GE Hitachi in talks with L&T for nuke plans

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) is in talks with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to engage the engineering and construction firm as a potential vendor for its nuclear power plants in India. GEH had, late last month, announced a tie-up with state-owned equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for reactor manufacture. “We are in talks with L&T as well. The idea is to develop a supplier base in India for projects based on GEH’s Advanced Boiling Water Reactors (ABWR),” the Chief Executive Officer for GE Energy India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Mr Kishore Jayaraman, said. GEH had, on March 23, announced the signing of two agreements with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) as the companies prepare to collaborate on building multiple GEH-designed nuclear reactors. Under the preliminary agreements, GEH will begin planning with NPCIL and BHEL for the necessary resources in manufacturing and construction management for a potential multiple-unit Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) nuclear power station. According to GEH, its 1,350-MW ABWR technology is “the world’s only commercially proven Generation III reactor design”, with the first two of four units entering service in 1996 and 1997 and four additional units under construction currently. In the nuclear space, L&T has taken a first mover advantage and aggressively tied-up with a bevy of partners for reactor manufacture in the last couple of months. L&T has in place a preliminary agreement with Russia’s ZAO Atomstroyexport for manufacturing the ‘VVER series’ reactors.

Source: Business Line