Nuclearelectrica announces that the Board of the European Investment Bank (EIB) approved a loan of 800 million EUR for the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 Refurbishment Project (the Project), which represents historic financing for Romania and the nuclear energy industry in general.
In accordance with applicable legal provisions, Nuclearelectrica will submit for approval by its shareholders, at a future General Shareholders’ Meeting, the company’s contracting, as borrower, of the EUR 800 million loan approved by the EIB.
The Project’s financing strategy envisages a mix of SNN’s equity and loans/guarantees obtained from international financial institutions, export credit agencies (ECAs), and commercial banks. Financing the Project from external sources will be carried out in two phases, aligned with the Project’s implementation schedule. Thus, for the preliminary phase of the Project, financing was secured through the signing on September 24, 2025, of a loan agreement worth 540 million EUR with a syndicate of banks led by JP Morgan SE, acting as financial arranger.
Nuclearelectrica reported a 40.4% increase in net profit at the end of the 2025 fiscal year compared to the 2024 fiscal year and a 72% increase in net profit in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period the previous year, growth and financial stability that enable secure investments and operations in a volatile environment, with resilience built for the medium and long term.
The Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 Refurbishment Project is currently, in accordance with the development strategy approved by the shareholders, in its second phase of development; activities related to this phase include obtaining the necessary permits, contracting engineering and construction services, procuring materials and equipment, and securing the financing required to complete the Project. Civil construction work on the Unit 1 Refurbishment Project began in 2025 and continued into 2026.
“The involvement of renowned international banking institutions in securing external financing for the CNE Cernavoda Unit 1 Refurbishment Project represents a historic step for the development of the civil nuclear energy sector, while also attesting to the development of a robust project, properly managed from a technical, operational, and financial standpoint, and simultaneously confirming a strategic project for Romania for the next 30 years, in line with European energy and political needs, including the emphasis on expanding or developing nuclear capacity. In accordance with the rigors of the nuclear industry, the organization and execution of all work specific to the Unit 1 Refurbishment Project are carried out in compliance with the highest industry standards and practices. The refurbished Unit 1 will account for an additional 9% per year of Romania’s clean, safe, and stable energy supply for the period 2030–2060.”—Cosmin Ghita, General Manager of Nuclearelectrica
The final phase of the Project’s development—the third phase—will take place between 2027 and 2030 and will involve shutting down Unit 1 to carry out major refurbishment work, with a focus on reactor retubing. This process will continue with technical tests and the completion of the Project through acceptance testing and the decommissioning of temporary facilities, preparing Unit 1 to resume operations under optimized conditions in 2030.
Unit 1 of the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant (CNE) was commissioned in 1996, and to date, the operation of Unit 1 has prevented 145 million metric tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere and has safely delivered over 150 million MWh, with a capacity factor exceeding 90%, the unit ranking among the top three nuclear reactors globally in terms of capacity factor.