Ukrainian Energoatom and French Orano sign commercial agreement on Uranium enrichment for nuclear power plants

French nuclear energy company Orano and NNEGC Energoatom have announced the signing of an early commercial agreement to provide nuclear fuel enrichment services until 2040.

The press service of Energoatom reported this.

This contract guarantees Energoatom a reliable and diversified supply of enrichment services to provide fuel for Ukraine's nuclear power plants.

"This agreement reflects our commitment to supporting our client and will thus contribute to Europe's energy security," Orano CEO Nicolas Maes said.

Acting Chairman of the Board of Energoatom Petro Kotin noted:

"Uranium enrichment is one of the important stages in the process of nuclear fuel production. The signed agreement allows our state to confidently plan a stable, bright future, relying on the operation of nuclear power plants."

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Orano, established in 2018 following the reorganization of the French nuclear corporation Areva, is a key player in the global nuclear energy market. France has previously stated its openness to investment from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in its nuclear energy sector, presenting numerous investment opportunities, including for Orano.

French state energy company EDF intends to build and operate six new nuclear reactors in France. At the same time, the government is ready to allocate tens of billions of euros in financing for this.

Sources previously told Reuters that the UAE nuclear energy company wanted to become a minority investor in foreign nuclear infrastructure facilities, without taking on the management or operation of these facilities.

Le Maire also said that France is ready to assist the UAE if the Gulf country decides to expand its nuclear energy.

"If there is an opportunity to expand cooperation with the UAE in the nuclear field, we are ready for it," he said.

The American Westinghouse Electric Company and Ukrainian Energoatom have signed a contract to develop an updated feasibility study for constructing two AP1000 units at the Khmelnytskyi NPP in Ukraine.

Another facet of cooperation between Energoatom and Westinghouse is the production of fuel block components for VVER-1000 reactors, a process that, according to Ukraine's energy minister Halushchenko, has already commenced.

VVER-1000 reactors are the second type of more powerful power units in Ukraine, with 13 units operating across all four Ukrainian nuclear power plants. They are only used in Europe at the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant in the Czech Republic.

In addition, in June last year, Ukraine discussed with the British company further reducing the world's dependence on nuclear fuel from the Russian Federation.

In early March of this year, the first batch of nuclear fuel from the American company Westinghouse arrived at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Netishyn.

Rubryka examined which production facilities are set to begin manufacturing nuclear fuel shortly, assessed the safety of these operations for the Ukrainian environment, and explored steps the public can take to protect themselves from any potential harmful effects of these enterprises.