Agreement is for two-unit Temelin nuclear power station
Kazakhstan’s state nuclear company Kazatomprom has signed a seven-year agreement to supply natural uranium concentrate for the Czech power utility ČEZ, a contract that represents a significant expansion of the company’s presence in Europe.
The agreement will see Kazatomprom supply about one-third of the uranium needs for the Westinghouse fuel assemblies used at the two-unit Temelin nuclear power station.
ČEZ said the contract increases the diversification of suppliers and helps the Czech Republic’s energy security.
Kazatomprom said the deal marks a strategic expansion in Europe, reinforcing its position in the global uranium market.
Kazakhstan is the world’s leading producer of uranium, supplying a significant portion of global demand. In 2022, Kazakhstan produced 43% of the world’s uranium. The country’s uranium supply is seen as crucial for the global nuclear power industry.
ČEZ is a key player in nuclear power generation, operating six commercial nuclear reactors at the Czech Republic’s two sites of Dukovany and Temelin. The nuclear fleet supplies around 36% of the Czech Republic’s electricity needs.
Temelin’s fuel has previously been supplied by Russia’s state-run Tvel, but in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, ČEZ signed deals with both France’s Framatome and US-based Westinghouse for the delivery of Western-made nuclear fuel.
Uranium to produce that fuel has to be bought on world markets and then enriched. ČEZ has contracts for this stage of the fuel cycle process with the a British-German-Dutch nuclear fuel consortium Urenco and France’s Orano.
