Bucharest, June 3, 2026 – RBJ – Nuclearelectrica SA, the state-owned company that manages the two reactors of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant, announces that it is in exploratory discussions with several American and Western European nuclear fusion projects, with a view to concluding partnerships that could lead to future commercial transactions with tritium, the candidate fuel for future fusion reactors.
The Romanian company has also concluded a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with two Swiss companies, RC Tritec AG and Smolsys AG, to which Nuclearelectrica could supply tritium in the coming years.
The announcement of the state-owned company comes in the context of the approaching operationalization of the Detritium Removal Facility Project (CTRF), carried out at the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant, estimated for the end of 2028.
Nuclearelectrica announced, in June 2024, the start of works on the first tritium removal facility in Europe, located at the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant, in partnership with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP).
The detritium removal facility will eliminate tritium from the facility, which will lead to increased environmental protection, in full accordance with the ESG objectives of Nuclearelectrica and Europe. It is based on an innovative Romanian technology, developed by the National Institute for Research and Development for Cryogenic and Isotopic Technologies – ICSI Rm. Vâlcea, being the third in the world and the first in Europe. The initiative marks a significant step forward in nuclear technology and environmental protection, in line with the European Union’s sustainability objectives, the company’s management claims.
“Given the future operationalization of the CTRF, estimated for the end of 2028, SNN has launched an extensive market research process, in order to identify potential tritium customers. SNN’s efforts are focused on the area of nuclear fusion, as future fusion reactors will require significant quantities of tritium as fuel, in combination with deuterium, but other industrial fields that involve the use of tritium, even if in smaller quantities (self-powered lighting, radioactive marking, neutron generation, etc.) are not ignored,” the company said in a statement.
Memorandum with two Swiss companies
SNN is also in contact with companies specialized in the tritium field, having recently concluded a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with two Swiss companies, RC Tritec AG and Smolsys AG.
“The memorandum lays the foundations for collaboration between the three companies, in order to evaluate the possibility of SNN supplying tritium to the two Swiss partners, but also to cooperate on tritium storage solutions and various systems for handling this hydrogen radioisotope, given the rich experience in the field of RC Tritec AG and Smolsys AG,” it is stated in the communication to the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).
The company’s management states that this investment project is designed and developed to offer Nuclearelectrica and Romania the opportunity to become a European center for the production and export of tritium.
“Romania also has the opportunity to develop its supply chain and become a center for the development and export of Romanian technology and know-how, using local industry and labor,” Nuclearelectrica officials say.
In 2025, Nuclearelectrica achieved a net profit of 2.39 billion lei, 40% higher than in 2024. Operating income rose by 20%, to 5.75 billion lei, compared to 4.79 billion lei in 2024. Energy production increased slightly, by 1%, to 10,115 MWh.
