Localisation content at Jaitapur plant likely to reach 60%, says EDF

EDF, the state-owned French power major, says the aim is to progressively raise the participation of Indian companies for the reactors to be supplied for the proposed mega nuclear power plant at Jaitapur, in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district.

There are six reactors to be supplied, jointly by EDF and US multinational GE. The former is to supply the needed technology for the nearly 10 Gw plant; a previous agreement says the local (Indian) content could go up to 60 per cent for the last two of the six reactors.

Government-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) is to operate the plant. 

EDF says raising the local content would depend on the Indian supply partners making the relevant investment in their facilities and processes, to meet the needed design requirements. 

Vakis Ramany, senior vice-president at EDF, told Business Standard in an e-mailed interview that they were looking to reduce the cost at Jaitapur, to bring down the cost of power supplied. Last month, it had sent a formal techno-commercial proposal to NPCIL, subsequent to an agreement signed last March.

“The offer draws on 50 years of experience of the French nuclear industry. According to the (March agreement), EDF will primarily act as the supplier of EPR (the pressurised reactor) technology. Hence, the offer covers the whole design engineering phase and procurement of components,” he said.

EDF will also be involved in securing the funds required, he said. The group will be assisting NPCIL in both the construction and commissioning phases. “During the operation, we will continuously improve safety standards and maintain the viability of these crucial assets over the longer term.”

Ramany said the project was in line with India’s ambitious energy policies, where nuclear power is to become an important part. The stability of nuclear generation supports the development of renewable energy, as it compensates for the latter's naturally fluctuating output.

Ramany said, without giving any details, that the electricity generated will be competitive over decades. “The prospect of being able to build six EPR units at a single site will create significant economies of scale. Our experience of EPR projects in France, the United Kingdom and China is also a significant cost reduction factor.”

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Reliance Industries, alongside Bureau Veritas India and Egis India, are among the companies that EDF sees as strategic partners in the project. “L&T has strong industrial experience. Their position as a supplier of NPCIL naturally led us to a partner with them. Our subsidiary, Framatome, continues its historical cooperation with L&T for the manufacturing of certain components of the nuclear island in India,” said Ramany. 

Reliance is part of the engineering platform that will be launched in 2019 to produce in India most of the detailed engineering work for the nuclear systems of all the six reactors. 

EDF, with Assystem, Egis India, and Bouygues, is part of this platform. The signing of a pre-bid agreement between EDF, Reliance, and Assystem in July 2018 is aimed to allow full localisaition of the auxiliary systems at Jaitapur.