In a documentary report by the German television channel ZDF titled “The russian nuclear business – Europe in a trap,” journalists analyzed in detail rosatom’s attempts to maintain its influence on the European nuclear fuel market, particularly for VVER-type reactors.
Ukraine is setting an example of how to move away from dependence on nuclear fuel from russia, as it was the first in the world to switch to Westinghouse fuel assemblies. Initially, American and Ukrainian specialists developed an analogue of russian fuel assemblies for VVER-1000 reactors, followed by for VVER-440 reactors. European countries operating Soviet-style reactors are now actively interested in Energoatom’s successful experience, which effectively shattered the russian monopoly in the VVER nuclear fuel segment.
“We have received inquiries from Slovakia, where reactors similar to ours are in operation and where they also aim to switch to Westinghouse-manufactured fuel assemblies. The Czech Republic and Finland are also interested in our experience with these fuel assemblies,” noted Energoatom CEO Pavlo Kovtonyuk.
Watch an excerpt from the documentary film about Energoatom’s experience (with Ukrainian subtitles): https://youtu.be/kx83DHi_yd0
The full film is available at the link (in German): https://www.zdf.de/play/dokus/frontal-die-doku-100/doku-putins-atomgeschaefte-europa-in-der-falle-100
