Energoatom and Areva have signed an agreement to reinforce cooperation between the two companies for safety upgrades of existing and future nuclear power plants in Ukraine, lifetime extension and performance optimization. The agreement was signed by Michael Cerruti, commercial director of Areva’s Reactors and Services Business Group, and Yury Nedashkovsky, president and CEO of Energoatom. Cerruti said that the MOU demonstrates Areva’s engagement in Ukraine and its capacity to provide services for all types of nuclear reactors, including Russian-design VVER units.
The main objectives of the new office include, the adaptation of Ukrainian regulations to European standards, closer cooperation with European institutions, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Euratom and expanding Energoatom’s range of partners for joint projects in Ukraine and Europe. “Our company is carrying out a very strong modernization and reconstruction program, which is being funded by the European Community, Euratom and the EBRD,” Nedashkovsky said. He noted that changes at Energoatom were part of a process started in March 2014, when the European Union and Ukraine signed an Association Agreement that heralded a new phase in the development of EU-Ukraine contractual relations.
