Canada ambassador Goulet: Canadian nuclear industry is interested in working on Cernavoda Unit 1 retrofitting project

 

Today, Romania and Canada, through the cooperation from the nuclear field, advance on hitting development and decarbonization targets in Romania. Canada and the Canadian nuclear industry express their interest in working alongside Romanian partners on the retrofitting project of Unit 1 and the construction of new nuclear units at CNE Cernavoda. Furthermore, the Canadian nuclear industry aims to expand the partnership with Romanian companies with expertise in the CANDU field, beyond the Romanian market, for nuclear projects from Canada and other countries, Goulet said.

 

In turn, Teodor Chirica, the honorary chairman of ROMATOM, pointed out the fact that, in a larger Euro-Atlantic context, "cooperation with the Canadian nuclear industry is a crucial factor in finishing the two units from CNE Cernavoda".

 

"Putting these into service and expanding the lifespan of Unit 1 will bring a significant contribution in fulfilling the environmental objectives assumed by Romania, but also in consolidating the energy security of supply and well-being at a national and international level. The relation between the two industries from Romania and Canada was successfully tested upon finishing the two functional units at Cernavoda, Unit 1 in 1996 and Unit 2 in 2007," Chirica mentioned.

 

According to the data presented by the ROMATOM chairman, Lucian Rusu, in Romania, currently, nuclear energy ensures 11,000 jobs which could go up to 20,000 jobs, once the new nuclear projects will be kicked off. At the same time, the capacity of the nuclear industry in Romania is evaluated at 1 - 1.6 billion Euro, representing approximately 30% of the engineering works, procuring, construction and putting into service of Units 3 and 4 from CNE Cernavoda.

 

During the period of March 2-3, 2021, the Canadian Nuclear Industry Organization (OCNI), ROMATOM, Energynomics, Nuclearelectrica and the Canadian Embassy have held the online event "Romania-Canada partnership in the field of nuclear technology", dedicated to presenting the long-term cooperation relationship between the nuclear industries from both countries, as well as to discussing the perspectives of new nuclear projects.

 

ROMATOM was founded on January 10, 2001 and currently represents the interests of 40 companies from the nuclear field and neighboring fields in Romania. The purpose of the association is about using nuclear energy peacefully in Romania and promoting a national nuclear program, as well as the international cooperation with the organization where it is affiliated, namely FORATOM (the European Atomic Forum).