Luc Rémont, CEO of the EDF group, mentions investment needs of 25 billion euros per year in the years to come. The electrician, who already has a lot to do in the country, also wants to continue his activities abroad. Around a fifth of this sum will go towards projects abroad, he affirmed, in July 2023, to the Economic Affairs Committee of the National Assembly. For comparison, the company had invested 16.4 billion euros in 2022. When contacted, it did not detail the breakdown between its French projects and those outside the borders.
At first glance, the international strategy may seem expensive. In January, EDF announced a new setback for the two EPR nuclear reactors under construction at Hinkley Point C, in the south of England. After the first concrete in 2018, entry into production is now planned for 2029 at best, four years later than planned. Who says new delay, says new additional costs. The construction cost for the two units is now estimated by the company in “a range between £31 billion and £34 billion”depending on the value of this currency in 2015. Or between 38 billion and 41.8 billion euros for the French group, the main contributor ahead of the Chinese CGN.
Nothing to put off EDF, which already operates nine reactors in the United Kingdom. In the summer of 2022, the company has already obtained an agreement to build two other new reactors: it will share the costs of the Sizewell C project with the British government.
At least one reactor per year
The electrician is also prospecting elsewhere in Europe, wishing to take advantage of the renewed interest around the atom. In the Czech Republic, it is still in the running in a call for tenders for four new nuclear reactors, in competition with South Korea’s KHNP. As was confirmed on January 31, the Czech government has already dismissed the American Westinghouse, who had been chosen in 2022 by Poland.
Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy: for EDF, all these countries could also give rise to new projects, more or less advanced. The company also formalized, in November 2023, during the World Civil Nuclear Exhibition, cooperation agreements with Canadian and Indian partners. After more than a decade of negotiations, she is still waiting “a next decision” from India on the Jaitapur megaproject.
Luc Rémont wants to expand his order book, as if to stimulate a sector that has remained without prospects for a long time. “We are counting on an accelerated pace of construction capacity for large reactors”he declared, quoted by AFP, at the end of 2023. The leader intends “gradually rise” at least one reactor per year. A challenge, knowing that the Flamanville EPR project (Manche), in France, has now been going on for… more than sixteen years.
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