State firm says it is planning ‘successful delivery’ of large-scale EPR plants and Nuward SMR units
France’s state energy company and nuclear operator EDF has signed several cooperation agreements involving Canadian, Czech, French and Indian, partners as it seeks to secure the local supply chains it needs for large-scale and small modular nuclear reactor projects in Europe and worldwide.
The company said the agreements are aimed at the successful delivery of future EPR-technology-based and Nuward SMR projects. The EPR is France’s large-scale reactor technology and the Nuward is an SMR technology under development by EDF subsidiary Nuward.
The Nuward SMR is in the basic design phase, which is expected to be completed at the end of 2026 or in early 2027.
The agreements, signed by EDF on the inaugural day of the World Nuclear Exhibition 2023 in Paris on 28 November, include a memorandum of cooperation between EDF and India’s state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) on local content for the Jaitapur nuclear power station project.
In April 2021, EDF said it had made a binding offer to build six 1,600-MW EPR units at the Jaitapur site in the Maharashtra region of western India. The company said at the time that it was “actively engaged” in ensuring local industrial participation in the project.
In July, France and India said they had made progress on the longstanding project. In a joint statement Paris and New Delhi said they welcomed progress made during discussions related to the Jaitapur project and welcomed EDF’s proposal for training of civil nuclear engineers and technicians from India for projects involving EPR technology.
EDF and BHEL said they also plan to explore wider collaboration on EPR deployment and the Nuward SMR.
Agreements With Czech Republic, Canada
EDF also signed cooperation agreements with potential Czech suppliers relating to the bidding process for the new nuclear unit planned for Dukovany in the Czech Republic. The agreements were signed with the Czech Power Industry Alliance, ADAMEC, EnerSys, ISH Pumps, KLIKA BP, LDM and Nopo Engineering.
EDF and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) signed a letter of interest for a comprehensive joint evaluation of the potential deployment of EPR technology in Ontario and other parts of Canada.
EDF and France-based Egis signed a cooperation agreement to support EDF's localisation efforts for its international projects.
Also on 28 November, EDF and Ontario Power Group (OPG) signed a letter of interest to evaluate the potential development of EPR technology in Ontario and other parts of Canada.
EDF said its ambition is to pursue and accelerate nuclear energy development in France, in Europe and abroad through “long-term cross-country partnerships”.
EDF chairman and chief executive officer Luc Rémont, said: “The signing of these industrial cooperation agreements clearly demonstrates our ambition to secure robust partnerships with local supply chains for EPR-technology-based projects, as well as for Nuward SMR.
