GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Tata Consulting Engineers Exploring Potential Design and Workforce Development Opportunities for New Reactor Projects

Preliminary Agreement Sets Stage for Future ESBWR Engineering Collaboration

WILMINGTON, N.C.—August 17, 2010—GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) today announced it has signed a preliminary agreement with India’s Tata Consulting Engineers, Ltd. (TCE) to explore potential project design and workforce development opportunities in support of GEH’s future nuclear projects in India and around the world.

As GEH prepares for potential ESBWR projects in India and other countries planning to build new reactors, the agreement sets the stage for the companies to collaborate in areas such as workforce skills identification and development, as well as early feasibility design studies, product and project engineering work.

India’s government has identified two possible sites for a potential new station featuring multiple reactors based on GEH’s 1,520-megawatt (MW) ESBWR model. The sites are located in the western state of Gujarat and southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

India currently has 19 reactors that generate a combined 4,560 MWe but plans to expand its installed nuclear generating capacity to 20,000 MWe by 2020 and to 63,000 MW by 2032.

Mumbai-based TCE is a subsidiary of the Indian industrial conglomerate the Tata Group and is one of India’s leading engineering consulting firms with a wide range of international experience in a wide range of power plant, water, transportation, chemical, manufacturing and other infrastructure projects.

“As India prepares to build new reactor projects, TCE is doing its part by working with experienced nuclear industry companies like GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to help ensure that India has the necessary project resources in place to build and operate new nuclear reactors,” said R. Srinivasan, CEO and managing director of TCE.

The agreement helps create the foundation for leveraging India’s domestic engineering capabilities while supporting domestic employment opportunities. It also would enable GEH to increase the local content of its ESBWR product offering for its customer, state-owned utility Nuclear Power Corporation of India, Ltd. (NPCIL).

“We are excited at the prospect of working with TCE on our future ESBWR projects. TCE has the proven engineering and industrial expertise to support the broad infrastructure requirements of nuclear power plant projects,” said Danny Roderick, GEH’s senior vice president for nuclear plant projects.

General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), one of GEH’s parent companies, designed and helped build India’s first nuclear power plant in Tarapur during the 1960s and today, after more than 40 years, the GE BWR reactor at the Tarapur plant, now owned and operated by NPCIL, is among the most reliable operating reactors in India. In 2008, the U.S. and Indian governments signed an agreement to lift the ban on U.S. nuclear exports to India.

Since 2008, GEH has been building its local supplier network in India to complement the company’s global project supply chain while it explores opportunities for new reactor projects as well as providing fuel and other services to existing and new nuclear power plants.

In addition to TCE, GEH also has signed preliminary project development agreements with NPCIL, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro Limited.

GEH’s 1,520-MWe ESBWR design is Generation III+ technology that offers utilities the world’s most advanced passive safety features and a simplified building design, making the ESBWR safer and more cost-effective to build and operate than existing reactor models.

Nuclear energy is important in GEH’s long-standing ties with India. Today, GE’s global businesses participate in a wide range of manufacturing, services and technology sectors in India, as GE seeks to be a partner in the nation’s economic growth.

About GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
Based in Wilmington, N.C., GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) is a world-leading provider of advanced reactors and nuclear services. Established in June 2007, GEH is a global nuclear alliance created by GE and Hitachi to serve the global nuclear industry. The nuclear alliance executes a single, strategic vision to create a broader portfolio of solutions, expanding its capabilities for new reactor and service opportunities. The alliance offers customers around the world the technological leadership required to effectively enhance reactor performance, power output and safety.

For more information, contact:
Michael Tetuan
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
+1 910 819 7055
michael.tetuan@ge.com

Tom Murnane or Howard Masto
Masto Public Relations
+1 518 786 6488
tom.murnane@mastopr.com
howard.masto@ge.com

Source: GE Press Center

L&T strengthens role with Rolls-Royce joint venture

Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) heavy engineering skills have already made it the partner of choice for the nuclear power reactor manufacturers that are eyeing the Indian market. Industry leaders Westinghouse-Toshiba and GE-Hitachi of the US, AEC of Canada, and Rosatom of Russia have already signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) to partner L&T in building reactors in India.

