The Temelín Nuclear Power Station has begun switching from Russian nuclear fuel to fuel from the American company Westinghouse.
The Temelín Nuclear Power Station announced on 30 October 2026 a switch from fuel of the Russian manufacturer TVEL to fuel from the company Westinghouse. Representatives of ČEZ Group reported this.[1][2][3]
The first fuel assemblies from the new supplier, after testing, are stored in the pool next to the first unit. Plant staff are to load them into the reactor in the second half of November during the ongoing outage of the unit.[1][2] During it the plant will also complete the transition to an eighteen-month fuel cycle.[2][3]
The permit to use the new fuel was issued by the State Office for Nuclear Safety in August 2026 after eight years of analyses and tests.[2][3] Besides Westinghouse, the French company Framatome also has a contract to supply fuel for the Temelín plant.[1][2] Westinghouse has already delivered the first fuel assemblies for the Dukovany Nuclear Power Station, and the switch to the new fuel is being prepared there as well.[1][2]
The CEO of ČEZ Group, Daniel Beneš, said that the group holds strategic fuel reserves for all units and had worked in advance so as not to depend on a single supplier.[1] Alena Schillerová said in this connection that a larger number of fuel suppliers shows the systematic strengthening of the energy security of the Czech Republic.[3]
Sources
- Novinky.cz — 30 October 2026
- Blesk.cz — 30 October 2026
- Deník: České Budějovice / Jižní Čechy — 30 October 2026