Cooperation between Energoatom and Westinghouse will help oust russia from global nuclear fuel market: German Galushchenko

According to Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko, the generation sector still has the necessary capacity to fully meet the needs of electricity consumers with a significant reserve.

During his working visit to Sweden, Minister of Energy German Galushchenko visited a nuclear fuel production plant of the American company Westinghouse and met with Aziz Dag, Managing Director of Westinghouse Electric Sweden, as well as with Mayor of Västerås, where the plant is located, and the Governor of the region.

German Galushchenko also spoke with Ukrainian nuclear experts working on a joint project between Westinghouse and Energoatom to produce nuclear fuel for VVER-440 reactors. The corresponding Memorandum between the companies was signed in the presence of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2020, and now joint efforts are aimed at maximizing its implementation.

According to the Minister, today this is an issue not only for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe. This is a matter of getting rid of dependence on russian nuclear fuel as soon as possible, and, accordingly, the effectiveness of future sanctions against the russian nuclear industry.

“The results of our cooperation are encouraging and give us confidence that this year we will remove russia from the list of players in the nuclear fuel market. This will be facilitated by close and fruitful cooperation between Westinghouse and Energoatom experts,” emphasized German Galushchenko.

Ukraine started diversifying its nuclear fuel supply long before russia’s military aggression. Thanks to this, after the start of the full-scale invasion, we finally abandoned nuclear fuel of russian origin. Today, this is a challenge for many countries, and Ukraine’s experience will be useful for them in implementing strategies to get rid of dependence on russian nuclear fuel.

During the meeting, the parties also discussed in detail the progress in practical implementation of the signed agreements on the construction of a nuclear fuel production plant in Ukraine based on Westinghouse technologies.

German Galushchenko expressed special gratitude to the Swedish side for providing full assistance and support to our joint cooperation with the United States.