EPR 1200: EDF submits its offer in the Czech Republic

As part of the tender process, EDF has submitted to the Czech operator ČEZ its updated offer for the construction of an EPR1200 reactor at the Dukovany site. The French electric utility company also proposes up to three additional units distributed over the country’s two power plants.

EDF announced the submission of its updated offer to ČEZ and its subsidiary Elektrárna Dukovany II. This update follows an initial offer in December 2022, which “results from several months of discussions within the tender process,” the company communicated.

The formal offer covers the provision of engineering, procurement, construction, and industrial commissioning services for an EPR1200 reactor at the Dukovany site (Dukovany 5), as well as the supply of fuel assemblies. In addition, two indicative proposals are related to the support of the development of a reactor fleet with three additional units (Dukovany 6, Temelín 3 and 4).

This is a fully integrated offer concerning design, engineering, construction, industrial commissioning, training, support for certification activities, and the necessary technical support during the pre-operation and operation phases. Furthermore, EDF proposes to be the single point of integration for the EPR1200 and the execution of the project, relying on its historic partners such as Framatome, GE Steam Power, and Bouygues Travaux Publics.

A Europe-based Activity

The strength of the French offer also lies in the ability to localize activity in Europe. EDF deploys a strategy to “identify in detail the companies likely to be selected as suppliers for this project. To date, nearly 300 Czech companies have been identified, and about 90 of them have already been prequalified,” details the press release. This is progress compared to December 2022, when EDF already announced 200 identified companies, of which 70 were prequalified.

Furthermore, EDF plans to expand the scope of EDF Nuclear Czechia division, created in June 2022 in Prague, “to coordinate the efforts carried out locally to achieve successful and long-term cooperation with ČEZ and the Czech industry.”

The EPR Community

“As the only seller and constructor of third-generation nuclear technology in Europe, we are convinced that the long-term strategic and industrial European partnership we propose will set a precedent for our continent and can become the pivot of a more resilient and independent European nuclear industry,” argued Luc Rémont, Chairman and CEO of EDF Group. “By joining the European EPR community, the Czech Republic will benefit from a significant fleet effect and multiple industrial synergies between current and future nuclear programs in France, the United Kingdom, and beyond. I am convinced that the partnership between ČEZ and EDF will strengthen our shared vision of European nuclear operators committed to Europe’s energy independence and carbon neutrality.”

Nuclear power in the Czech Republic accounts for nearly a third of the national electrical production, with six reactors spread over two power plants, producing an annual output of 30 TWh (2021). The Dukovany nuclear power plant, located in the Vysočina region, has four VVER 440 MWe reactors commissioned in the 1980s, and the Temelín nuclear power plant in South Bohemia, has two VVER 1080 MWe reactors commissioned in the early 2000s. ■

Gaïc Le Gros (Sfen)

Photo: Dukovany nuclear power plant ©CEZ