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MHI's EU-APWR Technical Seminar for the EUR Utilities

No.1227
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Tokyo, March 17, 2008 - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) held a technical seminar regarding its EU-APWR reactor for the utilities of the EUR organization on 13th & 14th March 2008 in Brussels. Representatives from 13 EUR utilities, that had shown interest in the EU-APWR design gathered at the seminar to listen the presentations of the APWR project given by MHI’s engineers. The European Utility Requirements (EUR) for Light Water Reactors have been developed by a group of the 16 major European electricity producers since the early 90's. It is a set of requirements, which purpose is to harmonize the conditions of development and deployment of the Gen 3 LWR nuclear power plants to be built in Europe.

MHI presented the results of a preliminary analysis of compliance of the APWR design vs the EUR document. Numerous questions were answered. MHI intends to eventually solicit for several EUR utilities (EUR Sponsor Utilities), who could take charge of the full assessment of compliance of the EU-APWR with reference to the EUR document. If MHI's application for consideration of the APWR design in the EUR volume 3 is officially accepted, the analysis will go on at detail level on the thousands of EUR requirements regarding safety, security, performance in operation, quality, design, operation and so on

MHI has developed the EU-APWR based on the 1,538 MW APWR planned for the Tsuruga Power Station Units 3 and 4 for the Japan Atomic Power Company. Design changes have been proposed that reflect the demands of the EU customers for enhanced performance in operation. The proposed improvements include the world’s highest level of thermal efficiency (39%), a 20% reduction in plant building volume, 24-months fuel cycle length, and greater economy by increasing the rated capacity to 1,700MW, the world largest one.

In Europe, there is a trend to increase nuclear capacity motivated by the well-known energy issues such as global warming , crude oil price hike, and energy supply security. If this trend continues, a couple of dozen of new nuclear power plants may be built in Europe by 2030. MHI plans to promote the EU-APWR to the utilities that are present in the European market, in parallel with the EUR compliance assessment.

 

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About MHI Group

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world’s leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense. MHI Group combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon neutral world, improve the quality of life and ensure a safer world. For more information, please visit www.mhi.com or follow our insights and stories on spectra.mhi.com.

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