Czech ČEZ joins forces with Framatome to develop new fuel for Dukovany

ČEZ Group will work with French company Framatome and other European operators to develop next-generation fuel assemblies for Dukovany-type reactors. ČEZ said so in a statement today. It is continuing activities aimed at diversifying fuel suppliers for its nuclear power plants. Dukovany currently uses Russian TVEL fuel. Last year, the plant received its first fuel from Westinghouse, with another delivery due this year.

"This is a strategic investment in the future of Dukovany and Czech energy as a whole. Active participation in fuel development will allow us to better manage key supply chains and secure fuel for the plant’s long-term safe operation," said Bohdan Zronek, ČEZ board member and director of its nuclear energy division, regarding the new agreement with Framatome and other operators.

The design and testing include processes in which ČEZ experts are actively involved together with colleagues from Finland, Slovakia and Hungary, from preparing technical specifications to future licensing steps.

The company said the move follows its long-term strategy. In 2024, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the same French company on the development of Temelín-type fuel.

According to ČEZ Group, the aim is to create a modernised fuel type for the long-term and safe operation of the Dukovany units while increasing the efficiency of the entire fuel cycle. "The new fuel type is being developed with an emphasis on operational reliability, optimisation of performance parameters and improved mechanical resistance of fuel assemblies," it said. The development also includes a more modern concept for transport casks and a multi-stage testing programme that will test the fuel in actual operation.

The first phase of the project, according to ČEZ, includes detailed nuclear fuel design and preparation of manufacturing documentation. This will be followed by materials testing, hydraulic tests and the production of test fuel assemblies. At the same time, the technical requirements of the participating operators are being harmonised, preparations are under way for testing transport casks, and analyses are being conducted of the impacts on future fuel-cycle optimisation.

"Developing an entirely new fuel type is time-consuming and usually takes more than five years," Zronek said in response to a question from ČTK.

According to Zronek, nuclear fuel from Westinghouse will be loaded into a Dukovany unit after a favourable decision from the State Office for Nuclear Safety (SÚJB), gradually replacing Russian fuel. "In the case of Dukovany, where we have to develop new fuel from scratch and obtain an SÚJB licence, the current contract with TVEL is valid until 2028," he said. TVEL supplies to Temelín have already ended.

The four Dukovany units were commissioned between 1985 and 1987. ČEZ has previously said it wants to operate them for at least 60 years. South Korean company KHNP won the contract to build two additional Dukovany units. A geological survey for these units began last August.

Dukovany has four VVER 440 nuclear units, each with a capacity of 512 megawatts (MW). Two additional nuclear units, each with an installed capacity of 1125 MW, are located at Temelín in South Bohemia. The reactors there are of the VVER 1000 type.