Kozloduy NPP gets licence to store Westinghouse nuclear fuel

The authorised activities only include receiving and storing the new fuel cartridges at the NPP's fresh fuel node, the Nuclear Regulatory Agency said in a statement last week.

Last July, NPP Kozloduy sought approval from Bulgaria's nuclear energy regulator for the use of the new fuel type at its Unit 5 reactor under a contract with Westinghouse. Kozloduy and Westinghouse Electric Sweden, the European arm of Westinghouse, signed the contract for the supply of fresh nuclear fuel in December 2022.

The RWFA cartridges can be used at the plant's Unit 5 reactor once the licencing process has been completed, the regulator added.

In August, the Nuclear Regulatory Agency said it signed contracts with France's public institute for nuclear and radiological risks, IRSN, and a Czech-Ukrainian tie-up for an independent assessment of the safety analysis of the nuclear fuel to be produced and delivered to NPP Kozloduy.

Last week, Bulgaria's Kozloduy NPP-New Build, a special project company owned by state-owned NPP Kozloduy, started inviting expressions of interest for the construction of a new reactor using Westinghouse's AP1000 technology.

NPP Kozloduy, Bulgaria's sole nuclear power plant, operates two units of 1,000 MW each, which receive fresh nuclear fuel from Russian company TVEL. The operational licences for these units will expire in 2027 and 2029, respectively.