VUJE Becomes Part of European Company to Support Nuclear Projects

Bratislava, June 21 (TASR) - French company Assystem, Slovakia's Nuclear Energy Research Institute (VUJE) and Spain's IDOM have signed a protocol on forming a joint venture called NUCEAL - NUClear Engineering Alliance, VUJE reported on Wednesday. NUCEAL aims to support the nuclear programmes of Electricite de France (EDF), which the power utility is developing or will develop in the European Union. "We're proud to have become part of a European solution for implementing small modular reactors and advanced nuclear technologies. The joint venture will allow us to use VUJE's experience in the field of putting new nuclear sources into use. Our common ambition is to become an important provider of engineering services and, in particular, services in the field of nuclear safety for newly built nuclear power plants," stated VUJE director Matej Korec on the occasion of signing the cooperation deal. As a result, NUCEAL currently has more than 12,000 employees within the EU with expertise and skills in the field of nuclear energy. EDF is working on large nuclear power plant projects in France, the United Kingdom and other European countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. All three companies, Assystem, VUJE and IDOM, are bringing their own specialisations to the NUCEAL joint venture. Assystem has been implementing nuclear programmes for over 55 years, supporting the design, construction and operation of power plants in France, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Finland, China and the United Arab Emirates. Among other things, IDOM has experience in the entire life cycle of nuclear energy and electricity generation, and over the past 65 years it's worked on projects in 125 countries, of which 32 were in the nuclear sector. VUJE brings to the group an experienced team of technical experts with experience in developing nuclear energy in central and eastern Europe and skills in the field of transmission and distribution technology. Assystem has a 60-percent share in the joint venture, while IDOM and VUJE hold 20 percent each. am/df