Westinghouse and EDF sign long-term fuel contract

Westinghouse has signed a long-term contract to provide several thousand tonnes of fuel to EDF for use in its nuclear reactors in France. The contract will continue an existing agreement between the companies that expires at the end of this year.

The value of the contract was not disclosed.

Westinghouse will manufacture the fuel at its facilities in Västerås, Sweden; Springfields, UK and through the European Fuel Group at the Enusa plant in Juzbado, Spain. The associated field and operation services will be offered via existing Westinghouse French infrastructures.

Westinghouse has supplied fuel to the French nuclear fleet since 2003 and has delivered about 6000 fuel assemblies to date.

José Emeterio Gutiérrez, senior vice president, Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel, said: "Westinghouse recognizes the importance of security of supply to global customers and our successful track record in this area continues to provide the assurance customers are looking for in a fuel vendor."

Westinghouse is a single-source global nuclear fuel provider for pressurized water reactors (PWRs), including Russian-designed VVER reactors, as well as boiling water reactors (BWRs) and advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs). The Toshiba majority-owned company provides nuclear fuel to 145 plants globally, 65 of which are in Europe, and has ten nuclear fuel manufacturing locations around the world, including two sites in Europe - Springfields Fuels Limited in Preston, UK and Westinghouse Electric Sweden in Vasteras.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News