First stone laid at AREVA subsidiary JSPM’s new test center

AREVA CEO Anne Lauvergeon has laid the first stone of the new JSPM test center in Maubeuge, northern France. The official ceremony took place on December 8, 2008 at the new site of the AREVA’s mobile component subsidiary, which manufactures reactor coolant pumps and control rod drive mechanisms for nuclear reactors.

In attendance were Hubert Falco, French Secretary of State for Regional Development, as well as Rémi Pauvros, Mayor of Maubeuge, Chairman of the Maubeuge-Val de Sambre agglomeration and Vice-President of the General Council for the Nord Department. Joining them were Christine Marin, Parliamentary Deputy for the Nord Department, and Christophe Di Pompeo, Regional Councilor for the Nord-Pas de Calais region.

The new test center, including an assembly and test facility, storage and pre-assembly hall, and metallurgy and measurement test laboratories, will enable JSPM to test reactor coolant pump sets under actual operating conditions at full-flow values never before achieved.

Forty million euros is being invested in this pioneering skills center, which is part of AREVA’s strategy to develop its industrial capability at a time of global nuclear renaissance. Complete with the most advanced testing technology, the center will meet the quality and safety requirements of existing power plants and the Generation III+ EPR™* reactor.

At the ceremony, Anne Lauvergeon said the investment "will help AREVA take a decisive lead over our competitors in JSPM’s field of activity," adding that the center will "contribute to the industrial development of the region and create jobs for specialist engineers and technicians."

The first section of the test center is due to go online in early 2010.

* EPR™: an AREVA brand