France’s state-controlled utility and nuclear plant operator EDF aims to unveil a new, cheaper-to-build version of its EPR reactor technology by mid-2021, the company said on Thursday.
EDF said that the next generation EPR, known as the EPR 2, would benefit from a reduction in preparatory studies leading to significant cost reductions.
The company said it was also planning on bringing in new oversight measures for its major projects, after a government audit last year highlighted planning deficiencies and poor coordination at some sites.
The audit pointed to several issues besetting the wider French nuclear industry, including a lack of specific skills at EDF, poor project management and problems the group has had in integrating the nuclear business of its failed competitor Areva.
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