Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.
January 26, 2016
--Attended by the British Ambassador to Japan and approximately 40 companies--
Tokyo January 26 - Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, Ltd. (“Hitachi-GE”) today announced that the company held a suppliers forum at the British Embassy in Tokyo on January 25 for the “Horizon Wylfa Newydd Project,” the project will construct a new nuclear power plant on the Isle of Anglesey off the northwest coast of Wales in the UK. It was attended by Tim Hitchens, British Ambassador to Japan, and other senior UK government officials. Part of the “Innovation is Great” campaign of the UK Government that seeks to foster partnerships between Japan and the UK. This event in Japan was the first such forum, its aim was to outline the prospects for the nuclear market in the UK and to raise awareness about the Horizon project among Japanese suppliers that are anticipated may participate in the project.
The forum was attended by approximately 100 people from approximately 40 companies, including construction companies and suppliers of electrical machinery, pumps, air conditioning, and other equipment. Following a speech by Ambassador Tim Hitchens expressing the UK Government's hopes for the project, Hitachi-GE managers gave an overview of the Horizon Project. Officials from the UK and Welsh Governments explained the importance of nuclear power generation to their energy policy and the potential for industrial cooperation. A further presentation on the potential for Japanese companies to grow their businesses in Wales was followed by a lively question and answer session.
The Wylfa Newydd Project involves the construction by Horizon Nuclear Power of a nuclear power plant on the Isle of Anglesey that is intended to commence operation in the first half of the 2020s, and which will use Hitachi-GE UK ABWRs*1. The project will bring significant business opportunities to industry in Wales and elsewhere in the UK, both during construction and in the subsequent decades of plant operation.
Hitachi-GE and Horizon Nuclear Power have already staged supplier events in May 2013 in Gloucester, and in July 2015 in Wales where they explained their procurement policies to companies that are likely to act as suppliers to the Horizon Project. These events outlined future plans for work on the project as well as quality and other compliance and standards requirements. Following on from these forums, it is hoped this latest forum, which was held for the first time in Japan, will serve as a platform for encouraging collaboration between Japanese and UK companies through the decades-long course of Horizon's Wylfa Newydd Project.
Hitachi-GE, a joint venture established by Hitachi, Ltd. and General Electric Company in July 2007, as one of the world's leading comprehensive plant manufacturers, engages in the development, planning, design, manufacture, inspection, installation, pre-operation, and maintenance of nuclear reactor-related equipment and is able to execute integrated project management. Hitachi-GE has been involved with 23 reactors in Japan to date, including those currently under construction. Among them, it has participated in all of Japan's Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) projects-four ABWRs are already operational and three are under construction. Overseas, it has supplied major nuclear reactor equipment for the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant in Taiwan.
Horizon Nuclear Power was formed in 2009 to develop new nuclear power stations in the UK. It was acquired by Hitachi, Ltd. of Japan in November 2012. The company is developing plans to build at least 5,400MW of new nuclear power generation plant at Wylfa Newydd on the Isle of Anglesey and Oldbury-on-Severn in South Gloucestershire. Its power station sites will employ up to 1,000 people each once operational and a peak workforce of around 8,500 is expected during construction. For more information about Horizon, please visit www.horizonnuclearpower.com.
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