DCNS to supply heat exchangers for Chinese civil nuclear powerplant
DCNS has signed a major contract with China Nuclear Power Engineering Co. Ltd. (CNPEC) to supply 14 heat exchangers for two latest-generation EPR*-type nuclear powerplants in China.
DCNS has won a number of contracts to supply equipment for nuclear powerplants. This latest contract is a further endorsement of the Group's strategic choices and its commitment to pursue development by promoting its industrial know-how and resources in the fast-growing civil nuclear sector. DCNS has made its capabilities available to major companies in this sector, including Alstom, Areva, EDF, French atomic energy commission CEA and now CNPEC, part of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGNPC), which operates numerous nuclear plants.
The heat exchangers will be produced at DCNS's Nantes-Indret facility, in collaboration with the Cherbourg shipyard. DCNS will take advantage of industrial and engineering resources developed for the design and production of nuclear-powered warships. Deliveries will begin in autumn 2010 and are scheduled for completion in late 2011. This contract will generate more than 100,000 hours of work, particularly in design, production engineering, fabrication, machining & assembly and inspection & quality control.
This success is the latest in a series of contracts that DCNS has won in the civil nuclear sector. Others include production of reactor vessel internals and two airlocks for the EPR power station at Flamanville in France and a mock-up of the vacuum chamber for the experimental ITER reactor under construction at Cadarache, France.
*The EPR (European Pressurised Reactor) is the third-generation nuclear powerplant designed and developed by Areva.
About DCNS
The DCNS Group is one of Europe's leading players on the world market for naval defence systems. To meet customer demands for more comprehensive and integrated systems, DCNS acts as prime contractor for naval shipbuilding, integration and support by combining its own development, marketing and production capabilities with those of selected partners. To manage the complexity of such projects, the Group draws on in-house expertise in naval architecture and systems engineering, ship assembly and integration and equipment design and production, as well as through-life support. The DCNS Group employs 13,000 people and generates annual revenues of around €2.8 billion.