One of the largest suppliers of nuclear fuel in the world – the Canadian corporation “Cameco” (Cameco) will supply nuclear fuel to Bulgaria.
The agreement is for a period of 10 years. Cameco has committed to deliver about 2.2 million kilograms of uranium by 2033, it said in a statement the Canadian company.
“Kameko” will provide sufficient volumes of natural uranium hexafluoride (the so-called UF6) to meet the full requirements of Unit 5 of the Kozloduy NPP, the announcement states.
“This is the first agreement of “Kameco” for the supply of fuel for the nuclear energy sector of Bulgaria”says the company’s president and CEO Team Gitzel.
“We are very pleased to add another market to Cameco’s global trading portfolio and expand our contribution to countries like Bulgaria that are seeking to improve their energy security while reaffirming their commitment to carbon-free nuclear power to achieve their goals.” in the field of climate”he adds.
On Friday evening, the Ministry of Energy announced that, as a sign of partnership and readiness to ensure reliable and secure supplies of nuclear fuel for the Kozloduy NPP, on Thursday American company “Westinghouse” has signed contracts for the supply of uranium material with the corporations “Kameko” and “Urenko”.
The deliveries under the signed contracts will be used by Westinghouse for the production and delivery from 2024 of fresh nuclear fuel for the 5th power unit of the Kozloduy NPP.
The contracted uranium material will be delivered to the Westinghouse plant in Sweden, where it will be used in the production process of the fresh nuclear fuel cartridges.
The meeting, which was hosted by the Minister of Energy Rosen Hristov, was attended by representatives of the managements of the three foreign companies, the Bulgarian BEH and Kozloduy NPP, as well as the ambassadors of the USA, Great Britain, Canada and Sweden.
They expressed their gratitude for the cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and highly appreciated the real achievements of Minister Rosen Hristov and his team for the diversification of fresh nuclear fuel supplies for the Kozloduy NPP, the Ministry of Energy said in a statement.
“Our belief is that we cannot talk about energy security without diversification of supply. In addition to geopolitical risks, there are also technical risks, and when you have more than one supplier, such situations are overcome more easily and quickly. This view we also apply to gas supplies”says Rosen Hristov.
