CZECH POWER
Previous experience with EPR nuclear technology and the shared regulatory environment in Europe predisposes the Czech industry to a high share of supply for new Czech units and wide opportunities for involvement in other EPR projects. This is a brief summary of the EPR1200 Technical Symposium held by EDF and its key partners in Prague on 18 June under the auspices of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic.
A similar event has never been held in the Czech Republic before. More than a hundred nuclear experts, academics and representatives of the Czech industry had a unique opportunity to learn in detail about the EPR1200 technology offered by EDF for the construction of the Dukovany 5 new nuclear power plant and potential additional units in the Czech Republic. The EPR1200 Technical Symposium was launched by His Excellency Stéphane Crouzat, Ambassador of France to the Czech Republic and Mr. Tomáš Ehler, Deputy Director General at the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic. During the full-day event, thirty world-leading experts from EDF, Framatome and Arabelle Solutions (formerly GE Steam Power) presented the Czech audience with a deepdive into the unique technological design of the EPR1200 technology.
Cooperation between the Czech and French nuclear industries has been going on for decades. Whether it is the supply of components from the Czech Republic to French power plants or the modernisation of control systems at the Dukovany and Temelín nuclear power plants by Framatome.
Currently, EDF registers over 200 Czech companies that can become suppliers for new nuclear units in the Czech Republic. About 90 of them are in the pre-qualification phase with EDF, which has kickstarted the localisation process for Czech supply for the Dukovany 5 project. If they become qualified EDF contractors, they could be employed not only in the Czech Republic but also on a number of other EDF nuclear projects across Europe.