CZECH POWER
The French company EDF is one of three bidders for the completion of new nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic. The Group, together with GE Steam Power and the French Nuclear Industry Association (GIFEN), organised a nuclear energy summit in June.
The Czech Power Industry Alliance (CPIA) was also a partner of the event. 40 Czech and French companies participated in the summit. In addition to information about the EPR1200 technology offered by EDF in the tender for the construction of new units in the Czech Republic, the participants learned detailed information about EDF’s upcoming projects in France, Great Britain, as well as in other European countries such as Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Netherlands.
“The event provided insight into the key role of a tight nuclear supply chain in ensuring Europe’s energy independence and competitiveness. It is clear that strategic capacity planning is absolutely crucial for European nuclear projects given the limited resources available for all upcoming activities,” stated Peter Szenasy, head of the CPIA delegation, during the meeting, while thanking GIFEN, GE Steam Power and EDF for hosting the event.
According to him, it is very important that EDF wants to involve Czech companies in French nuclear projects, regardless of the outcome of the tender in the Czech Republic. EDF will submit a bid for the construction of up to four EPR1200 units in the Czech Republic to the Czech side in early October this year. According to the company’s representatives, the global nuclear power producer expects the Czech industry to be involved in the supply chain in the amount of about 60 percent of the contract volume.
“We look forward to future discussions, partnerships and the upcoming WNE2023, where we can further develop the objectives of cooperation between France and the Czech Republic in the field of nuclear energy. Our intention is to support the growth of the nuclear workforce in the European Union and to harness the potential of the nuclear industry in Europe to ensure a prosperous and sustainable energy future,” adds Peter Szenasy.
According to publicly available information, EDF and its key partners GE and Framatome have already identified several hundred potential Czech suppliers in the Czech Republic and signed cooperation agreements with dozens of them. The latest series of agreements have been signed with ZVVZ, VF Nuclear, CHEMCOMEX and CAPPA cooling.