GE creates New Energy Ventures
General Electric has created a New Energy Ventures business unit for all its low-carbon technologies and placed its former head of nuclear energy at its head. The move places nuclear power at the centre of GE's future energy vision.
General Electric has created a New Energy Ventures business unit for all its low-carbon technologies and placed its former chief of nuclear energy at its head.
Andy White has already taken the reins of the new department, meant to rationalise and speed the development of non-carbon technologies. White was previously president and CEO of GE's nuclear energy division and is credited with guiding the company through the formation of the GE-Hitachi partnership and enhancing nuclear power's standing within GE, the second-biggest company in the world. It was under White's leadership that GE agreed to develop laser uranium enrichment technology with Australia's Silex, and bid very hard to buy rival reactor vendor Westinghouse.
White said he would continue to be heavily involved in nuclear power, remaining on the Nuclear Energy Institute's Executive Committee and becoming chairman of the World Nuclear Association (WNA) in early April.
WNA director general John Ritch said, "With his new and broader portfolio, we are even more delighted that Andy will soon take the reins as WNA chairman." Ritch added that GE's CEO Jeffrey Immelt is positioning GE to play a leading technological role in the "worldwide clean energy revolution" and that White's promotion is "clearly based on the premise that advanced nuclear power stands at the centre of GE's vision of a clean-energy future."
Jack Fuller has taken over as president and CEO of GE's nuclear energy business. Fuller formerly led integration activities at the Global Nuclear Fuels alliance between GE, Toshiba and Hitachi.
