EU country boosts imports of Russian nuclear components – media

Finland spent $35 million last year to buy the necessary equipment from Russia to maintain its atomic power plants

Finland has increased purchases of components from Russia to maintain operation of its nuclear power plants, the country’s business daily Kauppalehti reported on Wednesday, citing customs data.   

Purchases surged by 20% in 2022 compared to the previous year and reached a total value of €33 million ($35 million).   

The outlet noted that while imports by Teollisuuden Voima, a Finnish nuclear power operator owned by a consortium of companies, were relatively insignificant, the country’s major state-owned energy company Fortum has not disclosed the cost of Russian supplies.   

Fortum operates Finland’s first Soviet-designed nuclear power plant, which entered commercial use in 1977. Earlier this month, the Finnish government granted a new operating license for Loviisa NPP until the end of 2050. The plant, comprising two VVER-440 type pressurized water reactors, provides more than 10% of the country’s electricity.  

The development comes as some EU countries are calling for sanctions on Russia’s nuclear industry, which has so far gone untouched because it’s essential for the operation of many power plants in the region. According to the World Nuclear Industry Status Report, of the 53 reactors under construction as of mid-2022, 20 were being built by Rosatom, 17 of which are located outside Russia.  

READ MORE: Russian nuclear power exports booming

Earlier this week, Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda announced that he would keep pressing the EU to place restrictions on Russia’s nuclear industry and to blacklist the country’s state atomic corporation Rosatom.

Meanwhile, Russian nuclear fuel and technology sales soared last year as imports by EU countries climbed to the highest level in three years, according to recent data.

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