China National Nuclear in Talks With Areva on Uranium Stakes

China National Nuclear Corp. said it’s in talks to buy a stake in uranium mines owned by Areva SA (AREVA) as the world’s biggest energy consumer prepares to resume approval of new reactor construction.

“We are also discussing opportunities with many countries to cooperate in terms of uranium exploration and mining,” Sun Qin, president of China’s biggest atomic power plant operator, said in an interview in Seoul today, without giving a time-frame or details on location.

China National Nuclear, which started operations at its first overseas uranium mine in 2010, is looking to acquire additional assets to meet rising domestic demand, the company said in March last year. Rival China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group Co. is offering to buy Australian explorer Extract Resources Ltd. (EXT) for A$2.2 billion ($2.3 billion) to gain access to the world’s fourth-biggest uranium deposit.

“We are preparing to list CNNC Nuclear Power Co.,” as part of our expansion plans, Sun said, without elaborating.

China National Nuclear is also the parent of Hong Kong- listed CNNC International Ltd. (2302), a uranium producer in Niger.

The Chinese government is “very likely” to resume approval of new nuclear projects in 2012 as the government completes a safety review prompted by the Fukushima disaster last year, Sun said on March 5. China, which started operating its first commercial nuclear plant in 1994, is building at least 27 reactors and has 50 more planned, according to the China Nuclear Energy Association.

Nuclear Industry

“Nuclear is going to continue to play a very important role in the future,” Areva Chief Executive Officer Luc Oursel told reporters in Seoul today. “Our estimation is that today we have more or less 400 gigawatts of nuclear plants, and we think this will grow to 600 gigawatts in 2030.”

The earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March last year crippled Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant, causing some countries to suspend or scale back their nuclear plants. Areva, currently building plants in France and Finland, is bidding to provide reactors in China, India, the U.K., Finland and the Czech Republic, Oursel said yesterday in Paris.

“The nuclear renaissance has not been severely impacted by the Fukushima accident,” said Oursel, who was attending the Seoul Nuclear Industry Summit, citing tenders in the Czech Republic, Finland and South Africa.

Areva produced 9,142 metric tons of uranium last year, making it the world’s second-biggest producer of the atomic fuel, according to the company’s website. The Paris-based company has mines in countries including Australia, Canada and Niger.

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China: Putian in Fujian to be site of next nuclear plant

BEIJING - The first China-engineered improved third-generation nuclear power plant will be showcased in Putian county, Fujian province, by as early as 2013, Chen Bingde, chief engineer of Nuclear Power Institute of China and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, told China Daily on Saturday.

An extension of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant was constructed in December 2010. [Photo / Xinhua]

The institute is a division of China National Nuclear Corp, the largest State-owned nuclear enterprise in China. The company built the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, China's first, in 1991.

"The Putian plant will adopt China-developed nuclear technology model ACP100, which is considered much safer and having higher energy efficiency compared to current second- and third-generation plants," said Chen.

He said it will have some improved third-generation nuclear power facility's features, including smaller size, shorter construction time and higher safety level.

The new technology's final aim is to eliminate the emergency evacuation zone of a nuclear plant, he said. The construction time is expected to be shortened from the current 50 months to 30-40 months.

"In the near future, nuclear plants can be built right next to cities," he explained. The concept of the new plant is a 100,000-kilowatt-grade nuclear power facility, with very low cost.

After the Japan radiation leaks about a year ago, the demand for safer nuclear power plants has become stronger worldwide. Fourth-generation nuclear technology is now being studied by many countries, according to Chen.

South Korea leads the trend. Seoul is planning to acquire a construction license by the middle of this year. The United States has stronger theoretical development, while China performs better on the experimental aspects, added Chen.

He said China's nuclear plants are safe. After the Japanese accident, many third-generation reactors underwent 25 measures to improve safety, including strengthening the protection wall and adding back-up electricity power generators. Some second-generation reactors were upgraded with new technology.

Most of China's nuclear technology was imported from other countries, such as the US, France and Russia.

Only the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant applied China-developed technology, he said, and "it has maintained safe and stable operation for 20 years.

"We have exported Qinshan plant technology to Pakistan, and some other developing countries will be our next targets."

However, China still falls behind in some core technologies compared to Western countries.

"If China wants to export our own nuclear technology, we need to develop our own core technology and get rid of the dependence on foreign technology."

The China National Nuclear Corp invested 1.75 billion yuan ($278 million) on research and development last year, a 20 percent year-on-year increase.

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