Romania begins work on Europe’s first tritium removal facility at Cernavodă nuclear power plant

Romania marked a major milestone in its nuclear energy sector on Monday, June 2, with the launch of construction on Europe’s first tritium removal facility at the Cernavodă nuclear power plant. The facility, only the third of its kind in the world after those in Canada and South Korea, is set to place Romania among the global leaders in civilian nuclear technology, energy minister Sebastian Burduja said.

Developed by Nuclearelectrica in partnership with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), the project uses technology designed in Romania by the National Research and Development Institute for Cryogenic and Isotopic Technologies (ICSI Râmnicu Vâlcea).

The technology focuses on extracting tritium (a radioactive isotope of hydrogen) from the heavy water used in the cooling and moderation systems of nuclear reactors. This process allows the water to be reused and the tritium to be safely stored or potentially used as fuel in future nuclear fusion reactors.

Energy minister Sebastian Burduja called the project the most significant development in Romania’s nuclear sector since the commissioning of Cernavodă’s Unit 2 reactor.

"This project positions Romania among the few countries capable of producing and exporting tritium - seen as the fuel of the future for fusion energy programs such as ITER," Burduja said.

The tritium removal facility (CTRF) is expected to be completed in 50 months and will meet the highest international standards for nuclear safety. Of the project’s total cost, EUR 145 million will be financed through a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

According to a Nuclearelectrica press release, Cernavodă ’s Tritium Removal Facility will include several high-tech areas: liquid-phase isotope separation, cryogenic distillation, and high vacuum operation.

(Photo source: Facebook/Sebastian Burduja)