France will supply nuclear fuel to India’s Jaitapur nuclear power project

• 6 years ago (2018-03-14)
• David Flin

Asia 846 Nuclear 639

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EDF has said that it hopes the terms of the deal to build an EPR nuclear power plant in Jaitapur, India will be finalised by December 2018. EDF and Nuclear Power Corporation of India have signed an Industrial Way Forward Agreement to develop the power plant.

Jean-Bernard Levy, Chairman and CEO of EDF Group, said: “The French Government is supporting EDF with some financing, and also by giving some assurance regarding fuel delivery so that India will have what it needs to burn in a reactor when it is needed.”

It has not yet been confirmed what components of the Jaitapur project will be developed by EDF. Levy also said that France will supply nuclear fuel to India if the latter is unable to source it to run the proposed 9.6 GW project. He said that while India is sufficiently capable of sourcing fuel on its own, there will also be support from the French. He said: “What we have requested from the French Government is that considering their ability to source uranium, there will be a sort of back-up from France in order to support India in its sourcing policy.”

With regard to the EPR technology, Levy said that although there are no operational reactors yet using it, it was a sound technology. He said: “This technology has been acquired by four countries – China, Finland, France, and the UK. India will be the fifth to adopt this technology. Those in China and France are very close to initiating operations.”