March 8 (Reuters) – Russian group Rosatom is set to acquire a 20% stake in GEAST, the maker of the Arabelle turbine for nuclear power plants, Le Figaro reported on its website on Tuesday, citing a French government source and saying that EDF would hold the rest of the capital.
While the European Union has taken a range of sanctions against Russia since the latter launched an offensive in Ukraine on February 24, the Russian energy sector has so far not been targeted by the community block. The 27, however, plan to reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
“As long as the sanctions against Russia do not concern nuclear power, the arrival of Rosatom in the capital of GEAST remains relevant,” a government source told the newspaper.
According to Le Figaro, a shareholding pact has already been approved by Rosatom and EDF, which announced last month that it had signed an exclusivity agreement with General Electric relating in particular to the acquisition of the turbine production activity. Arabelle steam generator for nuclear power plants, in Belfort.
(Written by Jean Terzian)