Framatome ANP - AREVA

DepartmentsContractsEDF AwardsNew Contractfor Fuel SupplyOn December 13, 2002,Electricité de France (EDF)and Framatome ANP signed a contractworth around a billion euro for thesupply of enriched natural uranium,reprocessed uranium and mixedplutonium and uranium oxides (MOX)fuel assemblies.This new contract will cover asignificant share of the requirementsof existing French nuclear reactorsover the coming years. And it willgive EDF and Framatome ANP aclear visibility of their medium-termrelation regarding fuel.“The awarding of this new contractshows Framatome ANP’s ability toconsolidate its leading position despitecompetition due to the gradualopening up of the fuel market by EDF.Framatome ANP is more than ever apartner able to contribute significantlyto giving its customers a competitiveedge,” said Vincent Maurel, Presidentand CEO of Framatome ANP,The terms and conditions of thisnew contract meet specific EDFrequirements with regard to securityof supply and flexibility both in termsof annual volumes and supply offuel in tight deadlines. ■AEP Signs Long-TermStrategic AllianceAmerican Electric Power (AEP) andFramatome ANP have signed acontract for a long-term alliance. “Thisis more than just a contract for service.This is a true partnership,” said ChrisBakken, AEP’s Senior Vice PresidentNuclear Generation. “AEP andFramatome ANP will work togetheron a wide range of activities to achievecontinued success at Cook. We expectthis to be a long-term alliance that willresult in benefits to the employees andshareholders of both companies.”Koeberg Fuel SupplyContract ExtendedFramatome ANP and ESKOM,operator of the South Africannuclear power plant Koeberg, signeda long-term contract to supply nuclearfuel reloads at units 1 and 2.This contract covers all fuel reloadrequirements for the Koeberg nuclearplant units (6 reloads for each unit),from 2005 to 2014.The fuel reloads to be supplied underthis contract for the Koeberg nuclearpower plant will be of the latest design:AFA-3G fuel assemblies that extensivelymake use of the M5 advanced material.The AFA-3G fuel has been designed toThe expected workscopes withinthe alliance are outage activities,engineering services for refuel andnon-traditional outage activities, parts,maintenance services and fuel. Thealliance also covers instrumentationand control (I&C) upgrades andreactor head replacements. “We willsupport AEP’s commitment toexcellence at Cook, drawing on ourworldwide experience base.” saidTom Christopher, President and CEOof Framatome ANP, Inc. ■operate safely and trouble-free underthe conditions that future coremanagement strategies for long cycleswould require whereby the U235enrichment would be increased fromthe current 4.40% to 4.95%.In the framework of this contract,Framatome ANP will implementsolutions aimed at participatingin South African policies for thepromotion of previously disadvantagedpeople and “Industrial Participation”.These policies consist in associatingspecific actions to the contracts topromote the technical skills of peopleand investments in local enterprises. ■Contract for RV 10-Year ISI AwardedFramatome ANP has beenawarded a contract byOmaha Public Power District’s (OPPD)Ft. Calhoun plant for a reactor vessel(RV) 10-year in-service inspection (ISI)to be performed in the fall of 2003.This will mark one of the first usagesof the company’s newest tool for ISI,the Trans-World Reactor VesselExamination System (TWS, see ANPMagazine #6, pg. 17).Due to its compactness, modularityand configuration flexibility, the TWSis easy to install and reduces vesseloccupation time. Its anthropomorphicrobotic arm sweeps the phased-arraytransducers circumferentially aroundthe vessel, thus eliminating the needto scan the same region multiple timeswith different transducer orientation.The use of this tool is expectedto significantly reduce the time it takesfor the inspection. ■Advanced Nuclear Power N O 7 April 2003 23