Atmea
Encyclopedia
Atmea is a joint venture between Mitsubishi
and Areva
that will develop, market, license and sell a new generation III
pressurized water reactor
. A memorandum of understanding
between the two companies effectively creating the entity was signed October 19, 2006 and the name of the joint venture was announced on September 3, 2007 . The European Commission cleared the joint venture in October 2007 on the grounds that the activities of Areva and MHI are geographically complementary and Atmea was unlikely to strengthen the competitiveness of each parent company.
Mitsubishi has been known in the nuclear industry largely for its contribution of components to construction of many plants around the world. It even provided forgings for the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant that Areva is currently constructing in Finland.
made the statement "By founding Atmea, we combine the experience of two leaders in reactor development, construction, licensing and marketing. We thus provide the ideal framework for the development and sale of a reactor whose size fits into almost every grid."
Correspondingly, Mitsubishi's president, Kazuo Tsukuda
commented that "By bringing together the state-of-the-art technologies of both companies, we are confident that Atmea 1 will be the leading plant in the mid-size reactor range, and will be successful in attracting interest from our clients."
Both companies have other reactor designs that boast the largest power outputs yet planned. The Mitsubishi's APWR is slated to have a power of 1700 MWe while Areva
's European Pressurized Reactor
currently under construction will have an output of 1600 MWe, but later units could be scaled up further. The Atmea I, having a lower power, is targeted to attract a different market for both companies.
On July 7, 2008 the IAEA completed the review of the conceptual safety design features for the Atmea I.
In 2010 the French nuclear safety authority, Autorité de sûreté nucléaire
, agreed to review the Atmea 1 safety features, and make the results available to potential customers and their safety authorities.
In 2011 GDF Suez
was considering building the first Atmea 1 in France, to make exports of the design more credible.
management, and development of fast-breeder and high-temperature reactors. Mitsubishi is currently developing Mitsubishi FBR Systems
, which will specialize in fast breeder technology.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
, or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...
and Areva
Areva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
that will develop, market, license and sell a new generation III
Generation III reactor
A generation III reactor is a development of any of the generation II nuclear reactor designs incorporating evolutionary improvements in design developed during the lifetime of the generation II reactor designs...
pressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactor
Pressurized water reactors constitute a large majority of all western nuclear power plants and are one of three types of light water reactor , the other types being boiling water reactors and supercritical water reactors...
. A memorandum of understanding
Memorandum of understanding
A memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in...
between the two companies effectively creating the entity was signed October 19, 2006 and the name of the joint venture was announced on September 3, 2007 . The European Commission cleared the joint venture in October 2007 on the grounds that the activities of Areva and MHI are geographically complementary and Atmea was unlikely to strengthen the competitiveness of each parent company.
Mitsubishi has been known in the nuclear industry largely for its contribution of components to construction of many plants around the world. It even provided forgings for the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant that Areva is currently constructing in Finland.
Atmea I
The CEO of Areva, Anne LauvergeonAnne Lauvergeon
Anne Lauvergeon , is a French businesswoman, and CEO of Areva 2001 – 2011 .-Biography:In 1978 she attended the École Normale Supérieure to pass the Agrégation in physics. Then she entered the Corps des Mines. In 1983 she enrolled in her first vocational course with the Corps de Mines, in the iron...
made the statement "By founding Atmea, we combine the experience of two leaders in reactor development, construction, licensing and marketing. We thus provide the ideal framework for the development and sale of a reactor whose size fits into almost every grid."
Correspondingly, Mitsubishi's president, Kazuo Tsukuda
Kazuo Tsukuda
is the chairman of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group.Born in 1943. Tsukuda graduated from the School of Engineering of the University of Tokyo in 1968 with an advanced degree in marine mechanical engineering and joined Mitsubishi Heavy Industries ...
commented that "By bringing together the state-of-the-art technologies of both companies, we are confident that Atmea 1 will be the leading plant in the mid-size reactor range, and will be successful in attracting interest from our clients."
Both companies have other reactor designs that boast the largest power outputs yet planned. The Mitsubishi's APWR is slated to have a power of 1700 MWe while Areva
Areva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
's European Pressurized Reactor
European Pressurized Reactor
The EPR is a third generation pressurized water reactor design. It has been designed and developed mainly by Framatome , Electricité de France in France, and Siemens AG in Germany...
currently under construction will have an output of 1600 MWe, but later units could be scaled up further. The Atmea I, having a lower power, is targeted to attract a different market for both companies.
On July 7, 2008 the IAEA completed the review of the conceptual safety design features for the Atmea I.
In 2010 the French nuclear safety authority, Autorité de sûreté nucléaire
Autorité de sûreté nucléaire
The Autorité de sûreté nucléaire is an independent French administrative authority set up by law 2006-686 of 13 June 2006 concerning nuclear transparency and safety. Its task, on behalf of the State, is to regulate nuclear safety and radiation protection in order to protect workers, patients, the...
, agreed to review the Atmea 1 safety features, and make the results available to potential customers and their safety authorities.
In 2011 GDF Suez
GDF Suez
GDF Suez S.A. is a French multinational energy company which operates in the fields of electricity generation and distribution, natural gas and renewable energy. The world's largest utility after taking control of Britain's International Power, the company was initially formed by the merger of Gaz...
was considering building the first Atmea 1 in France, to make exports of the design more credible.
Other activities
Aside from the Atmea I plant, the joint venture is expected to allow cooperation in equipment procurement, services, used nuclear fuelNuclear fuel
Nuclear fuel is a material that can be 'consumed' by fission or fusion to derive nuclear energy. Nuclear fuels are the most dense sources of energy available...
management, and development of fast-breeder and high-temperature reactors. Mitsubishi is currently developing Mitsubishi FBR Systems
Mitsubishi FBR Systems
Mitsubishi FBR Systems, Inc. is a company formed on July 1, 2007 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to develop Fast breeder reactor technology. The establishment of the company was based on the April 2007 decision by the Japanese government to select Mitsubishi as the core company for FBR development...
, which will specialize in fast breeder technology.