- The cooperation agreement could be extended to international EPR projects.
Paris, April 9th, 2010 - Thanks to the efforts of Fulvio Conti, Enel CEO and General Manager, Henri Proglio, EDF Chairman and CEO, and Pier Francesco Guarguaglini Finmeccanica Chairman and CEO, Enel, EDF and the Finmeccanica companies Ansaldo Energia and Ansaldo Nucleare, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Paris on the occasion of the Fifth French-Italian Dialogue Forum, chaired by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The objective of the agreement is to specify areas of potential cooperation between Enel-EDF and Ansaldo Energia which holds 100% of Ansaldo Nucleare in the development and construction of at least four EPRs (Evolutionary Pressurised Reactor) that Enel and EDF, with Areva technology, intend to build in Italy. Enel and EDF will act as investors and architect engineers, with overall responsibility for the project management, design as well as construction and commissioning. They will intend to benefit from the experience of Ansaldo both in the study, design and commissioning activities of nuclear systems and for the licensing process.
In addition, Ansaldo Energia will participate in the qualification and tender process carried out by Enel and EDF for the supply of equipment, installation and engineering systems (packages).
The agreement, which has minimum duration of five years, leverages on the existing expertise of Ansaldo Energia in the nuclear power sector and sets out the scope for the future development of the company in this area, along with the construction of the Enel and EDF plants in Italy.
As envisaged in the agreement, Finmeccanica has undertaken to support Ansaldo Energia in the qualification process and in developing the activities with the necessary investments both in terms of production lines and human resources.
The agreement and the related qualification activities will also enable Ansaldo Energia and Ansaldo Nucleare, following the launch of a qualification process by Enel and EDF, to participate in the tenders for the engineering and supply activities of numerous EPR projects of EDF out of Italy.
This key agreement is a concrete first step towards maximising the involvement of the Italian industry in the construction of the nuclear power plants that Enel and EDF plan to build in Italy.
The nuclear renaissance is a worldwide trend: at present, there are as many as 55 new nuclear power plants under construction, based upon different technologies, in 14 different countries. These new facilities will add more than 50,000 MW to the existing installed nuclear generation capacity. Many other projects are also under development.
About Enel
Enel is Italys largest power company, and Europes second listed utility by installed capacity. It is an integrated player which produces, distributes and sells electricity and gas. After the acquisition of the Spanish utility Endesa, Enel is now present in 23 countries with over 96,000 MW and serves 60.8 million power and gas customers. Listed on the Milan stock exchange since 1999, Enel is the Italian company with the highest number of shareholders, some 1.2 million retail and institutional investors, in 2008. Enel is also the second-largest Italian operator in the natural gas market, with approximately 2.7 million customers and a 10% market share in terms of volumes.
About EDF
The EDF Group, one of the leaders in the energy market in Europe, is an integrated energy company active in all businesses: generation, transmission, distribution, energy supply and trading. The Group is the leading electricity producer in Europe. In France, it has mainly nuclear and hydraulic production facilities where 95% of the electricity output involves no CO2 emissions. EDFs transport and distribution subsidiaries in France operate 1,285,000 km of low and medium voltage overhead and underground electricity lines and around 100,000 km of high and very high voltage networks. The Group is involved in supplying energy and services to around 38 million customers around the world, including close to 28 million in France. The Group generated consolidated sales of 66.3 billion in 2009, of which 49% in Europe excluding France. EDF is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange and is a member of the CAC 40 index.
Press contacts
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EDF
Carole Trivi Tel. + 33 1 40 42 44 19