Today, L&T expanded that potential role, signing an MoU with the UK company Rolls-Royce to collaborate in nuclear instrumentation and controls, reactor components, in-service reactor support and waste management. L&T will obtain these capabilities for light water reactors, which currently comprise 60 per cent of the world’s installed nuclear capacity.

Rolls-Royce already has a nuclear-certified supply chain of more than 260 companies. The company provides advice and technical engineering support to governments and reactor operators in Europe and the US, including all 58 operating nuclear reactors in France.

“Rolls-Royce is a global major in instrumentation and controls for nuclear power generation plants and this dovetails perfectly with our core business of engineering [nuclear reactors]”, L&T’s heavy engineering chief, M V Kotwal, told Business Standard. “Typically, nine per cent by value of a nuclear plant consists of instrumentation and controls. The L&T-Rolls-Royce joint venture (JV) will start by fabricating these for nuclear utilities abroad, such as EDS in France; and for nuclear plants in India when the business opens up, perhaps 12-18 months from now.”

Before L&T is eligible to participate in overseas business, India would have to first enact the enabling legislation, including the contentious nuclear liability Bill.

L&T is currently the only Indian company that is globally-certified for manufacturing nuclear power generation equipment, having obtained the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ nuclear-stamp. Rolls-Royce’s existing presence in the international nuclear industry would offer L&T the marketing partnership for supplying nuclear plants outside India.

Business Standard had just visited L&T’s heavy engineering facilities at Powai (Mumbai) and Hazira (Gujarat), which were inspected by the world’s four big reactor companies before they signed production MoUs with L&T. These sophisticated facilities have manufactured nuclear reactor components for years, in partnership with Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) for India’s indigenous nuclear power plants. Alongside rocket motor casings for India’s space programme, an L&T engineer points out work in progress on India’s most advanced reactor, the Fast Breeder Reactor.

“We have a quality rating of more than 95 per cent on tube-to-tube sheet welding for Fast Breeder Reactors”, claims the engineer. “Going by the available information, this is the highest quality in the world.”

That rating means that 95 per cent of all welded joints pass the mandatory X-ray inspection. Only five joints in a hundred need to undergo repair.

A heavy forging plant that is coming up in Hazira will soon supplement its engineering skills. Capable of producing individual forgings as large as 600 tonnes, this forge is a 74-26 per cent JV with NPCIL, with L&T holding the majority share.

“Nuclear reactors require very clean forgings, since any contamination causes problems while handling radioactive materials,” explains an L&T engineer. “These are made of advanced Vanadium and molybdenum steels, which very few suppliers can provide. That is why we have set up one in Hazira.”

L&T believes the current installation of Russian VVER 1,000 MWe light water reactors at Kudankulam will be the last foreign-built reactor that will generate power in India. Hereafter, it would be far more economical for foreign suppliers to build major reactor components in India and save on labour, material and transportation costs.

“I can only guess at the volume of business that will be generated in India”, says M V Kotwal of L&T. “But my estimation would be that by about 2013-15, we would be looking at about Rs 6,000 crore of available business potential.”

Source: Business Standard

AECL to team with Larsen & Toubro of India to build AP1000 reactors

Larsen & Toubro Ltd. said it will team up with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. to build reactors, the second international nuclear venture of India’s biggest engineering company in less than a week.

The companies will build ACR1000 pressurized heavy water reactors in India, Larsen said in statement today, without giving financial details. On Jan 16, Larsen tied up with Toshiba Corp.’s Westinghouse Electric Co. for AP1000 reactors.

Indian power-equipment makers are seeking overseas partners as Asia’s third-biggest economy targets 60,000 megawatts of nuclear energy by 2030 to cut power shortages of more than 18 percent during peak hours. The U.S.-India Business Council estimated in October that India will spend at least $175 billion in the next 30 years to expand nuclear-energy supplies. Read more