„Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant – New Build Public Company participated in the youth National Competition I4N Bulgaria
Three teams competed in the I4N Bulgaria National Youth Competition. The final of the competition was held on May 18, 2024 at the Faculty of Economics of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". Within 15 minutes, they presented their projects and answered the questions of the jury.
The project entitled "Storage for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel from units 5 and 6 of the Kozloduy NPP" developed by Alexander Georgiev, Vladislav Shabanski and Kaloyan Botev, won first place in the I4N Bulgaria National Competition. Antonia Velcheva and Nikolay Hrischev came in second place with the project "Silicon carbide as an alternative material for the cladding of heat-releasing elements". The team of Ani Toskova and Tsvetan Yovov finished third with the project "Small modular reactors: Innovative solutions for sustainable energy production in industry using nuclear spent fuel". The teams were evaluated by a jury consisting of: Lyuben Marinov – "Kozloduy NPP" EAD, Assoc. Prof. Todor Yalamov – Faculty of Economics at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mladen Mitev – Chairman of the Bulgarian Nuclear Society, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kalin Filipov – Head of the Department of Thermal Power and Nuclear Energy at TU-Sofia, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Plamen Petkov – Lecturer at the Faculty of Physics of Sofia University, Yavor Andreev – Chairman of the MA of BYAD and Dimitar Stoyanov – Representative of the Kozloduy Nuclear Competence Center.
The Executive Director of "Kozloduy NPP – New Build" EAD, Mr. Petyo Ivanov, took part in the discussion panel within the framework of the competition. He congratulated the participants for the projects they presented and emphasized that the construction of new nuclear power plants at the Kozloduy NPP site requires the presence of qualified personnel, who are an indispensable factor for the successful implementation of the project. During the discussion, examples of successful innovative projects worldwide were discussed, as well as the socio-economic benefits of their implementation in the nuclear field. Nuclear safety was highlighted as a key aspect that young people should consider both in their current projects and in their future work. A number of challenges facing the nuclear industry were also discussed within the framework of the discussion, which are an opportunity for further development and professional realization.
Along with the participation of Mr. Petyo Ivanov, the Nuclear Regulatory Agency was represented in the discussion by Mr. Tsanko Bachiiski, and Kozloduy NPP EAD was represented by Mr. Lyuben Marinov. The National Committee of Bulgaria in the World Energy Council (NKBWEC) was represented by the Secretary of the Association, Dr. Borislav Boev, and the other panelists were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Todor Yalamov - Deputy Dean "Research, Innovation and Projects" at the Faculty of Economics of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and Assoc. Prof. Denitsa Zgureva - Director of the Technical College - Sofia at TU-Sofia. The discussion panel was moderated by Mr. Venko Stoev - Deputy Chairman of MA BYAD.
The competition is part of the European competition I4N Europe of the European Nuclear Society Youth Network (ENS-YGN). The winner will compete with teams from 7 other European countries at the European final, which will be held on June 27, 2024 at the National Center for Mechatronics and Clean Technologies at the Technical University of Sofia.
