France’s state nuclear power company EDF is ready to support Kazakhstan as the central Asian country prepares for the construction of its first commercial nuclear power station, but faces competition from other reactor suppliers including Russia.
Vakisasai Ramany, senior vice-president for development of new nuclear projects and engineering at EDF, said he had met Kazakhstan’s energy minister Bolat Akchulakov and energy vice-minister Zhandos Nurmaganbetov to discuss “the perspectives of the cooperation in the civil nuclear domain between Kazakhstan and France, for the development of their nuclear power plant programme.
“EDF is strongly committed to bringing its state-of-the-art EPR1200 technology, its competences, skills and dedication to support [project company] Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants for the construction and safe operation of its future nuclear power plants in the spirit of a long-term partnership,” Ramany wrote on social media.
EDF’s Generation III+ EPR1200 technology is a smaller version of the large-scale EPR1650-MW nuclear plant. EDF is also proposing the EPR1200 for new build in other countries such as Slovenia and the Czech Republic.
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