Rosatom Targets U.K. Nuclear Sector

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - Russian nuclear giant, Rosatom, has set its sights on the busy U.K. nuclear power market with plans to submit its VVER pressurised water reactors for assessment by the country's nuclear authorities.

Partnering with Finland's Fortum Oyj (HEL:FUM1V) (Espoo, Finland) and Rolls Royce the Russian state-owned nuclear company hopes to makes its 'Generation III+ VVER' nuclear reactor technology eligible to compete for the U.K.'s forthcoming new nuclear projects.

Rolls-Royce will undertake engineering and safety assessment work for Rosatom ahead of its VVER reactor technology entering the first step of the U.K.'s formal regulatory approval process, known as Generic Design Assessment (GDA). The alliance was backed by an memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the U.K.'s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and Rosatom.

"I welcome the partnership between the U.K. and Russia on civil nuclear cooperation," stated U.K. Business and Energy Minister, Michael Fallon. "Russian and British companies already play a significant part in the global nuclear industry and are, therefore, well placed to cooperate in civil nuclear programmes in third countries for mutual commercial benefits. I also welcome the agreements between Rolls-Royce, Rosatom and Fortum to collaborate further on civil nuclear. Inward investment into our energy sector will depend upon all reactor technologies meeting the stringent and independent regulatory standards required in the UK and E.U.."

"In this project our role and contribution is to support the work by bringing on board our nuclear competence in various areas such as safety and waste management on commercial terms," said Matti Ruotsala, Executive Vice President of Fortum Corporation. "We see the nuclear programme in the U.K. as a really interesting opportunity to utilise our wide expertise."

Earlier this year, Japanese nuclear reactor manufacturer, Hitachi Limited (OTC:HTHIY) (Tokyo, Japan) announced that its Advanced Boiling Water Reactor was to undergo Generic Design Assessment (GDA) before the company can move ahead with plans to build up to six new nuclear reactors in the U.K.. For additional information, see January 21, 2013, article - Hitachi Reactor to Enter U.K. Testing.

Hitachi entered the new nuclear build race in October 2012 when it bought the Horizon Nuclear Power joint venture for €863 million ($1.1 billion). For additional information, see October 31, 2012 article - RWE and E.ON Sell U.K. Nuclear Venture.

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