Ansaldo and Westinghouse to partner
A forthcoming partnership between Ansaldo Nucleare and Toshiba-Westinghouse has emerged as a major future plank in the emerging Italian nuclear market.
A forthcoming partnership between Ansaldo Nucleare and Toshiba-Westinghouse has emerged as a major future plank in the emerging Italian nuclear market.
A consortium agreement between the two is expected on 29 September when economic development minister Claudio Scajola visits the USA, where Toshiba-owned Westinghouse is based. A nuclear cooperation agreement between the countries is also slated for signature which will make business deals possible.
The Italo-Japanese consortium would join the Italo-French joint venture between Enel and Electricité de France (EdF) to supply the technology for the Italian renaissance, required to lower Italian power prices and increase its energy security.
At the moment, four of the eight new nuclear reactors Italy is expecting are planned to be Areva EPRs operated by Enel, EdF and potentially minor partners. The other four will now be expected to be Westinghouse AP1000s, although other vendors could still enter the market. In all, they should be able to provide about 25% of the country's electricity.
Ansaldo Nucleare is a subsidiary of Ansaldo Energia, itself part of the state-owned Finnmechanica group. It has a history of collaboration with Toshiba-Westinghouse dating to 2001, when it took part in the US licensing process of the AP1000. The company has been able to maintain its nuclear workforce and skills by winning roles in projects like the completion of Romania's Cernavoda reactors.
Ansaldo Nucleare also has links to Sogin, the state's decommissioning agent, through former president Francesco Mazzuca who took the head role on 12 August. Sogin is now to be liquidated it so that its assets could be incorporated into a new public-private entity, thought to be a new joint-venture led by Ansaldo Nucleare.
Some of the other potential players in the new market are Edison which reportedly would like to take a significant stake in a new build consortium and A2A, the Lombard utility born in 2008 which has recently been credited with being 'enthusiastic' about the return to nuclear energy. Germany's EOn has said it would like to be involved and would consider leading roles in joint ventures, while oil giant ENI is said to be interested, having previously operated in the nuclear sector through AGIP Nucleare.
