atw International Journal for Nuclear Power | 04.2020

atw Vol. 65 (2020) | Issue 4 ı April
Top
Foratom calls for the EU
to recognise nuclear
as a strategic industry
(foratom) Foratom welcomes the
European Commission’s goal of ensuring
Europe’s industry is fit for the
ambitions of today and prepared for
the realities of tomorrow, as outlined
in its Industrial Strategy published
yesterday. The European nuclear
industry stands ready to help Europe
achieve its goals in terms of providing
clean energy and maintaining Europe’s
competitiveness.
As highlighted in the Industrial
Strategy, one of the key challenges
ahead is ensuring that Europe’s
industry has access to a secure supply
of clean energy at a competitive
price. This is crucial for maintaining
Europe’s competitiveness.
“Nuclear energy can contribute to
making this a reality” states Yves
Desbazeille, FORATOM’s Director
General. “Not only is it low-carbon,
it is also flexible, dispatchable and
cost-effective”.
Indeed, nuclear energy is vital in
this respect as it can help:
p Maintain the competitiveness of
Europe’s industry as energy often
accounts for a significant share
of manufacturing costs,
p Decarbonise industry and thus
contribute towards the 2050
carbon neutrality target,
p Provide industry with the energy
it needs when it needs it, which
is particularly important for
processes which run 24/7,
p Other industries by offering alternative
sources of decarbonised
energy such as hydrogen and heat
(sector coupling).
The European nuclear industry also
contributes significantly to the EU’s
economy as it currently sustains
around 1 million jobs in the EU and
generates around € 450 billion in GDP
(Economic and Social Impact report,
Deloitte 2019. EU-27 & UK).
This is why it is essential that
EU decision-makers take steps to
| The Versatile Test Reactor can help Unlock the
Future of Carbon-Free Energy (Photo credit:
U.S. DOE)
support the nuclear sector’s important
role within the EU economy. This
includes a stable EU policy framework,
and one which encourages
investment in high-overnight costs,
low-carbon technologies. Significant
support to R&D and innovation as
well as increase funding for research
into both current and future nuclear
technologies such as SMRs, is also key
to prepare for the future, develop new
applications and breakthrough designs
and technologies.
| www.foratom.org (20791509)
Company News
Framatome opens new
research and operations center
and expands Intercontrôle
(framatome) Framatome held a
ceremonial ribbon-cutting event in
Cadarache, France, to mark the
opening of its new engineering
research and operations center and
the expansion of Intercontrôle, a
Framatome subsidiary that specializes
in automated non-destructive testing.
More than 100 customers, partners
and employees attended the celebration.
Framatome’s new engineering
research and operations center is
home to a multidisciplinary engineering
team responsible for carrying out
construction, safety reviews and
dismantling projects on behalf of the
French Alternative Energies and
Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)
and TechnicAtome. This team also
works on the ITER nuclear fusion
project, responsible for the Tokamak
installation as part of a consortium
with Chinese partners.
| www.framatome.com (20791519)
GNS takes over
Eisenwerk Bassum GmbH
(gns) On 21 February 2020 GNS
Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service mbH
took over 100 % of Eisenwerk Bassum
GmbH. The company with its 106
employees at the Bassum and Peenemünde
sites will continue to provide
the proven supplies and services as an
independent GmbH under the name
Eisenwerk Bassum. The management
has informed the staff about this in
works meetings at both locations.
The previous owners, Edda
Beckedorf and Hartmut Grunau, will
remain active in the company. In
future, the management will consist
of Hartmut Grunau as technical and
Georg Büth as commercial managing
director. “Eisenwerk Bassum GmbH
will be strengthened in view of the
numerous development and approval
procedures that are still required and
the ability to supply all customers
will be further secured,” explained
Hartmut Grunau on the occasion of
the signing of the contract. Our aim is
to continue the reliable cooperation
with all existing customers,” adds
Georg Büth, commercial managing director
of GNS and new member of the
management board of Eisenwerk Bassum.
"In addition, the internationalisation
of GNS will open up
opportunities for Eisenwerk Bassum
GmbH and all its employees to develop
further markets in Europe and
beyond.“
| www.gns.de (20791520)
Westinghouse eVinci Micro
reactor awarded funding
for Mobile Reactor Design
(westnuc) Westinghouse Electric
Company announced that its eVinci
micro reactor was awarded funding
from the U.S. Department of Defense’s
(DoD) Project Pele, a mobile nuclear
reactor prototyping program. The
funding will be used to finalize the
design for a prototype of Westinghouse’s
defense-eVinci (DeVinci)
mobile nuclear power plant (MNPP).
“We are honored to participate in this
strategically important program,” said
Patrick Fragman, President and
Chief Executive Officer, Westinghouse
Electric Company. “Mobile nuclear
reactors offer clean, flexible, and
reliable power for our customers. We
are now developing technology to
provide energy security for the
Department of Defense, bringing our
exciting concept to realization.”
Westinghouse’s eVinci micro reactor
is a next-generation, very small
modular reactor for decentralized
generation markets. The DoD’s mobile
nuclear reactor prototype project
expands upon the transportable capabilities
of the eVinci micro reactor by
allowing for operations via a mobile
platform utilizing standard military
transportation. The eVinci micro
reactor is designed to operate for
many years, eliminating the need for
frequent refueling. The innovative
passive safety features of the design
allow the reactor to operate and
achieve safe shutdown without the
need for additional controls, external
power source or operator intervention,
enabling highly autonomous
operation.
| www.westinghousenuclear.com
(20791522)
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