AREVA and China strengthen links

CHINA - During the State Visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to China, Qian Zhimin, Chairman of CGNPC (China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp.) and Anne Lauvergeon, CEO of AREVA, signed a historic agreement for the nuclear power industry.

The record contract, worth 8 billion euros, is unprecedented in the world nuclear market.

Through a series of agreements, AREVA, in conjunction with CGNPC, will build two new generation EPR reactors and will provide all the materials and services required to operate them.

The agreements mark the start of a global and sustainable cooperation. An engineering joint venture will shortly be created.

In the same spirit, the two chairmen signed an agreement under which CGNPC has agreed to buy 35% of the production of UraMin.

The EPR will be built in Taishan in Guangdong province.

This partnership confirms the lead taken by the EPR on the new generation reactor market (following Finland and France, China will be home to the third and fourth EPR to be built in the world).

At the same time, an agreement has been signed between China and France opening the way to industrial cooperation in the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle.

Under this agreement, Kang Rixin, Chairman of CNNC (China National Nuclear Corporation) and the AREVA CEO have agreed to undertake feasibility studies related to the construction of a spent fuel reprocessing-recycling plant in China. They have also created a joint venture in the area of zirconium.

The agreement illustrates yet again the relevance of the AREVA groupÂ’s industrial model, which enables integrated offerings across the entire nuclear cycle.

Following the signing ceremony held in the presence of the French and Chinese heads of state, Anne Lauvergeon said that: “A new era is opening in the durable and constructive nuclear energy partnership between our two countries. This partnership represents a major step in the history of the AREVA group. It is the largest international commercial contract ever won by the French nuclear industry. It reaffirms our global nuclear leadership and reinforces our presence in one of the most promising markets for the decades to come. I am particularly pleased that this agreement also opens the way for a new cooperation between CGNPC and EDF.”