¶¶Òõpro

Fennovoima says that the "Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the counter measures by EU and western countries as a consequence" pose a "major risk" to the future of the nuclear power plant project.

With the attention of the world focused on events in Ukraine, one of the questions people are asking is about the country’s nuclear power industry.

Intensifying work to complete Khmelnitsky unit 3 and exploring the possibilities of small modular reactors are among priorities for the year ahead, Energoatom has said.

The Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries and Energoatom have agreed a cooperation deal covering nuclear energy and related technologies.

Ukraine's central storage site for used nuclear fuel is in cold testing and should receive its first shipments in April, according to its operator, the utility Energoatom.

Ukraine's Energoatom would like to license Westinghouse's AP1000 technology after the initial five units that are already being planned, the company's CEO, Petro Kotin, said in an interview with EnergoBusiness magazine. Energoatom is currently weighing up its options for suppliers to its programme.

A programme to make Ukraine self-sufficient in uranium by 2027 has been approved by the country's cabinet. Nuclear power is planned for significant expansion beyond the 54% of electricity it already provides in Ukraine.

The US Trade and Development Agency announced it will support Ukrainian authorities to assess NuScale's small reactor technology, with a view to future exports. A gap analysis will compare the technology to the Ukrainian regulatory system to identify potential problems and make recommendations.

A contract signed by the Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom and US vendor Westinghouse will trigger the engineering and procurement of components for the first of several AP1000s planned for Ukraine. The country is planning as much as 11 GWe of new build by 2040.

The US Department of Energy is funding an independent review by a technical advisory body to Ukraine's nuclear regulator of the NuScale Power Module Safety Analysis Report. This review will be made available to any utility in Ukraine interested in deploying NuScale Power's small modular reactor technology.

Ukraine's nuclear power plant operator, Energoatom, is conducting the final pre-commissioning trials of the Central Spent Fuel Storage Facility at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The company's acting president recently inspected simulation tests of the removal of nuclear fuel from unit 3 of the Rovno nuclear power plant using technology supplied by Holtec International of the USA. The transfer of fuel to the CSFSF is scheduled to begin next year.

Work has already started to complete Ukraine's Khmelnitsky 3 using AP1000 technology. Engineers from Westinghouse are at the site, taking stock and considering how to complete the unique project, according to plant owner Energoatom.