It will be very expensive for us. Siemens refused to terminate the contract with Rosatom

2023: Siemens' refusal to terminate contract with Rosatom

At the end of October 2023, the German conglomerate Siemens AG announced that the termination of the contract with Rosatom would cost the company a significant amount. Therefore, Siemens is ready to maintain relations with the Russian side, despite the current geopolitical situation.

We are talking about a project for the construction of power units in Hungary. Siemens supplies safety equipment at two new power units of the Hungarian Paks-2 NPP, built by Rosatom. It is said that Siemens entered into contracts for the supply of equipment for the Paks-2 NPP in 2019. The company also provides equipment to Rosatom for the construction of the Turkish Akkuyu NPP. Joe Kaeser, chairman of the supervisory board of Siemens Energy AG, said that the severance of relations with the Russian side would negatively affect business operations.

Siemens announced its readiness to maintain relations with Rosatom

There are non-governmental organizations that demand that our leadership does not comply with the current contracts with Rosatom, and then the state of the European Union [Hungary] can sue for a practically unlimited amount. Breaking contracts signed in 2019 will cost us a lot, "says Kezer.

The Paks-2 NPP project is implemented on the basis of the Russian-Hungarian intergovernmental agreement of January 14, 2014. In December 2014, Rosatom State Corporation and MVM (Hungary) signed a contract for the construction of new nuclear power plants with VVER-1200 rectors. In March 2019, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry announced the end of the process of obtaining permits for the construction of nuclear power plants from the European Union.

In October 2021, RuSat - Automated Control Systems JSC (a subsidiary of Rosatom) and the Franco-German consortium Framatome SAS - Siemens AG, as reported, TASS signed To Moscow an agreement on the manufacture of automated control systems for two new Paks NPP power units. At the same time, he notes, Bloomberg against the background of the current geopolitical situation USA Europe , efforts are being made to abandon Russian uranium.^[1]

2017: US lobbies for Westinghouse to participate

The leadership of Hungary is well aware of the importance of the Paks-2 NPP project for the development of both its economy and cooperation with Russia in various areas.

"It is not an exaggeration to say that this is one of the largest business deals of this century," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Siyjarto said in June 2017 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The project guarantees Hungary about 10 thousand new jobs^[2].

"This is a huge incentive for our economy," Siyyarto stressed. He said that Hungary intends, over time, to increase the share of nuclear generation in its energy system to 70%, guaranteeing this statement to further develop relations between Russia and Hungary in the field of nuclear power.

The choice of Russian technologies for the new units of the Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary was obvious for Budapest, since all the latest Russian developments are built on the basis of the Soviet nuclear school. After all, it was Soviet scientists and engineers who developed the project of a nuclear power plant for Hungary in 1974.

The majority of the Hungarian population supports the completion of the Paks nuclear power plant. In addition, the majority of the population of Hungary believes that nuclear power provides continuous and safe electricity supply to the country. The construction of new nuclear power units will allow Hungary to become a virtually completely energy-independent country.

Westinghouse, an American company, tried to intervene in the construction of the power plant. Information even appeared in the Hungarian media that Westinghouse would allegedly participate in this project, and that American nuclear fuel could be used on new blocks.

However, Attila Asodi, authorized by the Hungarian government on the project for the construction of new units of the Paks nuclear power plant, said that information about the possible participation of the American company Westinghouse in the project for the completion of the Hungarian Paks nuclear power plant, which will be carried out by the Russian state corporation Rosatom, is nothing more than speculation. He noted that despite the fact that there are other nuclear fuel manufacturers - Westinghouse, French Areva and other companies - different reactors use fuel assemblies (FAs) of different designs.

"Simplifying the question - FA for the French reactor cannot be used in any way, for example, in the Russian reactor. In order for the Western manufacturer to be able to supply fuel for the Paks NPP reactors currently operating or for the Paks-2 NPP reactors, he would have to design this fuel, make the same calculations that the Russian supplier carried out during the development of this fuel. In addition, they would have to develop and build production facilities (of this fuel), "Asodi stressed.

American fuel is of poor quality for a simple reason - Soviet "know-how" for the manufacture of zirconium tube material, where fuel tablets are still not available to Americans. The fact is that tubes for fuel elements must undergo a very complex thermal and mechanical treatment. The sheets are rolled in a certain direction several times at different temperatures. The Americans still do not have this technology, despite the fact that they received a mock-up of the Russian fuel assembly.

Attempts to use American fuel assemblies in Russian reactors were not only unsuccessful, but also led to a number of emergency situations. For example, after an emergency at the Temelin nuclear power plant Czech Republic , she was convinced that American fuel was underdeveloped. Gosatomnadzor of the Czech Republic persistently recommended that the management of the Temelin nuclear power plant stop operating unsafe fuel and with great effort, in a very short period of time, both reactors were unloaded from and fuel was delivered to the Russian corporation OAO instead. "TVEL

However, the rivalry between the Russian company TVEL and the American company Westinghouse continues, and under these conditions the United States will continue to support the projects of the American company. Stratfor reports that this will be political and financial support in order to weaken the influence of the Kremlin.

"It would be wrong to assume that there is no political influence in the tender process," said an analytical study of energy specialists from the Trusted Sources group, led by James Henderson.

Hungary expects to launch new power units of the Paks-2 NPP into commercial operation by 2025 and 2026, respectively.

2014: Russia allocates 10 billion euros for the construction of the fifth power unit

At the end of 2014, Russia and Hungary signed documents on the construction of the fifth and sixth units of the Paks NPP with reactor plants according to the advanced Russian VVER-1200 project, which meets the most modern, so-called post-Fukushima reliability and safety standards.

The Russian reactor of this type is recognized as the best in the world even by American specialists in the field of nuclear power. The Russian power unit with the VVER-1200 reactor won in the nomination "Best Stations" according to the American edition of "POWER."

Russia will give Hungary a state loan of up to 10 billion euros for the Paks-2 project, and the total cost of the work is 12.5 billion euros.

2013: Nuclear power plants account for 51% of power generation in Hungary

In 2013, thanks to nuclear power, Hungary generated 51% of the country's electricity, that is, 15.4 billion kW per hour out of 9.4 GW. To obtain electricity, gas and coal were also used at 5.6 billion kW per hour and 6.5 kW per hour, respectively. Hungary imported another 11.8 billion kW per hour, mainly from Ukraine and Slovakia. It is the uninterrupted operation of the only nuclear power plant in Hungary that allows the country to supply electricity to Serbia and Croatia. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is well aware of the enormous importance of nuclear power. The Hungarian government decided to increase the share of energy from nuclear power plants to 60%.

1983-1987: Launch of four power units

On October 10, 1983, the first power unit was commissioned, and on November 14, 1984, power unit No. 2. The commissioning of power unit No. 3 took place on December 1, 1986, power unit No. 4 was launched a year later, in November 1987.

All four power units of the station use Soviet reactor plants of the VVER-440 V-213 type. These water-water reactors are well established, reliable and safe to operate and easy to maintain.

The commissioning of the only nuclear power plant on its territory was a very important event for little socialist Hungary. The country had few energy resources of its own, and nuclear power is still a very important industry for Hungary.

1979: Construction of the second stage begins

In 1979, work began on the construction of the second stage of the nuclear power plant.

1974: The beginning of the construction of the first stage of the nuclear power plant by Soviet specialists

All nuclear power plants of the Warsaw Pact countries were built with the participation of the USSR and Soviet specialists. As part of the program for the development of nuclear energy in Soviet Hungary, the Paks nuclear power plant was built. The construction of the first stage of the Paks NPP, which included the first two power units, began in August 1974.

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