Fuel Loading Begins at Slovakia's Mochovce Unit 4, Europe's Latest Newly Commissioned Nuclear Power Unit. Czech Company ŠKODA JS Plays a Key Role in Project Completion.

ŠKODA JS, a member of the ČEZ Group, together with its Czech and Slovak subcontractors, has made a major contribution to the commissioning of both Units 3 and 4 at the Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant. The Plzeň-based nuclear engineering company manufactured and supplied both VVER-440 reactor pressure vessels. Within the completion project, ŠKODA JS acts as the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) supplier for the primary circuit technology and related systems, including the reactor instrumentation and control system. The company has also provided the owner with expert engineering support, project planning, licensing support, construction and installation services, commissioning activities, as well as structural integrity, seismic and lifetime analyses.

The completion of all four Mochovce units represents another successful chapter in Czech-Slovak cooperation in nuclear energy, continuing even after the dissolution of the former common state. For ŠKODA JS, it is another outstanding international reference project that confirms its position among the world's leading nuclear engineering companies. "The Mochovce project has demonstrated that we are capable not only of manufacturing key nuclear technologies—from reactor pressure vessels to primary cooling systems—but also of managing a complex EPC supply chain, carrying out construction and successfully commissioning one of the world's most sophisticated technological facilities. Only a handful of companies worldwide possess such capabilities in the nuclear industry. We can be genuinely proud that the purely Czech company ŠKODA JS, together with its suppliers such as Sigma DIZ, VÍTKOVICE, CHEMCOMEX and ZAT, belongs to this elite group," said Karel Bednář, Chief Executive Officer of ŠKODA JS, highlighting the significance of the completion of the Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant.

According to Bednář, the successful completion of the Mochovce project is the culmination of decades of work by several generations of ŠKODA engineers and specialists who have participated in the construction of all four nuclear units since the 1980s.

"These were people who devoted not only their professional careers, but often a significant part of their personal lives to the Mochovce project. Above all, they succeeded in installing and commissioning nuclear equipment and systems designed and manufactured in Czech factories," he added.

ŠKODA JS began preparations for fuel loading in accordance with a detailed commissioning schedule. Fuel loading could only commence once the decision of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of the Slovak Republic became legally effective, which occurred today.

"The reactor first had to be opened and all systems prepared for fuel loading in accordance with the approved procedures. Once the fuel has been loaded, the reactor will be reassembled and subjected to further testing. This will be followed by physical and power commissioning involving a comprehensive programme of tests while the reactor output is gradually increased. Under the current schedule, the commissioning programme is expected to take approximately four months and will conclude with the mandatory 144-hour continuous operation at full power," explained Václav Mages from ŠKODA JS Slovakia Division, who has been professionally involved in the Mochovce project for the past fifteen years.

Karel Samec, Spokesperson
karel.samec@skoda-js.cz  
+420 603 200 076