Rosatom signs raft of agreements at annual forum
Rosatom and its subsidiaries yesterday signed agreements with a number of governments, companies and universities during the IX AtomExpo International Forum it is hosting this week in Moscow.
The agreements included Memoranda of Understanding on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy with newcomer countries to the industry - Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda.
These agreements were signed by Rosatom deputy director-general Nikolay Spassky and, respectively, Afework Kassu Gizaw, the science and technology minister of Ethiopia, Yousif Hamza Yousif Abdullah, ministry of water resources, irrigation and electricity of Sudan, and Simon Giw D'Ujanga, the energy minister of Uganda.
Rosatom's nuclear fuel manufacturer TVEL signed a $30 million contract with the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) for the supply in late November-early December of a reserve batch of UTVS nuclear fuel for the first unit of the Bushehr nuclear power plant. The contract was signed by Oleg Grigoryev, senior vice-president for commerce and international business at JSC TVEL, and Mohammad Ahmadian, managing director for nuclear energy and development at the AEOI.
Rosatom and the OECD-Nuclear Energy Agency signed an agreement that envisages the translation into Russian of NEA documents. It was signed by Rosatom Director-General Alexey Likhachov and NEA Director-General William D. Magwood IV.
"Implementation of the agreement will enable Russian nuclear organisations to obtain permanent access to reference and analytical materials of the Agency," Rosatom said. "It will both enhance Russian nuclear companies' awareness of the Agency's activities and enable the Agency to use the potential of Russian experts more actively."
Companies
Likhachov also signed an MOU and "cooperation program" with Bernard Fontana, CEO of France's Areva NP. These documents aim to further develop cooperation between the two companies in fuel fabrication, automated process control systems, as well as maintenance of equipment and machinery for nuclear power plants, Rosatom said.
Kirill Komarov, first deputy director-general for international business at Rosatom, and Peter Csiba, chairman and CEO of Hungary's MVM Ltd, signed an MOU aimed at strengthening the companies' cooperation in the maintenance, service and fuel supply of the Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary.
Rosatom said the two sides also wish to cooperate in nuclear power plant development both in Russia and third countries, enhance their nuclear education and training activities and further advance common projects in research and development. In addition, they are seeking joint projects in renewable energy in the Central East European and Balkan regions.
Rusatom Service and MVM Paks NPP signed a two-year contract for consulting services on technical support and scheduled maintenance work on the plant's main circulating pumps. It was signed by Rusatom Service General Director Yevgeny Salkov, Paks NPP CEO Istvan Khamvash and Paks NPP Deputy Technical Director Geza Pekarik.
Alexander Merten, president of Rusatom International Network, and Igor Tarasov, chairman of the board of the Kazakhstan's ANTARES Group, signed an MOU on strategic cooperation. The companies plan to work together on projects covering the construction of small-scale hydro power facilities and the use of nuclear power in the medical and agricultural sectors, as well as cooperation in the supply of isotope products to Kazakhstan.
Merten also signed an MOU on cooperation with Denis Ivanov, deputy chairman of International Investment Bank. The agreement covers "joint assistance" in implementing Rosatom's projects in the high-tech, renewable energy, nuclear medicine, radiation technology applications, and the construction and maintenance of nuclear power plants, among other areas. According to the MOU, the two sides are interested in establishing bilateral cooperation in Bulgaria, Hungary, Vietnam, Cuba, Mongolia, Russia, Romania, the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic.
ASE Group, Rosatom's engineering subsidiary, and Russia's National Research Nuclear University (MEPhI) signed an agreement on educational, scientific and technical cooperation. It was signed by ASE president Valery Limarenko and MEPhI rector Mikhail Strikhanov. Their cooperation will focus in particular on digital technologies, Limarenko said.
Limarenko also signed an MOU on strategic cooperation with Russian construction company Hilti to develop digital solutions to enhance the design and implementation of projects in the nuclear power industry, and with Russian State Expert Examination Board (Glavgosexpertiza), on cooperation in the application of digital end-to-end modelling technologies.
Gazprombank and VetroOGK, another Rosatom subsidiary, signed a ten-year RUB63.1 billion loan agreement on funding the corporation's wind farm construction project. Rosatom said it aims to commission 970 MWe of wind power capacity by the end of 2022.
Lagerwey of the Netherlands and OTEK, another Rosatom subsidiary, have signed licence agreement for Lagerwey wind turbine technology. Rosatom said the document "forms the basis for creating a professional and innovative wind industry in Russia". The two companies plan to announce a joint venture later this summer, it added.
ASE Group also signed an MOU with software developer SAP on cooperation in the life-cycle management of nuclear power facilities. Rosatom said the partnership will create a Competence Centre for Automation of Engineering Activities. This will introduce technologies such as Big Data analytics into the capital construction of nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities, it added.
Universities
Rosatom Latin America and the Higher University of San Andres (Bolivia) signed an MOU on cooperation. Rosatom said the document will "open up diverse opportunities for Bolivian students to gain extensive experience in the field of peaceful non-energy applications of nuclear energy and to communicate the benefits of modern nuclear technologies for the needs of the Bolivian population in agriculture, medicine, industry etc." The university also signed an agreement to work with MEPhI.
Rusatom International Network and Saint Petersburg State University signed an MOU on cooperation in fostering public acceptance of nuclear energy abroad, including sharing information on the advantages of Russian nuclear technologies.
The company also signed an MOU on cooperation with the University of Debrecen (Hungary) that will include student exchange programs with Russian technical higher education institutions.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
