The CEO of ENSECO, Michal Hrdina, gave an extensive interview to ALL FOR POWER magazine. In it, he reflects on the years-long journey of completing the Units 3 and 4 of the Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant. Hrdina talked about the challenges and successes that accompanied the project.
The MO34 completion project faced many internal and external challenges, ranging from societal up to international ones. Hrdina mentions his pride to be a part of a team of individuals who believe in the project and who have been involved in it since the restart of the construction. He points to the importance of the results compared to the process itself and expects that, in the future, the project will be evaluated from several different perspectives.
It was the completion of these Units in Mochovce that became the biggest reference for ENSECO, which was established as an engineering company. This robust project forced the company to develop and be more flexible. Hrdina emphasized good timing, investor’s decisions and political support as significant factors in the project’s success. He mentions that in the beginning of the project, there was a substantial concentration of experienced professionals on the Slovak and Czech market; a circumstance, which nowadays seems to be a much bigger challenge.
According to him, the start-up of a nuclear power plant is not only a matter of the application of theory and experience, but also self-confidence and courage of those involved. ENSECO gradually recruited young and talented people who were able to build on the experience of older colleagues, thus ensuring the transfer of project know-how between generations.
As part of the main contract, ENSECO completed five major elementary systems at Unit 3, including nuclear auxiliary systems, radioactive waste treatment systems, emergency core cooling system and others. In addition, the company gradually took up other projects such as so called civil electrical part, earthing, completion of condensate treatment systems and an emergency diesel generator station.
Hrdina talks about the challenge of maintaining qualified personnel and know-how in the company during the long-term projects. One of the ENSECO’s continuing goals is to be a guarantor of supplies for the nuclear island also during the operation. The company is not limited to the nuclear sector, but has ambitions in other industries as well, including pulp and paper and petrochemical industries.
You can find the entire interview with Michal Hrdina, including further details and perspectives, in the newest issue of ALL FOR POWER magazine 4/2023 or online here https://www.enseco.sk/rozhovor-all-for-power-04-2023.pdf.
ALL FOR POWER magazine is focused on coal and nuclear energy, gas industry, heating plants and energy engineering. It publishes professional articles both in Czech and Slovak language with abstracts in English and Russian. The articles are dedicated to modernizing and refurbishment of existing power plants, development of new energy sources including alternative sources and related technologies. The magazine is intended for electricity producers, experts from relevant fields, suppliers of technology and services, university professors and students, researchers and legislative staff. It offers information about up-and-coming trends, construction procedures and materials used in a broader technical context. It has been published since 2007 and includes sections such as coal-fired power plants, nuclear energy, gas industry, heating plants, power distribution, energy engineering, technologies, materials and alternative energy sources.
