French nuclear company Framatome and MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd have announced the signing of a major contract for the long-term supply of nuclear fuel to the Hungarian Paks VVER reactors from 2027.

Framatome said the contract ensures the diversification of Hungary’s nuclear fuel supply and is based on a memorandum of understanding signed with Hungary’s energy ministry in September 2023.

There are four Russia supplied VVER units at the Paks site, in central Hungary, which in 2023 supplied 48.8% of the country’s electricity production, according to International Atomic Energy Agency data.

Since the onset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, operators of VVER plants in Europe have been looking to diversify nuclear fuel supplies away from Tvel, the fuel division of Rosatom.