CZECH POWERCompetence of the Czech Industry in Nuclear Energy
Member companies of CPIA represent the largest technology companies in the nuclear energy supply sector in the Czech Republic. With their supplies they are able to establish a number of smaller entities that will benefit from involvement in the completion of new nuclear power plants (NPPs) in the Czech Republic.
The Alliance has prepared an analysis for the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which indicates the objective possibilities of Czech companies to supply between 65 and 70 per cent of the NPPs.
It shows that the Czech industry is capable of supplying key equipment for the individual parts of the nuclear power plant, i.e. the nuclear island (50%), the turbine island (85%), auxiliary and common facilities (85%), control and management systems (70%), electrical (85%) and structural parts (85%), including key components directly related to the safety of the operation of the nuclear power plant.
The analysis is detailed, based on the status of individual companies and specific parts of the power plant. The turbine island can be supplied to a very substantial extent, as can the auxiliary and common systems or the electrical or structural part. Czech companies can then have a significant share in the supply for the nuclear island and the control and management systems.
The involvement of Czech companies is also necessary to ensure the self-sufficiency of Czech nuclear power plants in servicing and subsequent modernisation – the lifetime of the plant is set at a minimum of 60 years.
The participation of 65% of Czech companies in the volume of supplies for the construction of 4 nuclear units will bring to the Czech Republic:
- an increase in GDP of up to CZK 936 billion
- an increase in public budget revenues of up to CZK 384 billion
- creation of 10,000 new job positions
- safe and self-sufficient operation and maintenance, including the supply of spare parts
- energy independence of the Czech Republic and competitive electricity prices
- development of technical education
- an increase in the quality of life and economic stability of society
Profiles of member companies
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FAQ
What data do you base on when you say that the involvement of 65% of Czech companies (by volume of deliveries) in the NPP completion will have a significant benefit for the state budgets of the Czech Republic?
We base on the analysis prepared by the Faculty of Economics of the University of Economics and Business in Prague, which deals with the potential benefits for the Czech economy of the involvement of 65% of Czech industry in the construction of new nuclear units in the Czech Republic. The analysis clearly shows that in the case of the completion of four nuclear units, the increase in GDP would amount up to CZK 936 billion and public budget revenues would increase by up to CZK 384 billion over the construction period. In the case of the completion of one unit, GDP would increase by up to CZK 234 billion and public budget revenues by up to CZK 96 billion.
How did you arrive at the percentage of sixty-five?
The data are based on an analysis of Czech industry prepared for the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The material was prepared in detail, focusing on the status of individual companies and specific parts of the power plant. The percentage is defined by the real possibilities of individual companies representing the Czech industry and is set very conservatively. It includes only supplies for which the industry is actually ready. If we were to include in this analysis the competences that Czech companies would be able to implement but where they lack, for example, references or a current technological production park, etc., their share would oscillate towards 70 to 75 per cent of total deliveries.
What can Czech companies offer within the framework of the NPP completion – what solutions and in which segments?
The Czech industry is able to supply key equipment for the individual parts of the nuclear power plant, i.e. the nuclear island (50%), the turbine island (85%), auxiliary and common facilities (85%), control and management systems (70%), electrical (85%) and structural parts (85%), including key components directly related to the safety of the nuclear power plant operation.
The turbine island, for example, can be supplied to a very substantial extent, as can the auxiliary and common systems or the electrical or structural parts. We can then have a very significant share in the supply for the nuclear island and the control and management systems.
Czech companies can participate significantly in the engineering of the project, manage some of the deliveries as system integrator and contractor, and take responsibility for the contractual conditions. Examples include the turbine island, auxiliary and common systems, electrical and structural part, etc.
Do Czech companies have sufficient know-how in nuclear energy?
Certainly yes. Czech companies have a 50-year history of supplying Russian and Western technologies. Nuclear power plants must be regularly modernised and maintained to match world trends – increasing their performance, safety and durability. Czech companies are involved in the completion and modernisation of nuclear power plants in more than 20 countries. In the Czech Republic alone, the projects are worth tens of billions of crowns.
For example, every major ČEZ project is an EPC delivery, multidisciplinary with the need to coordinate design, interface and complex supply chains. And Czech companies have been implementing these projects for a long time. They have nuclear know-how to the extent that they can be involved in the construction of new units on a truly substantial scale.
Do Czech companies have the know-how and references to supply Western technologies?
