Small nuclear reactors could plug holes in Ukraine’s energy balance – Energoatom
Even with their relatively modest output, small modular reactors (SMRs) could help Ukraine compensate for the thermal generation facilities damaged by Russian missile strikes, Petro Kotin, the head of Ukraine's national nuclear operator Energoatom, told journalists on Aug. 10.
According to him, Holtec International, a U.S. supplier of equipment for the energy industry, offers small modular reactors SMR-160 with an output power of 160 MW each.
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"If you install two of these side by side, they jointly generate 320 MW. This is roughly equivalent to the power output we have at thermal power plants," Kotin said during a visit to one of Ukraine’s existing nuclear power plants.
Ukrenergo has already identified a site where SMRs can be installed, explains Kotin. Appropriate preparations are currently underway.
He went on to emphasize that such reactors are completely safe.
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"They are significantly different in terms of safety features; it's a completely different level," says Kotin.
"They implement a passive safety system and natural [coolant] circulation, enabling the manufacturer to claim the impossibility of a nuclear or radiation accident during their operation."
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Back in April, Energoatom signed a memorandum with Holtec for cooperation in deploying SMRs in Ukraine, and a plant construction program for manufacturing SMR components is already in place.
"We plan for Ukraine to be capable of manufacturing [these] reactors for Europe in the future," added Kotin.
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