site.btaMeeting with Framatome Vice President, Energy Minister Calls for Clear and Measurable Goals in Nuclear Power

Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov told Catherine Cornand, Senior Executive Vice President of French nuclear energy company Framatome, that it is necessary to have clear and measurable goals in the field of nuclear power. “This will give a strong impetus to the development of the sector, which is having a revival in Europe,” Stankov said, as quoted by his ministry on Friday. He stressed the key importance of the industry for ensuring energy security in Bulgaria and the region.

Stankov and Cornand talked at the Energy Ministry on Thursday evening, the ministry told BTA.

The host went on to comment: “Thanks to the development of the potential of nuclear energy, Bulgaria will retain its role as a net exporter of electricity, but this is not enough anymore. We are working hard to expand this potential by exploring the possibility of building data centres close to the new reactor units at the site of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant.”

Kozloduy has two operational reactors, Units 5 and 6. There are plans to build two more, Units 7 and 8. The four oldest ones were decommissioned as unsafe, in implementation of a condition for Bulgaria’s entry to the European Union in 2007.

Stankov described cooperation with Framatome as pivotal for achieving the priorities related to the diversification of nuclear fuel. After the first fuel assemblies supplied by Westinghouse were put in place at Kozloduy’s Unit 5 in 2024, the first fuel deliveries from Framatome for Unit 6 are expected in 2026.

On February 28, Stankov talked with Framatome Chief Executive Officer Bernard Fontana in Sofia. Back then, Stankov said the Energy Ministry is following a clear strategy for diversification of nuclear fuel. He noted that Framatome is expected to supply nuclear fuel for Kozloduy’s Unit 6 in 2026. The same day, the visiting Framatome executives met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev to discuss nuclear fuel supplies to this country, partnership for nuclear safety and cybersecurity of the nuclear reactors, and the management of spent nuclear fuel.

The recruitment of nuclear energy staff also featured high on the agenda of Friday’s talks between Stankov and Cornand. With a view to the implementation of new energy projects, Stankov presented an initiative to bring back young, educated Bulgarians from abroad and to retain those who are here by providing them with career opportunities and helping them to have a good quality of life.

Stankov and Cornand concurred that the functioning of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, the project for Kozloduy’s Units 7 and 8 and the prospects of building pumped storage hydropower systems in Bulgaria are among the most significant opportunities to deepen Bulgaria’s cooperation with Framatome while making full use of the potential and the capacity of Bulgarian companies in the process. According to Stankov, about 10,000 people will be employed at the height of building the new nuclear capacities, the press release said.