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June Newsletter No212

The considerable political and economic uncertainties caused by the European Brexit referendum result mean that the UK nuclear energy industry is in for a turbulent time, no matter how hard those responsible for the country’s new build reactor programme try to play down the significance.


Russia And France Are Discussing Nuclear Cooperation, Says Rosatom

Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom is seeing “considerable interest” from French companies in cooperating on Rosatom projects abroad, the director of the company’s international business department Nikolay Drozdov told a workshop on Russian-French cooperation in nuclear energy in Paris.


EDF and MHI consider collaboration

French utility EDF and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) have today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for collaboration in civil nuclear power, including MHI taking a stake in Areva NP and joint development of the Atmea reactor design. The MOU was signed today in Paris by EDF ...


France’s Regulator Says 18 EDF Steam Generators May Have Anomaly

Some primary bottom heads of steam generators installed at 18 of EDF’s 58 reactors in France could have a significant carbon concentration similar to the anomaly found on the reactor pressure vessel at the company’s Flamanville-3 EPR under construction in northern France, French nuclear safety authority ASN said.


Areva outlines restructuring plan

France’s Areva today presented plans for the sale of a majority stake of its reactor business to EDF and a restructuring through the creation of a new company focused on the nuclear fuel cycle. The process is expected to be completed next year. In late July 2015, EDF ...


May Newsletter No212

Selling the crown jewels is a term used to describe the action of companies selling off key assets to friendly third parties or spinning them off into separate entities as a defence against unwelcome takeover bids.


April Newsletter No211

A FARCE WORTHY OF FEYDEAU Politicians at daggers drawn. A furious French President banging heads together. A major nuclear power station building project thrown into doubt. A “flamboyant” executive in denial, insisting that all will come right in the end.. Rebellious workers warning their bosses that they could ...


International support for rehabilitation of Chernobyl site

A crucial project at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant can now proceed to its final stages thanks to additional pledges by the international donor community at a conference in Kiev yesterday. On the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Donald Tusk.


James Fisher Nuclear Ltd

James Fisher Nuclear Ltd has been awarded a four year contract by Magnox to deliver a facility for the remote segmentation and packaging of the reactor core of the redundant Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactor located at Winfrith in Dorset. This will be one of the largest value ...


Chernobyl 30 Years On: Key Remediation And Safety Projects Are ‘On Track’

Thirty years after the accident at Chernobyl, key remediation and safety projects at the site in Ukraine are on track. Construction of the vital €1.5bn ($1.6bn) New Safe Confinement is almost finished with commissioning scheduled for November 2017.


German Minister Urges Belgium To Shut Down Reactors For ‘Further Investigation’

Germany’s environment minister has asked Belgium to take its Tihange-2 and Doel-3 pressurised water reactor (PWR) units offline for further investigations into their safety, the German federal ministry for the environment, nature conservation, building and nuclear safety (BMUB) said in a statement.


UK capable of producing Westinghouse SMR vessel

The UK has the capabilities to produce the reactor pressure vessel for Westinghouse’s small modular reactor (SMR) design, according to an independent assessment by the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC).


EDF Energy CEO Warns Of ‘Dire’ Situation For Electricity Generators

Key components of the UK’s electricity market reform package need to be improved because of the “challenging” context of very low and falling electricity prices for generators, EDF Energy chief executive officer Vincent de Rivaz told a conference in London.


European Parliament Wants More Information On Schedule And Cost For Iter

The European Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee has recommended postponing the granting of the 2014 budget discharge of Fusion for Energy (F4E), the EU agency providing the European contribution to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter) project, F4E said.


March Newsletter No210

Sellafield’s other legacies. We might not have a United Kingdom or be preparing to vote on whether to stay in the European Community if it was not for the Sellafield nuclear site in West Cumbria.


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