BUDAPEST, December 16. /TASS/. Hungary will use exclusively Russian nuclear fuel at its Paks Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) until the end of 2028, after which it plans to begin purchasing American fuel elements manufactured by Westinghouse, Hungarian Energy Minister Csaba Lantos said in an interview with Inforadio.
"According to plans, after 2028, the Paks NPP will use three-quarters French fuel elements manufactured under a Russian license and one-quarter American ones," he said, adding that Hungary does not want to be dependent on one supplier.
Fuel for the Paks nuclear power plant will be produced at a joint venture in Europe established by Rosatom and the French company Framatome, Lantos noted. Hungary has also signed an agreement with the American company Westinghouse to develop its own nuclear fuel for the plant.
"Essentially, three-quarters of the fuel will be supplied by a Russian-French joint venture, and the remaining quarter of the fuel elements, according to plans, will be supplied by the American company Westinghouse after the licensing process," he said.
On December 7, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto announced that another batch of nuclear fuel had been delivered from Russia to the Paks NPP, and that its reserves would now last until November 2028. The plant built by Soviet specialists in the 1980s, accounts for half of all electricity generated and a third of all electricity consumed in Hungary.
Located on the banks of the Danube, 100 km south of Budapest, the plant operates four units with VVER-440 reactors. Simultaneously, construction is underway for its second phase - Units 5 and 6. Following the commissioning of two new VVER-1200 nuclear reactors, the generating capacity of the Paks nuclear complex is expected to increase from the current 2,000 MW to 4,400 MW.