On May 6, Pavlo Kovtonyuk, Head of Energoatom, conducted a working visit to the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility (CSNFSF) to mark a significant achievement: the installation of the 50th container of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) was recently installed there. The facility currently receives fuel from all Ukrainian nuclear power plants located within the territories controlled by Ukraine – Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, and South Ukraine NPPs.
By utilizing its own native storage facility, developed under the technology of the American company Holtec, Ukraine saves approximately $200 million annually. Previously, SNF was exported to the russian federation.
“The construction and commissioning of the CSNFSF has allowed Ukraine to finally break its dependence on the aggressor country. Beyond the financial savings, there is also a planning factor: we now manage all the processes related to spent nuclear fuel independently,” said Pavlo Kovtonyuk, NNEGC Head.
He further noted that the operation of the CSNFSF supports continued power generation across the nine nuclear units currently operating in Ukraine’s controlled territories.
For reference: The construction of the CSNFSF was finalized in 2021. On April 25, 2022, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine granted the official commissioning license. The first shipments of spent nuclear fuel from Ukrainian NPPs commenced in 2023.
