First deliveries of nuclear fuel from US Westinghouse arrive at Czech Dukovany

The Dukovany nuclear power plant has received its first fuel assemblies from US company Westinghouse. The plant will use American fuel for the first time; until now, it has used Russian fuel. The deliveries are part of efforts to expand the number of fuel suppliers to domestic nuclear power plants. The Temelín plant received fuel in recent weeks. The ČEZ energy group announced the news today. Westinghouse and Framatome have replaced the previous fuel supplier, Russia’s TVEL.

While Westinghouse fuel returned to Temelín after fifteen years, this is a first for Dukovany. “This is a step that significantly strengthens the Czech Republic’s energy security. In addition to diversifying nuclear fuel suppliers, we also maintain strategic reserves at both of our nuclear power plants,” said ČEZ Chairman and CEO Daniel Beneš.

ČEZ began working to increase the number of fuel suppliers at the end of the last decade, launching a tender in 2018. In 2022, the company signed a contract with Westinghouse and Framatome to supply fuel assemblies for the Temelín plant. The following year, it also signed an agreement with Westinghouse for Dukovany. ČEZ is also negotiating with Framatome on fuel supplies for Dukovany.

“Both types of newly supplied VVER fuel, manufactured in Västerås, Sweden, are fully compatible with assemblies from other manufacturers and offer improved fuel efficiency as well as extended fuel cycles,” explained Tarik Choho, president of Westinghouse’s Nuclear Fuel division.

Dukovany’s energy staff are currently taking delivery of eighty newly supplied fuel assemblies. “Before loading them into the reactor, we still need to obtain approval from the State Office for Nuclear Safety. We are currently preparing the documentation for our application,” said Bohdan Zronek, ČEZ board member and director of its Nuclear Energy division.

ČEZ noted that the new fuel must meet the strictest safety requirements. The assemblies from the new supplier also meet the requirements for longer fuel cycles. These will now last 16 months at Dukovany and 18 months at Temelín. ČEZ expects this to raise average annual electricity generation from nuclear sources after 2030 from the current roughly 30 terawatt-hours (TWh) to 32 TWh.

Dukovany currently operates four nuclear units, each with a capacity of 510 MW. Since the beginning of this year, they have generated 6,2 terawatt-hours of electricity. Two more nuclear units, each with a capacity of approximately 1000 megawatts (MW), are at Temelín in South Bohemia.