Westinghouse and Emirates Nuclear Energy Company recently entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore speeding up deployment of AP1000 reactors in the United States.
Emirates Nuclear Energy Company, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, signed the agreement with Westinghouse in Washington, D.C. on Friday July 25. Westinghouse said the MOU supports President Donald Trump’s goal to quadruple its nuclear energy output to 400 gigawatts by 2050.
Emirates Nuclear Energy (ENEC) was set up by decree of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) president in December 2009, according to the company’s website. The company’s Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant supplies about a quarter of the UAE’s electricity needs, according to its website.
The two companies expect to collaborate to accelerate AP1000 reactor deployment and also explore working together on maintenance work, new build and restart projects in the United States, according to Westinghouse’s July 25 press release.
The United States and the UAE have had a pre-existing 1-2-3 agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation since 2009.
Westinghouse’s collaboration with Emirates Nuclear Energy Company comes after Westinghouse interim CEO Dan Sumner unveiled plans earlier in July at the Pennsylvania Energy Summit and Expo to have 10 AP1000 reactors under construction by 2030.
“The U.S. has a bold vision to have 10 large-scale nuclear reactors under construction by 2030, and Westinghouse is working closely with industry partners to make this a reality,” Sumner said in the press release. “We believe that ENEC’s expertise in large-scale nuclear deployment will help us achieve this objective.”
