The project, a collaboration between nuclear energy producer Nuclearelectrica and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), is backed by an EIB financing of €145 million.

The Cernavodă CTRF facility, based on innovative Romanian technology developed by the National Institute for Cryogenic and Isotopic Technologies (ICSI) Râmnicu Vâlcea, will be the third tritium removal facility globally and the first in Europe.

This investment will enable Romania to become a European hub for the production and export of tritium, a crucial candidate fuel for future nuclear fusion reactors.

Sebastian Burduja, the Minister of Energy, said: "Tritium production adds to the integrated Romanian nuclear cycle, which we aim to recover: from uranium mines to heavy water production, nuclear fuel, and nuclear energy production using CANDU technology, in the four reactors (two are operational - e.n) at Cernavodă".

The CTRF project is slated for completion within 50 months and will meet all nuclear safety requirements.