Slovakia completes fuel loading at new Mochovce unit

Bratislava, July 6 (CTK correspondent) - Slovak electricity producer Slovenské elektrárne (SE) completed loading fuel into the new fourth unit of the Mochovce nuclear power plant in southern Slovakia on Friday. SE announced the news. The majority of shares in the company are held by the Czech businessman Daniel Křetínský’s Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) group. Workers inserted the first fuel assembly into the reactor, which has an installed capacity of 471 megawatts, a week ago, after the unit received a permit to enter service.

"The completion of fuel loading into the fourth unit is another significant step towards completing the Mochovce project. With this unit, we are closing one of the most important chapters in Slovak energy," said Martin Mráz, a member of SE’s management.

After the fuel is loaded, various tests and further checks will begin before the nuclear chain reaction is initiated. In the next phase of the start-up process, the reactor’s output will be gradually increased.

The reactor contains a total of 349 assemblies, including 312 fuel assemblies and 37 control assemblies. The total weight of the fuel is around 42 tonnes. About a fifth of the fuel is replaced once a year during reactor operation.

SE, Slovakia’s largest electricity producer, previously estimated that the fourth unit of the Mochovce power plant would be connected to the grid at the end of summer and could then reach full capacity later this year. Nuclear power already accounts for the largest share of electricity generation in Slovakia.

Completion of the third and fourth units of the Mochovce nuclear power plant was significantly delayed compared with the original plan, and the project’s costs also rose considerably. The third unit was connected to the grid in 2023, while the plant’s first two units have been in operation since the late 1990s.