Seven utilities have written to the European Commission, urging it to create an independent group of scientists and experts to evaluate whether nuclear power is a low-carbon and sustainable source of electricity. One of the seven, Czech utility ČEZ, said yesterday that it had "joined the challenge" facing the main European energy companies to gain the EC's agreement that the nuclear industry ought to benefit from future sustainable financing.

The agreement between the Czech government and utility ČEZ on the construction of a new unit at the Dukovany nuclear power plant will be published within a few weeks, Minister of Industry Karel Havlíček said on 11 February. Havlíček was speaking to journalists during his visit to the plant, and his comments were reported by ČTK news agency the same day.

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Czech utility ČEZ have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on examining the economic and technical feasibility of potentially constructing a BWRX-300 in the Czech Republic. ČEZ operates two nuclear power plants which generate about one-third of the country’s electricity. The Czech government plans substituting aging coal plants with new nuclear build and renewables in the near future.

Austria failed to dent the Visegrád Group of countries' enthusiasm for nuclear power as a solution to climate change during their meeting in Prague yesterday. This was evident during a press conference held after the V4 and Austria summit by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and the Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Slovak prime ministers, Andrej Babiš, Viktor Orbán, Mateusz Morawiecki and Peter Pellegrini, respectively.

The Czech Republic expects to select the reactor vendor for a new unit at the Dukovany nuclear power plant by the end of 2022 with commissioning planned for 2036, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said yesterday. His comments followed a meeting of the Standing Committee for the Construction of New Nuclear Resources, which was created in February and has now produced a schedule for expansion of the Dukovany plant.

The Czech Republic will need to build not only one new unit at its Dukovany nuclear power plant, but also more reactors at Temelín if it is to avoid becoming dependent on electricity imports from 2030, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček said yesterday. Havlíček cited the latest Mid-term Adequacy Forecast published on 18 October by high-voltage grid operator operator ČEPS.

NuScale Power has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ČEZ, to explore applications for its small modular reactor in the Czech Republic.

TVEL, the Russian nuclear fuel manufacturer, has signed contract with Czech utility ČEZ to introduce the RK 3+ modification of its VVER-440 fuel for the Dukovany nuclear power plant. Announcing the agreement today, TVEL said the new fuel will undergo a number of pre-irradiation tests aimed at qualification for a licence from the Czech Republic’s State Office for Nuclear Safety.

The Czech government has given preliminary approval for Elektrárna Dukovany II - a subsidiary of utility ČEZ - to build at least one new nuclear power unit. The decision was announced in a government resolution published yesterday by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

TVEL and the Czech research center Řež have signed a cooperation agreement in materials science studies and research. TVEL, the nuclear fuel manufacturer subsidiary of Russia’s Rosatom, announced today that Czech scientists will conduct experiments on the irradiation of nuclear construction materials in the CVŘ research reactor and also carry out pre-irradiation and post-irradiation studies.

ČEZ will start loading test fuel assemblies supplied by Westinghouse Electric Sweden into unit 1 of its Temelín nuclear power plant this weekend as part of its plan announced in August last year to diversify its fuel supply.

South Korea's Kepco Engineering & Construction Company has signed an agreement with Czech engineering firm UJV Rez to strengthen their cooperation in nuclear power plant projects.