Orano and Energoatom, the Ukrainian national nuclear operator, have today announced the signature of a major long-term commercial agreement for the supply of enrichment services through to 2040. This was confirmed today by the signing of a joint statement by Petro Kotin, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Energoatom, and Nicolas Maes, Chief Executive Officer of Orano, in the presence of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Energoatom Jarek Niewierowicz.
This contract guarantees Energoatom a reliable and diversified supply of enrichment services to provide fuel for the Ukrainian nuclear power generation fleet. «We are proud to accompany Energoatom in its development to reinforce Ukraine's energy independence. This agreement reflects our commitment to provide our customer with support and thus contribute to European energy security», said Nicolas Maes.
«Energoatom continues to strengthen Ukraine's energy security. Uranium enrichment is one of the important stages in the process of nuclear fuel production, and the agreement signed allows our state to plan a stable, bright future, relying on the operation of nuclear power plants,» said Petro Kotin and added that given Ukraine's plans to expand nuclear capacity, Energoatom's need for uranium enrichment services will only grow in the future.
To meet growing demand from its customers, in 2023, Orano embarked on a major project to extend the production capacity of its Georges Besse 2 uranium enrichment plant in France by 30 %. This development will raise the maximum annual capacity of the plant to 11 million SWUs1 between now and the start of the next decade, thus consolidating Orano's position as a key player in the global supply of enrichment services.
1 The Separative Work Unit (SWU) is the unit of measure used as the international standard to quantify production from enrichment activity.
