This is the end of a long process. “This May 31, EDF officially takes over the nuclear activities of General Electric and in particular the maintenance and manufacturing activities of Arabelle turbines,” announced Emmanuel Macron in an interview with the regional daily newspapers of the EBRA group, without however revealing the amount of the agreement. The principle of this operation was announced two years ago, but was slow to materialize, particularly due to geopolitical issues. “The agreements reached ensure the sustainability of this activity which is a real source of French pride,” added the president.
EDF and General Electric (GE) announced in February 2022 “an exclusivity agreement” to discuss the acquisition by the French energy company of GE Steam Power, the nuclear branch of the American conglomerate. President Emmanuel Macron then announced, from Belfort, the relaunch of a vast French nuclear program. Asked about the presence of the Russian Rosatom among the clients of this nuclear activity and therefore about the opposition of the United States, Emmanuel Macron “confirms that all these problems were on the table and that they have been resolved”. “I am not going to betray the business secrets between these companies, but we have secured the granting of the American licenses necessary for the operation,” he specifies.
Arabelle turbines, manufactured in Belfort, are essential equipment for nuclear power plants. One of them – the most powerful model in the world – equips the Flamanville EPR (Manche), which recently began its start-up operations. “This transaction will allow us to take back control of the production of turbines, and it can be profitable because we will produce for ourselves and for others,” argued the head of state. France is currently in the midst of a nuclear relaunch and is planning up to 14 new EPR2 type reactors.
“More ambitious”
Thursday evening, the news of the agreement was received positively by employees in Belfort, but also raised questions. “It’s a relief to come out of the period of uncertainty. This opens up other questions: what industrial project for our entity?” asks Laurent Santoire, of the CGT. “It’s a great relief, but we can’t be satisfied with it,” says Laurent Humbert, of the CFE-CGC. “We have lots of unanswered questions. We are impatiently waiting to meet our management and our buyer to discuss strategy and investments.”
In 2015, Alstom’s energy branch was acquired by GE, following a long political-economic controversy that began in the spring of 2014. Emmanuel Macron was Minister of the Economy when the operation was finalized. The State “suffered the decision, then it improved it”, he assured in his interview with the EBRA group.
“All the nonsense was written at the time about the sale of our sovereignty! But what we are doing today is the demonstration that we had created at the time the conditions to recover the activities sold,” he said. Emmanuel Macron takes the opportunity to point out that new announcements are being prepared on the French nuclear program. “We will go beyond the Belfort program, and at the end of the year I will have to clarify our strategy to make it more ambitious,” he concluded.