LOVIISA, Finland, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Finnish utility Fortum (FORTUM.HE) , opens new tab said on Monday it has successfully started using nuclear fuel from U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric as it seeks to replace Russian supply.

Fortum's Loviisa power plant in Finland has depended on nuclear fuel from TVEL, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned power company Rosatom, but Fortum began looking to replace the this in 2022 after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"The loading of the new fuel is a significant milestone that guarantees a reliable Western alternative for fuel," Fortum said in a statement, adding that the first Westinghouse fuel had been loaded during the power plant's annual outage in August.

"The safe and reliable operation of our Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant is crucial for Finland's security of supply".

Fortum's two nuclear reactors in Loviisa account for around 10% of total power production in Finland, which has expressed concerns over potential interruptions in fuel deliveries from Russia after its decision to join NATO last year.

"For the first time in Loviisa's history, we have fully Western fuel," Fortum's head of nuclear generation Petra Lundstrom said, adding it included uranium, the fuel assemblies and also the enrichment process originating from Western sources, without providing further details.

CEO Markus Rauramo said on Monday Fortum would respect its existing contracts with TVEL, which run until 2027 and 2030.

Last year, the Euratom Supply Agency (ESA) said imports of nuclear fuel and services from Russia to the European Union increased in 2023 compared with 2021.

The surge was linked to several EU countries including Finland stockpiling nuclear fuel, the agency said.

Five EU states - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia - operate Russia-designed VVER reactors, which use Russian fuel.

With the exception of Hungary, Westinghouse is working with the other four EU states to transition from Russian to Western nuclear fuel and also supplies fuel to Ukraine.

However, Europe's dependency on Russian supplies continues in certain parts of the supply chain, Westinghouse president of nuclear fuel Tarik Choho said.

"When it comes to fuel fabrication, Westinghouse could supply all that the European Union needs but today Russia is very dominant in conversion and enrichment," Choho told Reuters.

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https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/finlands-fortum-starts-using-us-nuclear-fuel-bid-reduce-russian-dependence-2024-09-02/