Energy Minister says Presidents Iohannis, Trump also discussed SMRs

During their talks in Washington Presidents Klaus Iohannis and Donald Trump also approached the development of small modular nuclear reactors, which are "much safer" than the current technology at the southeastern Cernavoda power facility, Energy Minister Anton Anton told a conference on Thursday. 

"(...) The ministry has several times tackled with the US strategic partners the subject of small nuclear reactors, an extremely modern topic. Through Nuclearelectrica, we have a memorandum of understanding with a US company for the development of these small modular reactors (SMRs), which would very efficiently solve many aspects. They are much safer and far less complicated, to express myself politely, compared to what we have now and I think this is the topic approached by the two Presidents," Anton said. 

According to him, the ministry representatives and the US strategic partners have also approached another nuclear energy topic, specifically the retubing of Cernavoda reactors 1 and 2. 

"The retubing operation has already started at reactor 1, it has three phases. Phase I consists of completing the documentation, and ends in 2021, the second phase is the preparation of the implementation until 2026, implying also the setting in place of certain physical elements during the planned shutdown periods. In the third phase - the effective implementation - the unit will be shut down for two years, after which the overhauled reactor 1 is good to run flawlessly for another 30 years. What is extremely important is that the investment has already started," added the minister. 

Regarding the project of reactors 3 and 4, on which Romania is having negotiations with a Chinese company, minister Anton said that today Romania is capable to build one of the reactors on its own. 

"Regarding reactors 3 and 4, we have an investor agreement which was signed during my term in office and which is a step forward in the construction of the two reactors. Negotiations are underway for Romania to not pay too high a price," Anton said, explaining also that the conditions have changed since the start of the talks, seven years ago.