About 3470 cubic metres of concrete was used for the foundation, which the company says was the equivalent of about 380 concrete mixer truck-fulls, and was the most complex such operation since unit 2 was built.
The new waste facility is designed for the handling, processing and interim storage of waste, both from the refurbishment of unit 1 and the long-term commercial operation of both the plant’s units.
Cosmin Ghita, General Manager of Nuclearelectrica, said: “The pouring of the first concrete for the construction of the infrastructure required for the refurbishment of unit 1 holds a significance similar to that of the pouring of the first concrete during the construction of unit 1. After 30 years of operation at high nuclear safety standards and with world-class performance in terms of capacity factor, unit 1, through the refurbishment programme, will continue to operate for another 30 years starting in 2030. Another 30 years of energy security, 5 million MW produced annually, and 5 million tons of CO2 avoided annually – a strategic project for Romania’s energy security.”
Cernavoda is the only nuclear power plant in Romania and consists of two 650 MWe Candu reactors. Unit 1 went into commercial operation in 1996 and unit 2 in 2007.
The unit 1 refurbishment project began in 2017 and is currently in the second of three phases, in preparation for implementation. The project is scheduled to enter its third and final phase of development in 2027 with the shutdown of unit 1 for refurbishment.
Background
Candu units are pressurised heavy water reactors designed to operate for 30 years, with a further 30 years available subject to refurbishment. This includes the replacement of key reactor components such as steam generators, pressure tubes, calandria tubes and feeder tubes. It involves removing all the reactor’s fuel and heavy water and isolating it from the rest of the power station before it is dismantled. Thousands of components, including those that are not accessible when the reactor is assembled, are inspected, and all 480 fuel channels and 960 feeder tubes are replaced during the high-precision rebuild.
In December 2024 Nuclearelectrica signed the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the estimated EUR1.9 billion (USD1.97 billion) refurbishment with a consortium of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, AtkinsRealis’s Candu Energy, Canadian Commercial Corporation and Ansaldo Nucleare.
The civil construction works began in September 2025 after the company received approval from Romania’s nuclear regulator (CNCAN) for the construction of the Intermediate Radioactive Waste Repository. The company said the expansion of the intermediate storage capacity of low and medium radioactive waste was a key part of sustaining long-term operation of the plant.
