US-based Westinghouse Electric Company has formalised an agreement, first announced in September 2022, to expand cooperation with Spain’s nuclear fuel company Enusa on the manufacturing of nuclear fuel for Russia-made VVER-440 pressurised water reactor designs.
Westinghouse already manufactures VVER-1000 fuel at its facility in Västerås, Sweden, but has been looking to restart its production capabilities for the smaller VVER-440 units.
The company used to supply VVER-440 fuel for Finland’s two-unit Loviisa nuclear power station, but ceased production in 2009. In 2014, it began examining the option of restarting VVER-440 production to potentially supply customers which operate the technology in central and eastern Europe.
Nuclear fuel manufacturer Enusa has been part of a consortium with other European partners from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland, and Ukraine, which in 2018 developed a conceptual VVER-440 fuel design with Westinghouse.
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