In April 2024, a number of important events took place in the Ukrainian nuclear power industry.

1. At a solemn ceremony, Energoatom, together with Westinghouse Electric Company, announced the start of the project to build two power units based on AP1000 Westinghouse technology at the Khmelnytsky NPP.

In the presence of Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Halushchenko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the U.S. to Ukraine Bridget Brink and Chief Executive Officer of Westinghouse Electric Company Patrick Fragman, we laid the first concrete cube for Unit 5 of the Khmelnytsky NPP. This power unit will be the first one built using American AP1000 technology in Ukraine.

According to Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko, this is a major geopolitical project of common interest to Ukraine and the United States. The technologies we are going to develop together will displace the russians from the European nuclear power market.

According to the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, against the background of constant shelling of critical infrastructure, Ukraine needs more generating facilities, and the main focus is on nuclear power industry. Against the background of the illegal seizure of the Zaporizhzhia NPP by invaders, Ukraine needs additional power units. She welcomed the intentions of the Government, the Ministry of Energy and Energoatom regarding the development of nuclear power industry.

For Ukraine, this will be one of the largest, if not the largest infrastructure project for the years of independence, costing more than $10 billion. Its active phase will fall on the years of post-war reconstruction. 9,000 new jobs will be created in construction alone. Adjacent industries will receive many orders, a powerful impetus for their development, because localization during construction will be sufficiently high.

New nuclear power units are a great chance and opportunity for our country to have a reliable source of clean, cheap energy over the coming decade. It is the source and precondition for revival of the Ukrainian industry, multiplication of its scientific, technical and technological potential.

2. JSC “NNEGC “Energoatom” and the American company Holtec International signed a General Agreement on the transfer of Holtec technology for the manufacture of small modular reactor (SRM) components to Energoatom. Another point of this agreement provides for the establishment of a Ukrainian facility for the production of spent nuclear fuel storage components, currently manufactured in the U.S.

According to the agreement, we will jointly work on the establishment of a Ukrainian facility for the production of equipment for small modular reactors based on Holtec SMR technology, including the reactor vessel. The plant should not only ensure the construction of about 3000 MW of SMR capacity in Ukraine, but also become a hub for exporting this technology to other countries. This will be of great importance for the post-war reconstruction of our country as well as significantly strengthen the competitiveness of the Ukrainian nuclear industry. Thus, a Ukrainian hub of nuclear technologies will be created with the up-to-date nuclear engineering, scientific and technological support.

Certainly, russia opposes this and has used all possible tools and pre-recording meetings to discredit Energoatom and its joint projects with American companies. Moreover, it is beyond sad that we find respectable Ukrainian publications, journalists, and experts among these tools. What's more, because of these PSYOPs, they still instill a complex of inferiority and doubts about the possibilities and feasibility of implementing such projects: “now's not the time, there are other priorities in power industry, it's impossible, it's unrealistic, it will be stolen.”

Let me remind you that not a single kopek of budget funds will be used to finance Energoatom’s projects. Their implementation will not interfere with the establishment of distributed generation in Ukraine, will not interfere with the renewable energy sources projects and will not divert resources for that.

During the international conference “Powering Tomorrow, Inspiring Today: Nuclear Energy 2.0” held in Brussels, the Executive Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič stated the need for EU participation in supporting and financing nuclear projects. Europe currently operates more than 150 nuclear power plants, covering 22% of its electricity needs. However, during the next 15 years, two new nuclear power units must be built annually in Europe for the stable production of clean energy and the achievement of climate goals.

Ukraine should not stay out of this process, should not ignore global technological progress and the opportunities, resources and trust available to us.
Today, Energoatom has access to many of the latest nuclear industry technologies, including the advanced technologies for the production of nuclear fuel and its components, the preservation of spent nuclear fuel, etc. Moreover, such technologies are more relevant than ever for Ukraine. After all, they provide for much better passive protection systems, maneuverability of nuclear generation and other technical characteristics that significantly increase energy security, nuclear and radiation safety, the efficiency of electricity and heat production, labor productivity, etc.

The construction time for a new power unit is neither one nor two years. It may take 5-6 or even more years from the beginning of its construction to connection to the power grid. If we do not start mentioned activities now (it is clear that now is not the best time for those, but we have no other choice), then where will we get electricity to compensate for the generation facilities lost during the war, how will we meet the needs of post-war reconstruction and increased consumption by the population?!

Energoatom, like the entire economy of our country, is functioning under conditions of the highest category of risks. Our foreign partners, in particular the American companies Westinghouse and Holtec International, understand this perfectly and, despite the martial law, are ready to supply equipment and technologies, insure risks, find sources of financing, come to Ukraine, work in Ukraine, invest money in Ukraine. They believe in Ukraine and the prospects for the development of the Ukrainian nuclear industry and the nuclear industrial complex. They believe in Ukrainian engineers and scientists, and prove that in practice.

Moreover, we will come through. Ukraine will become a hub of nuclear power technologies in Europe!

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