have brought positive results so far.
“Firstly, we have calmly and without damage completely abandoned nuclear materials and related services of Russian origin. Secondly, we save about UAH 2.3 billion on the difference in world prices for these products (from the time of procurement to the present day, they have increased by more than a third on average),” Kotin said.
According to the NNEGC, the global revival of nuclear generation has led to a continuous increase in prices for uranium and uranium conversion and enrichment services, which are already reflected in world records.
“Therefore, the contracts signed by Energoatom with Urenco and CAMECO guarantee long-term uninterrupted operation of the domestic nuclear generation,” the company added.
Urenco, in particular, will supply Energoatom with uranium enrichment services until 2035 with the possibility of extending the contract until 2043; CAMECO will meet Energoatom’s needs for natural uranium hexafluoride (UF6) by 100% in 2024-2035 by supplying it and providing conversion services.
In 2023, Energoatom paid more than UAH 21 billion in tax and other payments to the state budget.
“This is UAH 1 billion more than the company paid to the state budget in 2021, when it operated all 15 nuclear power units,” NNEGC said on Telegram.
The head of Energoatom, Petra Kotina, noted that in terms of taxes and other payments to the state budget in 2023, the company managed to fulfill its obligations, operating only nine power units in the territory controlled by Ukraine without the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP with its six thousandth power units.
As reported, in the first half of 2023, Energoatom received UAH 68 billion in revenue and paid almost UAH 11 billion in taxes to the state budget of Ukraine.
