Ukraine's Energoatom Purchases Additional 41 Dry Storage Systems for VVER Spent Fuel
en.Wedoany.com Reported - Holtec Nuclear, a U.S.-based company, recently announced that it has been awarded a new contract by Ukraine's national nuclear energy company, Energoatom, to supply an additional 41 spent fuel safe transport and storage systems for VVER reactors at Ukraine's Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, and South Ukraine nuclear power plants.
The contract was signed on August 26, 2026. Energoatom's acting CEO, Pavlo Kovtonyuk, signed the contract in Kyiv, while Holtec Nuclear's CEO and Board Chairman, Kris Singh, signed it in Camden, New Jersey, USA. This procurement continues more than two decades of cooperation between the two parties in the field of spent fuel management.
Under the contract, Holtec Nuclear will supply multi-purpose canister dry storage systems utilizing its proprietary technology. This contract is a supplement to the amended agreement from 2015. Previously, the two parties had already deployed related systems for spent fuel storage and transport at Ukrainian VVER units.
Ukraine's existing systems mainly include the HI-STORM 190 vertical ventilated storage system, the HI-STAR 190 universal transport cask, the HI-TRAC 190 transfer cask, and supporting equipment for loading, dehydrating, and welding the double-walled multi-purpose canisters at operating nuclear power plants. After drying and welding, the double-walled multi-purpose canisters are loaded into HI-STAR 190 transport casks, which can then be shipped to the central spent fuel storage facility and placed into HI-STORM 190 systems for storage.
Holtec Nuclear stated that the high-capacity double-walled multi-purpose canisters and the heavy-shielded transport cask HI-STAR 190 have become the primary equipment for transporting spent fuel from Ukraine's nine reactors to the country's centralized interim storage facility. The central spent fuel storage facility is designed with a lifespan of 100 years, and the design service life of the related systems may exceed 100 years.
Energoatom stated that the safe and reliable storage and transport of VVER reactor spent fuel helps maintain the stable operation of Ukraine's nuclear power units and reduces the costs associated with shipping spent fuel abroad for storage. According to the company, centralized spent fuel storage within Ukraine avoids approximately $200 million in related expenditures each year.
Holtec Nuclear is a U.S.-headquartered nuclear energy technology company whose business covers reactor design, engineering, licensing, manufacturing, construction, commissioning, operational support, and decommissioning. The company is also advancing the SMR-300 small modular reactor project and is involved in efforts to restart the Palisades nuclear power plant in the United States.
