GdF Suez prepares for nuclear operation
The purchase of an EPR simulator has revealed the seriousness of GdF Suez's ambitions in nuclear power. The company is working to build a portfolio of projects including majority stakes and operator rights.
The purchase of an EPR simulator has revealed the seriousness of GdF Suez's ambitions in nuclear power.
Apart from Electrabel and a set of nuclear-related subsidiaries, the bulk of the group which was formed a year ago from Gaz de France and Suez of Belgium has been primarily involved in natural gas. However, a strategic move to pursue nuclear power beyond Electrabel could see it with ownership shares in French, British and Emirati reactors in just a few years. Beyond that, it wants a controlling stake in France's next EPR.
In preparation for all this, the company has agreed to buy a full-scale engineering simulator of the Areva EPR from Corys TESS. That company said it could be used to train engineers as well as operators of EPR-based power plants and even to be used in the design of future reactors. It will be set up in Brussels, Belgium.
Laurent Furedi of GdF Suez told World Nuclear News that the purchase does indeed signal that GdF-Suez is "committed" to nuclear power.
GdF Suez has already agreed a 25% stake in the forthcoming EPR at Penly, while it has submitted a tender based on EPR to the government of the United Arab Emirates in partnership with Areva, EdF and Total. Furedi said that no technology choice has been made for any venture in the UK that could be made with Iberdrola and Scottish & Southern.
The biggest potential involvement GdF Suez could have would be a majority controlling stake in a new reactor with operating responsibility. Furedi said that the company was currently in talks with the French government, lobbying for that privilege.
Could GdF Suez take on all these projects at once? Yes, said Furedi, taking confidence from the existing base of nuclear expertise at Electrabel as well as subsidiaries which are already involved in French and Chinese EPR build projects. In addition, the company has been hiring over 100 young nuclear engineers in every one of the last four years.
La renaissance
Largely thanks to its government's unwavering commitment to nuclear, France is in a select group of countries that have identified sites, a certified reactor design and ready investors for new nuclear build. The only other nations where nuclear construction is so straight-forward are Russia and China. An announcement of another French EPR project could come next year, although the current financial slowdown combined with the eagerness of investors might prompt the government to speed up its plans.
Other big European utilities - one of them being EOn - would also like to take the lion's share of a new French EPR. Like GdF Suez, EOn would want to be able to take control and oversee construction and operation in detail when making such a large investment. The two are in contact concerning future EPRs.
All of France's current 58-reactor fleet is owned and operated by Electricté de France (EdF). This model is changing: Italy's Enel has 12.5% of Flamanville 3 and Penly 3 as well as a right for the same from the next three EdF projects. EdF will have 51% of Penly 3 with 25% going to GdF Suez and 8% to Total, with the destiny of the remaining few percent after Enel's share due to be announced in September.
