British Urenco to continue supplying enriched uranium for Czech nuclear power plants

Urenco will continue to supply enriched uranium for fuel production for Czech nuclear power plants. ČEZ Group has agreed with the British company to cooperate at least until the mid-2030s. The partly state-owned ČEZ announced this today. France’s Orano is another supplier of enriched uranium for Czech nuclear plants.

Enriched uranium is a key component of fuel for nuclear power plants. By extending its cooperation with Urenco, ČEZ wants to ensure it has multiple sources of supply. The company says this will increase the security of nuclear power plant operations in the event that one of its suppliers experiences an outage or other problems arise.

In the past, for example, uranium enrichment for Czech nuclear power plants was handled by Russia’s TVEL, but cooperation with the company ended on security grounds following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. ČEZ also has multiple suppliers for the final fuel assemblies, which are supplied by US-based Westinghouse and France’s Framatome.

„We have been working with Urenco for 20 years, and the newly signed contract sets the framework for further long-term cooperation. Our task is to ensure the safe operation of our nuclear power plants. By diversifying suppliers and signing contracts with stable companies, we are also strengthening the energy security of the Czech Republic,“ said Bohdan Zronek, a member of ČEZ’s board of directors and head of its nuclear energy division.

According to Urenco sales director Sarah Riedel, the British company is ready to work with ČEZ on future projects involving both large and small nuclear reactors.

The Czech Republic has nuclear power plants at Temelín and Dukovany, which together account for around 40 percent of the country’s electricity consumption. Temelín has two units, each with a capacity of approximately 1000 megawatts (MW). Dukovany has four nuclear reactors, each with a capacity of 510 MW.

ČEZ is currently negotiating a contract with South Korea’s KHNP to build two new units at Dukovany. The Korean company is offering technology with a capacity of 1050 MW per unit. The first is expected to be completed in 2036. At current prices, the cost of the currently preferred option of building two reactors is 400 billion crowns. Under a government decision, ČEZ is also expected to negotiate with the Koreans over the next three to five years an option to build two more units at Temelín.

The government decided in July to build two new nuclear reactors and selected KHNP. Two unsuccessful bidders in the tender—France’s EDF and US-based Westinghouse—appealed the decision to the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition. The antitrust authority has so far rejected their objections in a non-final ruling, but the companies can still file an appeal. A preliminary ban on signing the contract to build the new reactors therefore remains in force until the authority issues a final decision.