NNEGC Energoatom and Holtec International plan to establish a joint venture to organize a production complex and a technology center in Ukraine to localize equipment for small modular reactors (SMR) of the American company.
According to NNEGC’s post on Telegram, the facility will house an engineering and design center, storage facilities for materials and component production, as well as training facilities, including an SMR simulator.
The production is expected to create thousands of jobs for qualified Ukrainian personnel.
“The introduction of advanced technologies and the construction of modern Holtec production facilities in Ukraine will be of great importance for the post-war economic recovery of our country. Cooperation with Holtec gives Ukraine the opportunity to become a leader in the global nuclear energy sector,” Energoatom President Petro Kotin was quoted as saying in the statement.
“We believe that Ukraine has demonstrated its ability to build and commission a powerful nuclear facility, despite the continuous barrage of Russian missiles. Therefore, Ukraine’s recovery can begin without waiting for the end of hostilities,” said Holtec President and CEO Dr. Chris Singh.
As reported, in November 2022, Ukraine and the United States announced a project to build an SMR in Ukraine. In addition to generating electricity using SMR and advanced electrolysis technologies, the country also plans to produce pure hydrogen and ammonia.
In April 2023, Energoatom and Holtec signed a cooperation agreement on SMR deployment, which envisages the construction of up to 20 SMR-160 light water reactors, with the implementation of the first pilot project and reaching the minimum regulated reactor power and grid connection by March 2029.
Holtec also announced plans to organize facilities in Ukraine to train personnel, transfer the necessary technologies, manufacture and maintain SMR equipment. “Ukrenergo has already recommended 16 TPP sites where they could be located.
NNEGC Energoatom President Petr Kotin and U.S. Holtec International President and CEO Chris Singh on April 21 signed an agreement on cooperation in the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs), which provides for construction of up to 20 SMR-160 reactors, with implementation of the first pilot project and reaching minimum regulated reactor capacity and grid connection by March 2029.
According to Energoatom’s Web site on Saturday, Kotin signed the agreement in Kiev and Singh signed it in Camden, New Jersey, USA. Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko and Riaz Awan, Holtec International’s vice president of operations in Ukraine, also attended the ceremony.
“The construction of the SMR in Ukraine will not only contribute to strengthening the energy security of the state, but will also make it possible to replace the thermal power capacity destroyed by Russian attacks and achieve the goals of decarbonization. Ukraine has a significant human resource potential for the development of leading nuclear technologies and will make every effort, particularly in cooperation and with American partners, to oust the Russian nuclear industry from the world market. MMR is a powerful technology which will also allow us to decentralize generation,” Galushchenko said.
According to Energoatom’s president, the agreement with Holtec International “is based on 20 years of successful cooperation between the companies.” “It will enable the introduction of promising, safe, clean, reliable and efficient small modular reactor technologies and make Ukraine the world’s leading country in clean energy,” Kotin said.
The document also envisages the deepening of cooperation between the companies to strengthen the energy security of Ukraine. In addition, the agreement will contribute to the universal decarbonization of the Ukrainian energy sector, strengthen Ukraine’s energy independence and begin high-tech production of parts for SMRs in our territories.
“We are grateful to esteemed Energy Minister Galushchenko and the esteemed President of Energoatom, representing the government of Ukraine, for restoring your nation’s confidence in our company by choosing our extremely safe SMR-160 reactors and Holtec International as a partner to meet the country’s clean energy needs…We are committed to helping the Ukrainian people rebuild their energy infrastructure when Russian aggressors are driven from the country,” Singh said at the signing ceremony.
According to Energoatom, Holtec International, their longtime partner, served as the contractor for the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility, which went into operation in April 2022.
The SMR-160 is a 160-MW pressurized light-water reactor that uses low-enriched uranium as fuel and is flexible to produce process heat for industrial applications and hydrogen production.
“Energoatom is the operator of all four operating nuclear power plants in Ukraine. It operates 15 power units equipped with water-water power reactors with a total installed electric capacity of 13.835 GW.
