Source: Seznam Zprávy Date: 02.04.2025 Author: Sofie Krýžová
Czech companies want to take a bite out of the Dukovany construction. It is almost clear that the secondary circuit will remain in the Czech Republic. And many other supplies will be decided in the coming years. Czech participation in other KHNP projects in Europe is very uncertain. Sufficient participation of Czech companies in the construction of new nuclear power plants is an insurmountable ‘red line’ in the giant contract for both the state and representatives of the local industry. Czech companies that manufacture, tax and insure in the Czech Republic see the construction of the fifth and sixth units at Dukovany as a great opportunity - after all, the completion is being talked about as the project of the century.
The participation of Czech companies in the CZK 200 billion project (the price for one unit without financing costs) will be decided by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), the CEZ group and, above all, by Czech companies themselves. Some of them have already almost secured the contract, others will compete for participation in the next few years in tenders that will emerge from the project schedule. The actual construction of the first unit should start in 2029, with test fission starting in 2036.
The analysis of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the possibilities of Czech industry involvement in the construction of new nuclear power plants assumes that a 50 per cent involvement rate of domestic companies is realistic. The maximum possible involvement of the Czechs corresponds to 70 to 75 percent. However, according to the analysis, these figures should be taken ‘as significantly indicative’. Most companies have experience in supplying foreign and Czech nuclear power plants, including Slovakia's Mochovce or Temelín, which was built in the late 1980s and has been in operation since 2002. "When preparing the offer, as in the construction of the first two units, a maximum involvement of the Czech and Slovak nuclear industry of 80 percent was considered," the MPO document states.
The state and representatives of the Czech industry have been demanding 60 percent involvement of Czech companies since the South Korean KHNP was chosen as the preferred supplier of both units. And the Koreans have repeatedly assured that they will comply with this requirement. And the future operator of the power plant, ČEZ, is also counting on this share.
‘From the very beginning we have been counting on 60 percent involvement of Czech companies and I can confirm that this declaration is achievable,’ said Petr Závodský, CEO of Elektrárna Dukovany II. The Czech side already wants to secure the participation of domestic industry in the giant project as much as possible. Although European law does not directly allow the anchoring of specific deliveries in the main contract between CEZ and KHNP, there are other ways for Czech companies to secure part of the contract before the contract is signed. At the end of February, Minister of Industry and Trade Lukáš Vlček (STAN) made a demand to KHNP that at least 30 percent of the supplies be secured before the signing, for example by concluding contracts on future contracts.
Part of the promised up to a third of the contracts has already been resolved by the Koreans, who have transferred the supply of the secondary circuit of the power plant to Doosan Škoda Power in Plzeň. "I am glad that the idea of handing over the turbine island was also mentioned by the KHNP management at the February forum on Czech-Korean nuclear cooperation. In my opinion, it will make a major contribution to fulfilling the required 30% volume," Vlček said.
The machine shop may be approaching a 20 percent share. "Assuming that the entire construction part, all related control and management systems, field instrumentation and electrical parts, including all machinery supplies, are included within its scope. So far, we are not even close to this share in the negotiations," says Josef Perlík, executive director of the Czech Energy Alliance.
Two Czech companies, MICo and Chemcomex, could also supply the secondary circuit. "As Doosan Škoda Power from Plzeň is one of our existing customers, we believe that we will have a chance to supply heat exchangers, such as condensers, which we have historically supplied to their turbines, also in the case of the new Dukovany units. Similarly, we would be able to install the piping systems for the engine room, as we have fresh experience with this from the completion of the Slovak Mochovce nuclear power plant," says MICo and Chemcomex CEO Marián Lipovský.
By the time the contract is signed, KHNP must also come up with a clear plan for how it will fulfil the rest of the promised 60 per cent of the Czech supply. So who among the domestic industry representatives will eventually get their hands on the billions of crowns from Dukovany will be decided over the next few years. ‘We will be sure whether we will participate in the supply for EDU II when we have signed at least a future contract, but no concrete negotiations have yet begun with any of the Korean companies,’ says Lipovský.
Even the prices of the supplies are not known. At least the potential suppliers themselves can estimate them. ‘Deliveries for our two companies could potentially be in the hundreds of millions of crowns,’ Lipovský adds.
According to Lukáš Zedník, a member of the Energy Alliance Committee and Deputy Director of Plant 8 at Metrostav DIZ, it can be assumed at this stage that the scope of the construction part will have to be divided into several categories to which the price could be assigned. ‘In most cases, the contractor tries to reach a situation towards the end of the tender where key deliveries are secured by forward contracts or other binding forms,’ Zedník explains.
For example, the Union of Construction Entrepreneurs is convinced that domestic construction companies are capable of providing all construction work at Dukovany. "If the result is to be of good quality, it requires time for preparation. That's why we are striving to at least conclude contracts on future contracts - so that Czech companies know what to expect and in what timeframe," says Jiří Nouza, the president of the union.
The participation of the Czech industry in the whole project is of strategic importance for the Czech Republic not only from an economic point of view, but also for the future. ČEZ is to choose how it will service the nuclear power plants, so that the companies can provide maintenance and spare parts. "We want the subsequent operation and maintenance for more than 60 years to be carried out in a similar way as it is today for the six units, i.e. primarily by Czech companies. We have had excellent cooperation with them for a long time and we want it to be transferred to the new units in the same mode," said Tomáš Pleskač, Director of the New Energy Division at ČEZ.
Other projects are passé
KHNP has previously said it would be willing to work with Czech subcontractors on its other projects abroad. However, the Czechs should not rely on this too much, as it seems that KHNP is pulling out of Europe and leaving the local market to the US company Westinghouse, although it denies it. Despite this, the Korean company has since the beginning of the year withdrawn from three tenders for the construction of nuclear power plants - in Sweden, Slovenia and the Netherlands. This could prevent Czech companies from participating in further projects by KHNP, which is now planning more projects in Asia, which does not have as strict requirements as the EU.
‘Our products would certainly be able to compete in terms of quality and environmental responsibility and occupational health and safety, but unfortunately the price of our products, which also includes all the costs associated with certification, management and audits of compliance with these standards, can no longer compete with Asian prices, in my opinion,’ says Tomáš Novák, head of the special applications department at Mandík, which manufactures fire protection and air conditioning components, units and industrial heating systems.
Therefore, even according to Perlík, Czech companies cannot be expected to join the KHNP supply chain in Asia. Negotiations between the Korean and Czech sides are nearing completion, and some things are still being discussed, including the involvement of Czech industry. ‘This is one of the elements that are being negotiated in the final stages right now,’ said Pavel Cyrani, vice chairman of CEZ.