EDF to assist with Barakah operation and maintenance
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EDF will provide Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) subsidiary Nawah with services in areas including operational safety, radiation protection, fuel cycle management and environmental monitoring. Expertise will be provided through engineering studies, on-site support, training and benchmarking sessions. Services may involve the entire EDF Group including Framatome, as well as some of EDF’s legacy partners, EDF and Nawah said.
"Both entities strongly believe that this ten-year commitment, based on a shared vision and on common values and goals, will contribute to the quality and safety led operations of the Barakah nuclear energy plant, which is currently preparing for operations of the first of its four 1400 MW units," the companies said.
Dominique Minière, EDF senior executive vice president for nuclear and thermal fleet, said the agreement would see EDF strengthening its position in the UAE’s low-carbon energy sector, "thereby reasserting the goal of its CAP 2030 strategy which is to triple its business volumes outside of Europe by 2030."
Nawah CEO Mark Reddemann said the company was looking forward to working closely with the EDF team to ensure the "safe and secure start-up" of Barakah unit 1. "EDF has a phenomenal track record of achievements in the global nuclear industry that we are bringing to Barakah," he said.
Construction of the four Korean-designed APR1400 reactors at Barakah, in the Al Dhafra Region of Abu Dhabi, began in 2012. Unit 1 was declared complete earlier this year, and is expected to begin operations in late 2019 or early 2020. All main concrete works and heavy equipment lifting for the four nuclear reactor units was completed in October - described at the time by ENEC CEO Mohamed Al Hammadi as the "beginning of the end" of construction activities as the final units transition to the testing and commissioning phase. The project is now 90% complete. Nawah, which is partially owned by the Korea Electric Power Corporation, will operate and maintain the units.
