Russia and France have a long track record of peaceful nuclear cooperation. It started in 1971 as the first agreement on uranium enrichment was signed between TENEX and Electricite de France (EDF). Since then, cooperation has gained momentum, with partner ranks expanding to include Areva, EDF, Schneider Electric, Alstom, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), and others. Supported by longstanding partnership between France and Russia, Paris was selected as headquarters of Rosatom’s regional office in Western Europe.
The first session organized by Rosatom and the French export agency Business France was held in Moscow and Nizhniy Novgorod (NIAEP-ASE) a year and a half ago. This year the meeting moved to Paris and focused on new partnership opportunities.
French companies are developing interest in Rosatom, and the growing number of session participants proves it – from fifty companies 18 months ago to almost a hundred this year.
Kirill Komarov, Deputy CEO for Corporate Development and International Business at Rosatom, said in his opening speech that foreign involvement, international supply chain development and localization were priorities of Rosatom’s global strategy. “The life cycle of our Generation III+ VVER-based nuclear power plants exceeds 100 years. This period offers a variety of partnership opportunities for our foreign partners, ranging from equipment supplies and maintenance to back-end and decommissioning services,” stressed Mr. Komarov. According to him, Rosatom’s current portfolio of contracts for the next 10 years exceeds USD 100 billion. “By 2030, we may well have orders for 90 more units in our portfolio. Although Russia possesses nuclear technologies enabling it to build any reactor anywhere, we lay emphasis on international cooperation, with France in the first place,” added Mr. Komarov. He noted that joint efforts in the nuclear field improved public confidence in current projects and social acceptance of nuclear power.
Procurement à la russe
Rosatom representatives spoke about nuclear construction projects in Belarus, Hungary, Finland and Turkey. The second day of the session was devoted to B2B discussions between Rosatom and French nuclear suppliers, with Rosatom’s procurement system remaining the key topic.
Roman Zimonas, Director of Procurement Department at Rosatom, suggested that French partners should study the company’s procurement system as thoroughly as possible to ensure seamless cooperation. “We rely on Federal Laws 44 and 223 in our procurement activities. I recommend getting a deep insight into these laws as they open the door to procurement procedures in other state-owned majors, such as Rosneft, Gazprom and Roskosmos,” said Mr. Zimonas. He assured that procurement procedures were transparent and could be challenged if raising doubt. The bidding process requires neither paperwork nor personal contact as all applications can be made on-line at www.zakupki.rosatom.ru.
“It is true that foreign participation in Russian projects is limited but the bidding process for our overseas projects is as simple as possible,” stressed Mr. Zimonas. He pointed out that foreign suppliers could bid for over RUB 400 billion in purchases in 2015.
Experts speaking
“Turkish companies were quick to grasp Rosatom’s procurement principles,” Roman Zimonas said in his interview. “Nine Turkish suppliers took part in the bidding process for the construction of Akkuyu nuclear power plant.” French suppliers have nothing to be afraid of, he believed. “There is nothing new in Russian laws but there are nuances one has to know. The system helps make them clear – if you do not know something, ask a question. The ordering customer is obliged to provide additional information requested. You should not spend two years learning the system. Use it and learn at the same time. There is nothing to be afraid of.” According to Mr. Zimonas, nuclear partnership with France is of high importance for Rosatom. “We need to join our efforts in developing our national nuclear industries and participate in each other’s projects,” he stressed.
Nikolai Drozdov, Director of Rosatom’s International Business Department, said that cooperation with French nuclear equipment suppliers had considerable potential. “Power generators, control equipment, valves, pumps, other special-purpose systems… all these products can be supplied by French producers,” said Mr. Drozdov. “Our partnership with French companies certainly focuses on our overseas projects offering extensive opportunities as many of them have subsidiaries in India or China.”
PARTNERS SPEAKING
Jean-Pierre Chevenement
Special representative for Russia, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Cooperation in nuclear power between Russia and France has great potential. Each country covers the entire nuclear fuel cycle and has solid expertise in the field of nuclear power. We pursue common goals. They are nuclear safety, which is a serious challenge; improvement of Generation III reactors, which are constructed and operated these days; and cooperation in the nuclear fuel fabrication. If competition exists between us, there exists an opportunity to complement each other. Success of this meeting, which has attracted over 80 companies, proves we can be partners in a variety of fields, mostly in nuclear equipment. The first French-Russian session was held in Moscow and Nizhniy Novgorod a year and a half ago. Now we need to get a deeper insight into bidding procedures at Rosatom. Despite current tensions, nuclear cooperation between Russia and France had excellent prospects. I am confident in our future. I believe our partnership will strengthen as it is in the interest of our nations. I am sure that our friendship will be a constituent element of the future world. Nuclear power is a perfect example of what we can achieve together.
Elisabeth Puissant
Head of the French Trade Mission in Russia
Director, Business France Russia
Cooperation between French companies and Rosatom has very good prospects; that is why this meeting is held for the second time. Russia and France are the only countries offering end-to-end nuclear cycle services. It is obvious that we can work together. Sanctions do not apply to nuclear power, and I see no obstacles for joint projects. Rosatom has a large portfolio of international contracts, and French companies are motivated to participate.
Jocelyn Bejeau
Sales Director, 2H Energy
We are in the business of power generation and nuclear equipment manufacturing. We took part in Flamanville and Olkiluoto projects. We manufacture power generators and provide maintenance services. This session is of great interest for us as it gives a good chance to find new contacts in the industry. We study Rosatom’s procurement system to make joint offers with EDF, Areva or other companies.
Didier Bienfait
Vice President Global Nuclear Services, Bureau Veritas
We have a long track record of working with Rosatom in the regulatory field. We also maintain close links with the Russian Nuclear Supervision Agency. As Rosatom expands into foreign markets, including Bangladesh, Egypt, Turkey and other countries, this meeting is a great opportunity to discuss new partnerships.
Frank Ladegaillerie
Sales and Marketing Director, QSystem
QSystem is an engineering company with about 2,500 employees. We are EDF’s leading supplier and have participated in many nuclear construction projects in France. Particularly, we are engaged in the design process localization and adaptation of local nuclear codes and regulations in South Africa, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. We can be helpful in engaging local design companies. Today all countries set localization as a requirement of the power plant construction. This is where we can help. We are very much interested in cooperation with Rosatom as the largest player on the nuclear power market. That is why we need to know what criteria apply to Rosatom’s suppliers.
