Romania considers doubling nuclear fuel plant capacity

Romanian state-owned nuclear operator Nuclearelectrica wants to implement a feasibility study to double the production capacity for Candu-6 fuel assemblies at the company's nuclear fuel factory in Mioveni.

Nuclearelectrica published a public call for bids Feb. 4 in Romania's public procurement electronic system SEAP.

Nuclearelectrica said it wants to double its annual production capacity to 24,000 from 12,000 fuel assemblies at its FCN Pitesti subsidiary.

The total value of the contract amounts to Eur630,000 ($662,576) and offers are due March 20. The contract is expected to last 16 months.

"This feasibility study will determine the cost-effectiveness of the doubling the production capacity of FCN Pitesti. Given that the implementation of this project is intended to provide fuel for units 3 and 4 of Cernavoda, the project's implementation schedule is aligned with the schedule for units 3 and 4,", Nuclearelectrica's communications director Luciana-Elena Petrescu said in an emailed statement Feb 26.

Nuclearelectrica did not respond to a request for comment on the size of the investment that is needed to double the production capacity at FCN Pitesti.

The production capacity expansion is sought before the commissioning of the new Cernavoda-3 and -4 reactors, which is currently estimated to happen in 2031.

Romania's EnergoNuclear contracted the FCSA international consortium to advance the construction of two 700-MW Candu reactors at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant, EnergoNuclear's parent company Nuclearelectrica said in a Nov. 15 statement. EnergoNuclear was established in 2008 as a project company to undertake construction of Cernavoda-3 and -4.

Eligible bidders for the Candu-6 nuclear fuel feasibility study must hold an authorization for design activities from Romania's national commission for nuclear activities control, known as CNCAN. Eligible bidders must have an average level of global revenue for the last three years ending 2024 of at least Eur700,000.

Technical and financial qualifications of the bids will be completed by June 18.

The two-unit Cernavoda nuclear power plant uses approximately 10,000 nuclear fuel assemblies per year produced by FCN Pitesti, according to Nuclearelectrica's web site.

The feasibility study will analyze three scenarios for doubling the output. These scenarios will be defined together with the purchaser before starting their development and analysis, according to the text of the public call.

One scenario from the feasibility study will analyze the possibility of expanding the production space on an additional site adjacent to the current perimeter of the factory in Mioveni, about 25 km from Pitesti.

Nuclearelectrica currently operates the Cernavoda-1 and -2 reactors that provide approximately 18% of Romania's power needs.

In 1994, FCN was licensed by Atomic Energy of Canada, the design authority and holder of the Candu-6 technology, and by Zircatec Precision Industries of Canada, now part of Canadian uranium and nuclear fuel company Cameco.