Ukraine’s Enerhoatom and the US company Holtec International on 21 April signed an agreement to build up to 20 nuclear units with SMR-160 modular reactors in Ukraine. The partner should be the British Rolls-Royce, which in 2021 suddenly decided to become a nuclear power plant manufacturer
The first reactor is due to become operational by March 2029. Energoatom said in February 2023 that the first site would be Slavutich, one of the cities most affected by the Chernobyl disaster.
The SMR-160 is a light water reactor using low-enriched uranium. The cost of one SMR-160 is estimated at about $1 billion, with a design lifetime of 80-100 years. Construction time is from 2.5 to 3 years.
The reactor will be placed underground at -14 meters. Also, a dry SNF storage facility is planned below ground level, with a design life of up to 120 years.
It is noteworthy that neither Holtec nor Rolls-Royce has any practical experience in building reactors or even certifying designs.
The designs proposed to Ukraine do not in principle involve the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, which will be stored until better times. The supply of containers and systems for SNF storage is Holtek’s core business.
The company expects that the regulatory authorities will agree to actually waive the sanitary protection zone around the reactors, which will allow the company to limit the distance between the reactor buildings and the outer perimeter.
No one in the world has yet certified Holtek reactors, but there is no doubt that in today’s Ukraine there will be no problem with this. It is planned, for example, to place 6 SMR-160 reactors at the Rivne NPP.
Elena Panina
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