We met Petr Brzezina, President of a subsidiary of Westinghouse Electric Company, two weeks after Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček announced a plan to extend the lifespan of the existing Dukovany reactors by twenty years – a move that has once again brought nuclear energy back into the spotlight after years of relative quiet.
Can extending the lifespan of reactors be seen as a trend, and will it affect the construction of new reactors?
Extending the lifespan of reactors is, I would say, the most cost-effective way to maintain generation capacity with a certain level of investment. Naturally, the older the facility, the higher the required investment – in the case of Dukovany, we are talking about reactors designed in the 1970s and built in the 1980s. However, other factors also play a role, such as maintenance, preventive measures, regulatory approvals, and increasingly stringent safety requirements. I believe that every operator aims to maximize the use of existing facilities and is prepared to invest accordingly. Does this impact new projects? If we extend the lifespan of the Dukovany plant to around 2065, it still does not solve the long-term challenge. Energy demand will most likely continue to grow, and maintaining current capacity alone will not be sufficient. New reactors will therefore certainly be built – both to meet rising demand and to replace fossil fuel sources. The real challenge will be building new capacity with the required output in time.
According to Bohdan Zronek, head of nuclear energy at ČEZ, the company will take part in developing new fuel for the existing Dukovany reactors. How should we interpret this?
It is about diversification and, ultimately, greater flexibility for the operator, who can respond to different situations thanks to it. Today, it is clear that relying on a single supplier is not a good strategy, as was the case until recently at both Temelín and Dukovany. Nuclear fuel is a specific commodity – unlike oil, for example, it can be stockpiled for several years, so you are not dependent on immediate deliveries. Even so, diversification needs to be addressed well in advance.
Westinghouse supplies nuclear fuel to Czechia and Slovakia, and in Slovakia you are also competing for the construction of a new reactor in Jaslovské Bohunice. Is that correct?
In 2024, the Slovak government decided to build a new 1,200 MWe reactor in Jaslovské Bohunice, fully under state control, and approved the project’s parameters. Since then, a series of negotiations has taken place, and in January representatives of Slovakia and the United States signed an intergovernmental agreement establishing a framework for cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, not only for this project. Slovakia, unlike the Czech Republic, has already shut down its coal-fired power plants and now generates around 60 percent of its electricity from nuclear energy. However, it still needs to expand its capacity to meet future demand. Among potential suppliers, Westinghouse is essentially the only company with a reactor of the required capacity – the AP1000 – already in operation. Four units are running in China, two in the United States, and others are under construction or approved. This means we can provide real operational data, and interested parties can see the reactor in practice. Two reactors commissioned in 2023 and 2024 serve as reference units for new projects. The key advantage of the AP1000 is that it is a proven product – not an experiment. Equally important is having reliable construction suppliers, which we have at Westinghouse. Other manufacturers offer reactors with different capacities, but in many cases they still exist only on paper. This means they must be designed, built, and tested, and inevitably encounter “teething problems” during commissioning.
Small modular reactor of Generation III+ AP300 by Westinghouse.
What is the situation with nuclear energy in the Czech Republic?
We still generate around 30 percent of our electricity from coal-fired power plants, which will gradually be phased out. That is why it is essential to decide on the construction of new reactors in time – nuclear investment is a long-term commitment. Construction alone currently takes around six years, and when you add preparation, permitting processes, and other steps, the timeline can easily double. Returning to Slovakia, they have everything ready for the new reactor project, but they must not miss the right moment or they will lose that advantage. The situation around nuclear energy has changed dramatically over the past two years, with an increasing number of projects emerging. A major factor will be the capacity of the supply chain, which is limited. In other words, projects launched earlier will have an advantage, while others risk delays due to long delivery times. And it goes without saying that every delay increases the total cost – every year without production means additional losses.
Is it safe to build nuclear power plants in today’s turbulent world?
You are probably referring to past incidents. These have led to stricter safety requirements for nuclear facilities. Reactors have been redesigned to meet these standards and are now fully safe. For example, the AP1000, which I mentioned earlier, belongs to Generation III+ and is equipped with fully passive safety systems. To give you an idea – the reactor can shut itself down in the event of a problem, withstand several days without external power, has a 72-hour water supply for cooling, and can switch to emergency mode without operator intervention. Passive safety has also made it possible to significantly reduce the footprint required for construction and optimize the overall design.
The return on investment is often discussed in connection with nuclear energy. Do you consider this an important issue?
The key question is not whether the investment will pay off – it always will – but rather how long it will take. That depends on the total cost, which is influenced by the situation in the supply chain and electricity markets. That is why mechanisms such as contracts for difference exist – they protect the investor while transferring certain risks to the state, which in return ensures a reliable electricity supply for its citizens. As I have said before, our grandfathers also built nuclear power plants decades ago, even though they were enormous investments at the time. Thanks to that, we now have reliable electricity supply 24/7.
How do you view renewable energy sources?
There has been a wave of so-called intermittent sources, such as wind and solar power, but you cannot rely on these alone. Each such source requires another that can compensate for outages. People and businesses do not care whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining – they need a continuous electricity supply. If you want to attract an investor to build a new production facility in your country, reliable electricity supply will be a decisive factor, because any outage means losses. That said, I am not suggesting that energy should be generated exclusively from nuclear sources – the market will certainly operate with a mix of nuclear and renewables.
Has the EU fallen behind on nuclear energy? It plans to increase nuclear capacity by 2050, but could it run into supply chain limitations?
Most European countries, with the exception of France and Slovakia, which are largely self-sufficient, expect to import energy by the mid-2030s. The question is from where – and at what price. There is also the issue of transmission capacity between countries. If someone decides today to build any type of energy source, they are unlikely to make a mistake. Countries with suitable conditions will invest in hydropower or wind energy, but if we do not want to return to coal, nuclear energy will be inevitable. As you pointed out, however, the construction of new capacity will certainly face constraints in the supply chain. And that brings us back to the beginning – the key today is to ensure stable energy supplies for us, and especially for future generations.
CV BOX
Petr Brzezina (born in 1965) is a senior executive and, since February 13, 2023, President of Westinghouse Czech Republic for both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
His goal is to further develop the company’s nuclear technologies in the region and strengthen energy security through new partnerships.
He has previously held senior positions in a number of multinational companies, including Škoda Transportation, Alstom, OHL ŽS, General Electric, and ABB.
In 2021, he was recognized in Forbes magazine’s Top CEO 2021 ranking as one of the most successful and inspiring chief executives in the Czech Republic.
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