US-based Westinghouse Electric Company has signed a cooperation agreement with the Finnish nuclear power company Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) and the Swedish nuclear power company OKG to jointly reinforce key competencies on boiling water reactors (BWRs).
 
The agreement creates a privileged partnership for securing the critical competencies needed for the safe and efficient long-term operation of Olkiluoto 1&2 in Finland and Sweden’s Oskarshamn 3. The partnership "provides the means to share, develop and maintain engineering and automation resources and to allow for optimisation of critical personnel resources," Westinghouse said.

"We rely on Westinghouse's technological leadership to develop advanced solutions to meet our toughest operational challenges," said Sami Jakonen, TVO's senior vice president of Engineering.

Jan Karjalainen, acting CEO at OKG, said:"OKG is pleased to enter into this cooperation agreement to preserve and further develop the competencies within the Nordic nuclear business and promote the safe and long-term operations of our BWRs."

Photo: Two BWRs currently in operation at the Olkiuloto nuclear plant in Finland (Photo: TVO)