DCNS Signs Nuclear Deal with Chinese Firm

By pierre tran

22 Apr 2009 14:17

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=405...c=ASI&s=TOP

Paris - DCNS has signed a contract for an undisclosed amount with China Nuclear Power Engineering Co. (CNPEC) for the supply of 14 heat exchangers for two civil European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) power plants being built by the Chinese authorities, the naval systems company said April 22 in a statement.

A DCNS spokesman declined to give the value of the contract. The deal would bring 100,000 hours of work, mainly for the Nantes site in northwestern France, with some also for the nearby Cherbourg facility of DCNS.

"This latest contract is a further endorsement of the Group's strategic choices, and its commitment to pursue development by promoting its industrial know-how and resources in the fast-growing civil nuclear sector," the company statement said.

DCNS would draw on industrial and engineering resources developed from the design and production of nuclear-powered warships, the company said. The company was prime contractor for the Charles de Gaulle nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which entered service in 2000.

Deliveries are due to begin in autumn 2010, with a last shipment in late 2011.

The deal involves design, production engineering, fabrication, machining, assembly and inspection, and quality control, DCNS said.

The European Pressurized Reactor is a third-generation nuclear power plant developed by the French state-owned company Areva and Siemens of Germany. Finland has bought an EPR plant, but has run into delays.