EDF and GE sign strategic deal for six EPRs in India

GE and EDF have signed a strategic cooperation agreement for the planned construction of six EPR reactors at the Jaitapur site in Maharashtra, India. The document was announced by Xavier Ursat, senior executive vice president of EDF in charge of new nuclear projects and engineering, and Andreas Lusch, president and CEO of GE's Steam Power business.

In a joint statement, the companies said this was an important step in implementing the Industrial Way Forward Agreement which was signed with NPCIL, the Indian owner and operator of the future nuclear power plant currently under discussion, on 10 March.

GE Power will design the conventional island for the Jaitapur nuclear plant and supply its main components, as well as provide operational support services and a training programme to respond to the requirements of NPCIL. EDF will be responsible for engineering integration covering the entire project - the nuclear island, conventional island and auxiliary systems - and will provide all the requisite input data.

Ursat said this strategic agreement marks the beginning of a new phase in the implementation of the world's biggest nuclear project at Jaitapur.

"This long-term agreement with GE, underpinned by a synergy of combined skills and the convergence of our long-term strategies in India, is yet another promising brick supporting the future of this project which is essential for the future of India’s energy mix and for EDF," he said.

Lusch added the agreement represents 60 years of nuclear partnership between the two companies and that GE Power had a "long history of helping India produce power".

GE Power is also the main supplier of conventional-island components for a number of French power plants, including Flamanville-3, as well as Hinkley Point C in the UK.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News