NUCLEARELECTRICA: Nuclear Pioneer Brings SMR First to Romania

Romania’s first commercial nuclear power reactor started up in 1996, with a second then following in May 2007, and the two combine to generate upwards of 20% of the country’s total electricity quota. The pair were originally part of a plan for a five-unit monolith to be sited at Cernavoda, situated on the Danube River, for which the Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) technology was selected after much deliberation.

The CANDU is a Canadian pressurised heavy-water reactor design used to generate electric power, and Romania is among the likes of Pakistan, Argentina and China to employ the rationalised CANDU 6, in the 600 MW class, intended for use in single stand-alone units or in small multi-unit plants. “CANDU 6 is a safe technology with a successful track-record over the last decades,” the company says of its chosen reactor.

“It was designed specifically for electricity production. This focused development is one of the reasons that CANDU reactors have such high fuel efficiency.” Construction of Cernavoda’s first unit began in July 1982, and unit 2 exactly one year on, while work on units 3-5 commenced over the ensuing four years.

In 1991, however, work on the latter four was suspended to place full focus on unit 1, responsibility for which was handed to an AECL-Ansaldo (Canadian-Italian) consortium, and it was connected to the grid in mid-1996, entering commercial operation in December 1996. From the turn of the millennium heavy investment was pledged toward the restart of construction of Cernavoda 2 as extra generating capacity became increasingly paramount, seeing it built at a total cost of €777 million and entering commercial operation October 2017.

ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION PILLAR

A national company incorporated in 1998, Nuclearelectrica is the operator of the Cernavoda site that remains the sole nuclear power plant in Romania, and delivers more than 1,400MW of CO₂-free power that supports some 20% of the country’s energy demand. “Our primary activity,” explains Nuclearelectrica, “is the generation of electricity through our nuclear power plants, namely Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant Division and FCN Pitesti.”

The former, as well as operating units one and two, works to preserve units three, four and five, while in March 2021 Nuclearelectrica announced its expectation to commission unit three by 2031, starting construction in or close to 2024. Pitesti Nuclear Fuel Plant Subsidiary, meanwhile, is a qualified manufacturer of CANDU 6 type nuclear fuel and fully covers the operating necessities of units 1 and 2 of Cernavoda NPP.

“The main activity fields of Nuclearelectrica are centred on the generation of electrical and thermal power, and manufacturing of nuclear fuel,” the company summarises. “Nuclearelectrica also coordinates investment-development activities as well as human resources training and optimisation.” It is also sole owner of EnergoNuclear, the company created in 2009 charged with undertaking construction, commissioning and operation of units 3 and 4 at Cernavoda.

“Our primary objectives are to operate our nuclear units under safe and secure conditions for the personnel, population, environment and production assets,” Nuclearelectrica details. “We actively consolidate the production of nuclear energy, a pillar of security in the production of electricity with low carbon emissions, and make the necessary investments for safely operating the two reactors and implementing the nuclear security culture in all the structures of the company.

“In each year of operation, Cernavoda helps Romania reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 10 million tons.”

An eight-year service agreement worth $120 million USD will see GE Steam Power providing full maintenance and services on Cernavoda’s two steam turbines and generators, to help ensure reliable power for a growing percentage of Romania. “Nuclearelectrica is committed to delivering power to the residents of Romania in ways that are clean, safe and reliable,” said Cosmin Ghita, CEO. “GE is a key partner for us because they share in this commitment through the work and support they provide our team each and every day.”

GE Steam Power is an industry leader in cleaner power generation, and with 50% of the world’s nuclear fleet equipped with a GE steam turbine, Cernavoda will benefit from the OEM’s global expertise and regional presence to maintain high-performing and safe operation. “This agreement is an important milestone for our team,” effused Martin Boller, Europe Region General Manager for GE Steam Power, “as we continue collaborating with power producers like Nuclearelectrica to help deliver clean, reliable power to countries across Europe including Romania.”

ROMANIAN SMR DEVELOPMENT

In a landmark partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Nuclearelectrica and America’s industry-leading NuScale have announced that the location of the inaugural small modular reactor (SMR) site in Romania will be at the former Doicesti power plant, in Dambovita County, where the NuScale VOYGR™ technology will be deployed.

Romania has the potential to accommodate the first usage of SMRs in Europe and become a catalyst for further in the region, as well as a base for supporting operation of this new technology in other countries. “The site selection is a great first step for Romania in our SMR roadmap,” commented Ghita, “after more than three years from our first MOU with NuScale, in which we analysed the technology, its safety, its maturity and its readiness towards deployment and meeting Romania’s energy security and decarbonation goals.

“The Nuclearelectrica team has the experience, knowledge and professional skills to work alongside NuScale for the first deployment of a small modular reactor in Europe. We are committed to continuing to offer Romania clean, safe and affordable energy and the development of the first small modular reactor in Romania will offer a new future to the nuclear energy industry.”

At the launch of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, presented at the G7 Leaders’ summit, President Biden announced the allocation of a grant of $14 million to facilitate the preliminary front-end engineering and design study for the crucial SMR project in Romania.

“NuScale’s small modular reactor technology, the first and only SMR technology to receive the approval of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), can support Romania’s energy independence and our country’s prosperity,” Ghita concluded, as a series of engineering and design activities and studies, as well further technical analyses of the potential site of Doicesti, are to commence to provide Romania the essential data for the development of its first small modular reactor power plant, set to have similarly astounding reverberations to Cernavoda, according to Ghita.

“Like in the case of the Cernavoda Nuclear, the first SMR power plant will generate in the area where it will be built clean energy and strong economic growth for the local community by creating thousands of jobs and investments in infrastructure,” he highlighted, “and it will contribute to forming a new generation of specialists through investment in high-quality education.”