Energoatom and Holtec just signed an agreement to collaborate on SMR manufacturing facilities.
The collaboration agreement provides for the creation in Ukraine of manufacturing capabilities for components for small modular reactors (SMRs), plus storage and transportation systems for spent nuclear fuel.
The collaboration agreement is intended to speed up the deployment of Holtec's SMRs in Ukraine “and to support unimpeded reactor operations through a successfully deployed used fuel storage facility”.
Herman Halushchenko is the Energy Minister of Ukraine. He said, “It is very important that we sign this document at such a turbulent time, demonstrating to the enemy our stability and determination to deepen the Ukrainian-American partnership and develop the future of Ukrainian energy using leading technologies."
Petro Kotin is the Acting Chairman for Energoatom. He said, “This agreement is important not only for Energoatom, but also for the entire energy industry of Ukraine and the national economy. The creation of nuclear energy production facilities in the country will contribute not only to the strengthening of the country's energy security ... this Master Agreement will lead to a modern manufacturing and training facility which will spur economic development, create well-paying jobs, and pave the way for Ukraine’s emergence as the regional hub for Holtec’s SMR-300 and used fuel technology.”
Shawn Anderson is the U.S. Embassy’s Department of Energy Office Director and Energy Attaché for Ukraine. He said, “The signing of the Master Agreement marks a significant milestone as it paves the way for the establishment of a cutting-edge manufacturing facility aimed at localizing the production of equipment for Holtec SMRs, spent nuclear fuel storage and transport systems, and other nuclear energy-related necessities in Ukraine. This collaborative effort between Energoatom and Holtec International is not only a critical step but also an inspiring one that promises to enhance Ukraine’s national and energy security, thus bolstering its economy.”
Holtec has been working on the development of its SMR line since 2011 and the company has long established links with Ukraine. In April 2023, an agreement between Energoatom and Holtec sought to pave the way for up to twenty of its SMR-160 units to be deployed in the country. Holtec says its SMR has undergone several design evolutions. The most recent change is the incorporation of forced flow capability overlayed on gravity-driven flow in the plant’s primary system for the SMR-300, which is a pressurized water reactor producing around three hundred megawatts of electrical power or one thousand and fifty megawatts of thermal power for process applications, and which Holtec says, remains “walk-away safe”.
Holtec and Energoatom announced in November that they were planning to construct a plant in Ukraine for the production of containers for radioactive materials. These containers are currently made in the USA for storage of spent nuclear fuel. This followed on from the commissioning in 2022 of the Holtec International-built Centralized Spent Fuel Storage Facility (CSFCS) in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, contracts for which were signed for its construction in 2005. The CSFCS is a dry storage site for spent nuclear fuel assemblies.