French economy and trade minister Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday his country will continue to invest in nuclear energy, including providing support for utility EDF’s plan to build a nuclear plant in the UK, despite delays on existing projects and a reorganization of the French state-controlled industry. Macron, speaking at the World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris, acknowledged that the French effort in the 1990s to combine its reactor design businesses and fuel cycle businesses into a single state-controlled company, Areva, was ultimately a failure. The company is being broken up, with Areva’s reactor business being sold to EDF and a “new” Areva being formed to hold the company’s mining, enrichment and other fuel cycle businesses. The government will invest Eur5 billion ($5 billion) in Areva, he said, and is seeking minority partners who would invest in both Areva and EDF. The state plans to invest in EDF as well, officials have said.
Platts 28th June 2016 read more »