SUPPLY CHAIN | FOCUS ON EUROPE


must be started now. The plant’s foundations should be laid in 2028, so the main equipment should be purchased 40 months earlier. This means that the orders for these devices must be started as early as 2024.” Ecker accepted that the schedule was “sharp but real”. He added: “Such a plan is still feasible, but a lot of work is needed with the Polish government to license the reactor, and the decision on the technology partner has to be made this fall — of course we hope that we will be the one.” David Durham, president, plant solutions at


Westinghouse, confirmed to NEI that, although 2033 is the Polish government’s target date for commissioning Poland’s first nuclear reactor “work needs to start now”. He added: “We must therefore use the next 18 months to work with Polish companies interested in participating our AP1000 supply chain and assess their production capabilities. We need to see what their potential is in terms of meeting quality and technical requirements. Then we have to assess how their capabilities compare with standards and requirements applicable for given supplies, estimate the field of discrepancies and the ways of closing them. “We are very pleased that we will be able to work with


many Polish companies (beyond the ten MOU companies), and this is just the beginning. At present, we have signed letters of cooperation with ten companies from the construction, engineering and power industries. However, we have identified over 200 such companies with whom we are in talks.” He continued: “During our meetings with suppliers


we familiarise these companies with our requirements and assess their potential and their quality management systems. We are now identifying their capabilities to meet standards and technical requirements and outlining the next steps to be taken to be included in our AP1000 supplier chain. Some already meet most of the criteria, others still need to work on it. At the same time, we show Polish companies how they can meet the extremely stringent requirements of the nuclear sector. Once qualified and approved, the suppliers can have the opportunity to support AP1000 projects globally.” As to training, Durham said: “We are working with the Ministry of Climate and Environment in Poland, which is funding training for suppliers who want to enter the industry. We also have our own programmes to support supplier development.” He said Poland could become a development centre for nuclear energy. “Polish suppliers and engineers could thus work on projects in the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Slovenia, for example. We already have a shared services centre in Kraków, which employs over 130 people, with a target of 200 this year.” Asked about localisation, he said projects’ particular schedules were largely determined by the customer. “Many components can be sourced locally — a small few cannot be. The AP1000 is unique in that it takes advantage of a substantial number of structural and mechanical modules. Structural modules, for example, are elements based on a steel and concrete structure together with the appropriate instrumentation. These are typically fabricated locally and then lifted into place. There are many companies in Poland that can deliver such modules, provided that they can meet quality and safety standards used in nuclear technologies.” He added: “We see substantial roles for Polish suppliers


especially in the supply of materials, labour and equipment for the construction of both the nuclear island, where the


reactor will be located, and the conventional or turbine island. We see great potential for Polish companies to play leading roles in the execution of electrical, mechanical and civil equipment supply and installation.”


Looking to Ukraine and Czech Republic Mirosław Kowalik, who also took part in the Energetyka24 interview, noted that Europe “is a huge market that has a chance to change the structure of industry in Poland and in the entire region. It is also an opportunity to exchange experiences.” Ecker made clear that Westinghouse was also looking beyond Poland, in particular to Ukraine. “We are waiting for the American and Ukrainian governments to complete the formalities, in accordance with an intergovernmental agreement on this matter, similar to the one concluded by Poland. If everything is agreed, we expect financing for work in Ukraine.” Durham told NEI: “We have signed two contracts for


the first planned AP1000 unit with Ukraine’s Energoatom; we expect work on that unit to begin in the near future. Ukrainian companies will play important roles on our Ukrainian projects. We intend for Polish companies to also support our Ukrainian AP1000 projects as well.” Earlier in January, Westinghouse had also signed


partnerships to build AP1000 reactors at the Dukovany site in the Czech Republic. Westinghouse said that it had signed MOUs with seven


Czech companies. The MOUs, signed at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, cover cooperation on the potential deployment of an AP1000 (Dukovany 5) as well as other potential AP1000s in Central Europe. The MOUs establish cooperation with:


● Královopolská, which provides steel structures, such as load-bearing equipment structures or platforms.


● Vítkovice, an engineering group. ● BC Prague, which develops, produces and services industrial valves for the nuclear and energy industry.


● I&C Energo, which supplies services in command-and- control systems, industrial information systems, electrical and engineering activities in nuclear power engineering.


● NOPO, which provides gantry cranes, paint shop platforms, manipulators and overhead cranes with lifting capacities of up to hundreds of tons.


● Sigma Group, which produces medium, heavy and unique centrifugal pumps.


● Infer, which supplies pipework, technological assemblies, valves, and metallurgical material.


Westinghouse is one of three finalists in the Dukovany tender. The others are France’s EDF and South Korea’s KHNP. New legislation in September ruled out any participation by Russian or Chinese companies. The state has received the required security questionnaires from all three bidders, power company CEZ. Four Soviet-built VVER-440s at the Dukovany site, which


were commissioned in 1985-1987, will be decommissioned no later than 2045-2047. Durham confirmed to NEI that Westinghouse was in talks with other countries in the region. “We have good line of sight to a total of 16 or more potential AP1000 reactors in Central and Eastern Europe,” he said. “We are talking to other countries and other areas of the world, but the ones previously mentioned are those where effort are most advanced.” ■


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We have good line of sight to a total of 16 or more potential AP1000 reactors in Central and Eastern Europe


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