Finnish utility Fortum has loaded the first batch of VVER-440 fuel assemblies supplied by Westinghouse into Unit 2 of the Loviisa nuclear power station as it seeks to replace Russian supply.
Loviisa, which has two 507-MW VVER plants supplied by Russia, has depended on nuclear fuel from Tvel, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned power corporation Rosatom, but Fortum began looking to replace the this in 2022 after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The loading of the new fuel is a significant milestone that guarantees a reliable Western alternative for fuel,” Fortum said in a statement, adding that the first Westinghouse fuel had been loaded during the power plant’s annual outage in August.
“The safe and reliable operation of our Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant is crucial for Finland’s security of supply.”
In November 2022, Fortum signed an agreement with Westinghouse for the design, approval and delivery of a new type of fuel for Loviisa.
During the annual maintenance in 2023, one experimental element manufactured by Westinghouse, which did not contain actual uranium pellets, was loaded into Loviisa Unit 2.
During this year’s annual maintenance, it was found that the test element worked as expected and fuel assemblies of the new design were subsequently loaded into the unit’s core.
In February 2023, the Finnish government granted Fortum an extension to the operating licence for Loviisa, allowing it to continue generating power until the end of 2050.
The fuel contract with Tvel is valid until the end of the current licences, in 2027 and 2030.
Fortum said the contract with Westinghouse and the fresh fuel in stock ensure Loviisa’s fuel supply until the procurement of fuels is put out to tender as part of the station’s life extension.
Loviisa was the first nuclear power plant in Finland and provides more than 10% of the country’s electricity. Unit 1 began commercial operation in 1977 and Unit 2 in 1981.
Nineteen VVER reactors – developed during the time of the Soviet Union and historically reliant on Russian fuel supplies – are in operation in the European Union. There are four VVER-1000 reactors in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic and 15 VVER-440 reactors in the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia.
Finland is one of a number of countries in the EU who are in the process of switching away from Russian-supplied fuel.
