“We are pleased to begin work to deliver the world’s most advanced, Generation III+ reactor technology to provide clean and reliable baseload energy for our customer and the people of Bulgaria,” said David Durham, Energy Systems President for Westinghouse. “We thank Kozloduy NPP-Newbuild and the Bulgarian Parliament for their confidence in our industry-leading, Nth of a kind technology. We commend Kozloduy NPP-Newbuild for their thoughtful approach to best-in-class project delivery that will ensure high localization of the work.”

Earlier this year, both entities signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a joint working group to plan deployment of the AP1000 reactor in Bulgaria. The working group is evaluating regulatory, licensing and design requirements and developing a streamlined execution path in support of Bulgaria’s energy strategy. The FEED contract is the first step in delivering the AP1000 reactor project.

There are currently two Russian-designed VVER-1000 reactors in operation at the Kozloduy site. Westinghouse signed a 10-year agreement in December 2022 to supply nuclear fuel to one of the units starting in 2024. The fuel will be supplied out of Westinghouse’s fabrication site in Västerås, Sweden and is the only fully Western option to Russian supply.

The AP1000 advanced reactor is the only operating Generation III+ reactor with fully passive safety systems, modular construction design and has the smallest footprint per MWe on the market. In addition to one AP1000 reactor operating and another nearing completion at the Vogtle site in Georgia, four AP1000 units are currently setting operational performance records in China with six additional reactors under construction. Poland recently selected the AP1000 technology for its nuclear energy program and nine units have been announced for Ukraine. The technology is under consideration at multiple other sites in Central and Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, and in the United States.