Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL) is to work jointly with the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute (Snerdi) to develop “advanced Candu technology and products” in China.
AECL’s senior vice-president and chief operating officer, Ken Petrunik, said the alliance was a “strategic partnership agreement”. He added: “AECL and Snerdi worked very closely together during construction of the very successful third Qinshan nuclear power plant and our relationship has flourished since then [see also Business News No. 60, 23rd October 2003].”
The agreement, announced on 18th January 2005, provides for:
· Joint engineering work on Candu operational support areas including plant life management, maintenance and inspection;
· Cooperation on joint development projects on the operation of Candu reactors, including fuel management and fuel cycle studies for existing and future Candu fuel designs;
· Jointly refining and applying advanced engineering tools used by AECL to engineering tasks in Candu design, construction and operation.
The vice-president and chief engineer of Snerdi, Xia Zhiding said the agreement was “an important step for Snerdi to consolidate and further develop Candu expertise”.
In 2003, Snerdi established a Candu Engineering Centre in cooperation with AECL to provide technical services to the third Qinshan nuclear power plant and to take part in the design of AECL’s new generation advanced Candu reactor (ACR).
