We attended the Czech-French Nuclear Summit in Belfort

The French company EdF is one of three bidders for the completion of new nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic. The Group, together with GE Steam Power and the Association of French Nuclear Power Industrialists (GIFEN), organised a nuclear power summit at the end of June.

In addition to EdF executives, the conference and subsequent B2B meetings were attended by CEOs and senior managers from General Electric, Bilfinger, Ekium and other major French companies. On the Czech side, there were representatives of companies associated in CPIA (Czech Power Industry Alliance) ZAT, Sigma Group, Witkowitz, Nuvia, as well as from outside the Alliance - for example Epdor, Chemcomex, VF, etc. More than 30 Czech companies attended the Summit. The Czech Power Industry Alliance (CPIA), of which ZAT is a founding member, was also a partner of the event.

Our company has established a long-term partnership with EdF. In 2012, we jointly signed a contract for the supply of 58 KCF system cabinets for 20 nuclear units of eight French nuclear power plants with a completion date of 2024, followed by the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation in 2021. This year, our mutual activities resulted in the official certification of ZAT for the "non-safety" area.

"French companies perceive that ZAT is the only Czech company so far to have a certificate for the supply of non-safety systems for EdF and is in the process of safety systems. They rate our company as a reputable supplier of control systems in the Czech Republic," says František Kural, sales and marketing director of ZAT, who attended the event on behalf of the company.

At the end of the program, the participants visited GE's production facilities in Belfort. According to František Kural, the excursion was very interesting - at the workshop, 1800 MW turbines and generators for the Hinkley Point C NPP in England, El Dabaa in Egypt and Akkuyu in Turkey were on display in various stages of development.

"We firmly believe that as a major European supplier of control systems to the nuclear power industry, we will also be an integral part of the delivery of new nuclear units in our country. Whichever reputable company wins the tender," says František Kural.

ZAT currently has one of the most advanced control systems in the nuclear power industry on the market, meeting the most demanding safety requirements of the European regulatory authorities. Our control systems are deployed in all VVER nuclear power plants in the European Union and in 10 percent of the world's nuclear power plants.