ENUSA will manufacture VVER-440 fuel in collaboration with Westinghouse
The Spanish engineering company ENUSA and Westinghouse Electric Company have formalised their cooperation agreement for the manufacture of VVER-440 fuel.
Enusa said it plans for a production line for the new fuel at its Juzbado factory to be finished and licensed this year, allowing fuel deliveries early in 2024.
It added: "The two companies have reached this agreement that will allow operators to diversify the collection of this nuclear fuel and reduce dependence on the current supplier, strategically complying with the desire of the European Union to provide a real alternative in the supply of fuel."
With the agreement between Enusa and Westinghouse, nuclear operators will be able to diversify the collection of nuclear fuel vor VVER-440 and reduce dependence on the current supplier
The agreement involves Westinghouse and Enusa manufacturing the fuel at their respective factories in Västerås, Sweden, and Juzbado, Spain. Enusa also says the agreement "opens the door to collaboration in engineering and licensing activities as well as in service activities at power plants, which will be finalised based on the contracts that are formalised with the different clients".
The agreement between the two companies was first announced at the World Nuclear Symposium in London last September and was seen as building on their existing partnership - such as, since 1974, a pressurised water reactor fuel technology transfer agreement in support of nuclear plants in Spain, Belgium and France, among others, and the supply of nearly 750 VVER-440 fuel assemblies to the Loviisa plant in Finland between 2002 and 2007.
Enusa, a member company of Foro Nuclear, has started all the necessary activities to reinstall the production line for this type of fuel at its factory in Juzbado. The production line is expected to be finished and licensed throughout 2023, which would make it possible to start delivering fuel from the start of 2024, Enusa indicates.
Enusa has plans to start delivering this type of fuel at the start of 2024
Enusa indicated that their previous experience was highly valued both by Westinghouse and by the potential clients of the future fuel market, as it is a guarantee for the success of this supply.
