US-Chinese valve joint venture finalized

Tuesday, 20 April 2010

This article has been updated to include details of a further Chinese contract awarded to Flowserve, this time for valves for use in the first two EPRs at Taishan.

 

Flowserve of the USA has finalized its joint venture agreement with China's SUFA Technology Industry Co Ltd to produce safety-related valves, one of the few component areas lacking in the Chinese supply chain.

 

A valve for nuclear power plant applications (Image: Flowserve)

In March 2009, Flowserve and SUFA - a subsidiary of China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) and the largest valve manufacturer in China - agreed to form the joint venture called SUFA-Flowserve Nuclear Power Equipment Co Ltd. The new firm was to be based in Suzhou, Jiangsu province and 51% owned by SUFA and 49% by Flowserve. That agreement formalized a memorandum of understanding signed between Flowserve and SUFA in November 2007.

 

In a statement, Flowserve said, "Since the initial announcement, both parties have been actively working to complete the amendment, which has now been finalized and clarifies the path forward for the joint venture."

 

The two partners have now signed the amendment to the joint venture agreement, under which SUFA's ownership share will be increased to 55%, while Flowserve will take 45%.

 

As part of the agreement, both companies will supply nuclear power industry valve technology and jointly construct a manufacturing facility. The joint venture will manufacture safety-related valves, including main steam isolation valves (MSIVs), exclusively for China's nuclear power industry. MSIVs are used to assist in the safe shutdown of a reactor in the unlikely event of a rupture in the plant's main steam piping.

 

Jiangang Qiu, vice president of CNNC and chairman of SUFA, commented: "This amendment will satisfy the Chinese government's nuclear power development strategy, and will make this joint venture a successful nuclear valve manufacturer in China."

 

Taishan contract for Flowserve   Flowserve announced that it has also been awarded a contract by SNPEC to supply safety-related valves for units 1 and 2 of the Taishan nuclear power plant under construction in Guangdong province.   Under the contract, Flowserve will supply the MSIVs, the main feedwater isolation valves (MFIVs) and the feedwater motor-operated valves for the units.   Taishan 1 and 2 are the first two reactors based on Areva's EPR technology to b built in China. They are due to start operating in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Last month, Flowserve announced an order worth over $15 million from China's State Nuclear Power Engineering Company Ltd (SNPEC) for valves and actuators for the Sanmen and Haiyang unit 2 Westinghouse AP1000 reactors. This order follows various others placed with the company by Westinghouse for valves for the Chinese plants, the most recent being orders for motor-operated valves for Sanmen and Haiyang unit 1 placed at the end of 2008.

 

In October 2009, Flowserve was awarded a "multi-million dollar" order from Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) for the MSIVs and feedwater isolation valves for units 3 and 4 of its Shin-Kori nuclear power plant. The units are the first to be constructed using KHNP's new APR-1400 reactor design.

 

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News