The Czech nuclear industry is largely export-oriented. Czech companies participate in projects implemented by EDF and cooperate with the American Westinghouse. They have been supplying larger units in the framework of the completion or modernisation of nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic and worldwide for a long time.
What supplies need to be outsourced from abroad?
The competencies that need to be outsourced to foreign suppliers are mainly: supply of the plant as a whole, creation of basic design and basic licensing documentation, manufacture of pressure vessel, steam generators, various types of valves, primary circuit piping, main circulation pumps, A classification control and management systems.
What are the other benefits for Czech society if 65% of Czech companies are involved in the completion of the NPP?
Apart from the benefits for the state budget, it is the primary preservation of the Czech nuclear industry and the subsequent possibility of pro-export linkage of companies to domestic references. The involvement of Czech companies in the completion of the NPP will also create approximately 10,000 new jobs in the Czech Republic.
Equally important benefits would be a significant reduction in the rate of growth of final electricity prices, energy independence of the Czech Republic, support for the development of technological capacities of Czech industry, increasing the skills and competitiveness of the workforce, development and introduction of new technologies and management methods, and support for science and technical education.
If more units are built, will Czech companies have enough professional employees?
If more units are built, it will be a real renaissance of the nuclear energy sector in the Czech Republic. Czech companies have long had qualified employees at their disposal – without them they would not be able to carry out nuclear contracts in the long term, both at home and abroad. However, this boost would certainly kick-start technical studies in schools and bring a new generation to nuclear energy, as it would once again become a lucrative field with a future. In addition, these specialists will have above-average salaries and will thus make a significant contribution to the ailing pension system in the Czech Republic, among other things.
The biggest problems may arise in the area of less skilled jobs, which – and this is a phenomenon throughout developed Europe – are in short supply due to the high standard of living and the abundance of workers in general. It is therefore necessary to provide state support to increase the possibility of employing foreign workers, and to find a system for selecting and protecting them, so that their influx does not lead to further secondary, particularly social, problems. Czech industry, as well as the winner of the tender and the supplier of the technology, cannot do without this support.
Is it more advantageous for Czech companies to cooperate with one of the potential bidders?
The Alliance does not favour any of the bidders, it is strictly neutral. It has precise rules in this respect.
What do you see as the biggest risk for Czech companies if they cannot participate in the completion of the NPP to the extent that they can provide?
First of all, the very existence of the Czech nuclear energy supply industry as a whole is at risk. If companies do not get an opportunity on a domestic contract, why should they accept their know-how on foreign projects? They will lose references, the possibility to continuously build on existing know-how and business opportunities and service activities in the future.
The participation of Czech companies in this contract is also a necessary condition for the ability to service the new units during their operation. This know-how of Czech companies was strategically demonstrated, for example, during the covid, when there was a problem with the arrival of foreign workers and when Czech industry played a strategic role in providing service supplies.
How do you imagine concrete help from the state when ČEZ cannot incorporate the requirements for percentage participation of Czech companies into the tender due to laws?
CPIA fully accepts this position. However, the state must look for models and solutions so that after the end of the tender, or preferably during the final phase after the bidders have submitted their final bids, it will have strong enough tools in its hands to manage the project and apply all the interests of the Czech Republic in it, except for the construction itself, i.e. including ensuring the participation of Czech industry.
A mechanism needs to be found. Hungary, for example, has succeeded in doing this, which basically has no industry of its own (40%). Poland has set conditions for the involvement of 20% of Polish companies in the construction of unit 1, 30% in the construction of unit 2, and then another 40% and 60%. Western countries like France take the participation of their companies in the construction of NPPs as a standard issue. In the Czech Republic, too, the involvement of Czech companies in the completion of domestic nuclear power plants should be a state interest.
Why build large units when we can use small nuclear reactors (SMRs)?
SMRs will certainly be the next technological option for the nuclear power industry. However, at the moment they cannot replace the technologies already installed with the credentials and performance to make up for the emerging shortfall in power generation. To date, no prototype of this nuclear device is in operation in the world (except in Russia, where SMR is already in operation). Moreover, from a legislative and safety perspective, they will be subject to the same requirements as a large nuclear reactor. Standard units should be built as the basis for future power generation and these should be supplemented by SMRs where appropriate.
If you are interested in more information on the involvement of the Czech industry in the completion of the NPP, we are always at your disposal.
Denisa Ranochová
Alliance Press Spokesman
Tel.: 608 445 255
e-mail: denisa.ranochova@cpia.cz