Bohunice units decommissioning completed

Monday, 21 July 2025

The two reactors date back to the 1970s and were the first of their kind to be built outside the Soviet Union. As part of Slovakia's terms of joining the European Union - in 2004 - it was agreed to shut down the reactors "as soon as possible". The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says that this followed safety concerns raised by Western European Nuclear Regulatory Association experts. The units were closed at the end of 2006 and 2008, respectively.

Preparation for decommissioning the two Bohunice V1 reactors started in 2012. The target has been for the site to be ready for redevelopment by 2027.

The Bohunice International Decommissioning Support Fund had received EUR638 million (USD745 million) from the European Union and members Austria, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain as well as Switzerland and the United Kingdom by the end of 2023.

A consortium led by Westinghouse, which included the Slovak firm VUJE, delivered the project, the EBRD said "ensuring the safe management of steam generators, main circulation pumps, pressurisers and reactor pressure vessel internals, which form the reactor coolant system" at the plant.

It also included the safe dismantling of "6,700 tonnes of radioactive and contaminated structures" using wet and dry cutting and robotic decontamination systems. Another 479 tonnes of secondary radioactive waste was processed and 3,800 tonnes of "obsolete non-radioactive materials for free release" was also processed.

Steven White, Head of the Bohunice International Decommissioning Support Fund at the EBRD, said: "This project shows what international cooperation can achieve. It also confirms our collective commitment to nuclear safety and environmental protection across the region and demonstrates that these complex and challenging tasks can be completed in a cost-effective and timely manner."

Massimo Garribba, the European Commission’s Deputy Director-General for Energy, said: "By completing this decommissioning activity at the Bohunice nuclear power plant, we have set a benchmark for other decommissioning projects. This major international undertaking, financed by the EU and other donors, was successful thanks to the supervision of the Slovak nuclear and decommissioning company JAVYS and the work of the EBRD-managed BIDSF fund."

Slovakia currently has five nuclear reactors generating about half its electricity, with one more reactor under construction. The two still operating at Bohunice went into commercial operation in 1984 and 1985 respectively, while Mochovce 1 and 2 were connected to the grid in 1998 and 1999, respectively. Construction of Mochovce 3 and 4 began in 1986 but was halted in 1992. It was later restarted and Mochovce 3 entered service in 2023, with work continuing on Mochovce 4.