NPCIL SIGNS KEY DEAL WITH FRANCE’S EDF
Six EPR reactors will be installed in Maharashtra’s Jaitapur
The government-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) has signed an Industrial Way Forward Agreement with French power major EDF to make six EPR reactors operational at Jaitapur in Maharashtra.
In addition to the framework agreement with NPCIL, EDF has signed two cooperation deals with French and Indian industrial players, laying the operational foundations for the Jaitapur project.
The French power giant has entered into a deal with Assystem, Egis, Reliance and Bouygues to install a training platform as part of the Jaitapur project. Under the terms, the five companies will define the rules of collaboration, poised to work as a joint venture (JV).
EDF will hold 51 per cent stake in the JV and will look after the project's engineering integration. The aim is to reinforce the project's competitiveness and ensure increasing participation from local companies.
The second agreement, signed with Larsen & Toubro, AFCEN and Bureau Veritas, entails the setting up of a training centre for the design and construction of equipment that maintains the required standard for the nuclear industry.
Local companies will be trained on the technical standards for manufacturing equipment. Jaitapur is set to be the biggest nuclear project in the world, with a total planned power capacity of about 10 GW. The agreement defines the project’s industrial framework, the roles and responsibilities of the partners, and a planned timetable for the next steps.
EDF will act as supplier of the EPR technology. It will conduct the engineering studies and procure components for the first two reactors. The jobs will be assigned to local companies for the remaining four units.The French major will share its experience in the construction of EPR reactors with NPCIL. In its capacity as owner and future operator of the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant, NPCIL would be responsible for obtaining authorisations required in India, and to construct all six reactors and site infrastructures. EDF and its industrial partners will assist NPCIL in the construction process.
This industrial framework agreement has secured the clearance in India. It will open up opportunities for future partnerships with other French power companies. The project is poised to be developed in line with “Make in India” and “Skill India”, with ever-increasing participation of local companies.
The framework agreement allows EDF to submit a preliminary tender in weeks following its signature, with the objective of coming up with a binding tender for the company towards the end of 2018.
Jean-Bernard Lévy, EDF Chairman and chief executive officer said, “The industrial agreement just signed with NPCIL marks a decisive step in the development of the Jaitapur nuclear project, meaning we can now envisage, with confidence, the rest of this essential project for India and for EDF. We are proud to support the Indian government in its objective of achieving an energy mix that is 40 per cent carbon-free in 2030. Our presence in India, already tangible in the areas of renewable energies and smart city, is a perfect illustration of our CAP-2030 strategy, which aims to develop a lowcarbon mix and innovative energy services for urban and rural areas."
Jaitapur is the flagship project of India-France nuclear collaboration.
Acting as head of the French nuclear power sector, EDF entered into exclusive negotiations with NPCIL in 2016 and in the same year it issued its first technical-commercial proposal for the construction of six EPRs.
EPR reactors — with a generating capacity of 1,600 MW per unit — are suitable for a country undergoing rapid growth and equipped with a mature electricity system such as in India.