The European pressurized water reactor - Result of the French-German cooperation of experienced NPP suppliers and operators

In 1989 Framatome and Siemens, the two most experienced European nuclear po wer plant suppliers, decided to join the efforts for the development of a n ew reactor type for the next generation in their equally owned subsidiary N uclear Power International (NPI). In 1992 Electricite de France and the maj or German utilities operating nuclear power plants merged their own develop ment programs with that of Nuclear Power International and initiated the Eu ropean Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR) project. In order to reach the two m ajor targets of the project, the licensability in both countries, France an d Germany, and the competitiveness of nuclear energy with other alternative energy sources, the design basis which had differently developed in the tw o countries needed to be harmonized. In parallel, the licensing authorities of both countries extended their existing cooperation in the field of a sa fety survey of existing nuclear power plants to the definition of safety cr iteria for the next generation of nuclear power plants. Through this cooper ation the licensability of EPR in France and Germany will be assured. Conti nuously performed cost analysis show in addition that also the second targe t of the project, the competitiveness with alternative primary energy sourc es, can be achieved. Thanks to the fruitful cooperation between all parties involved, satisfactory results have been achieved not by a simple superpos ition of existing design features but through a careful evaluation and comb ination of the best available alternatives. At the end of 1997 the basic de sign results were compiled in a final report. Subsequently an optimization phase was launched that further improves the competitiveness of the power g eneration costs. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science S.A. All rights res erved.