According to The Daily Telegraph, Rolls-Royce is engaged in negotiations with Ukraine regarding the construction of nuclear mini-reactors in the country. Specialists are reportedly exploring the possibility of retrofitting up to eight existing coal-fired power stations, two of which are situated in temporarily occupied territories, to accommodate the construction of small reactors in the 2030s.
DTEK, which is part of billionaire businessman Rinat Akhmetov’s industrial group, has held early discussions with Rolls about developing small modular reactors (SMRs) at sites currently operated by coal power stations.
Maxim Timchenko, the company’s chief executive, said he expects nuclear power to form an important part of DTEK’s future portfolio as Ukraine is rebuilt and his country switches away from fossil fuels.
In an interview, he told The Telegraph: “We are trying to find a way to install these Nuclear Mini-Reactors.
“From our side, we have quite a big capacity of coal-fired power stations and we are in discussions with Rolls-Royce SMR to convert [them].”
Ukraine is already one of the world’s biggest users of nuclear power, with the state owning four plants that generated more than half of the country’s power.
