On December 18, 2003, a consortium comprising AREVA and Siemens AG won a turnkey contract from the Finnish electric utility TVO (Teollisuuden Voima Oy) to build a new nuclear power plant at the Olkiluoto site, where two nuclear units are already in operation. The evolutionary EPR (European Pressurized Water Reactor) will be implemented in this new nuclear unit called Olkiluoto 3. Framatome ANP, now AREVA NP, an AREVA and Siemens company, is supplying the nuclear island (comprising the reactor and associated systems), while Siemens is responsible for the conventional island (turbine and generator).
The consortium fought off fierce international competition to secure the contract, enabling AREVA to further consolidate its position as the world's leading nuclear engineering company.
A further EPR will be built in France. In October 2004, EDF has decided to build a forerunner for a subsequent serie of EPRs at Flamanville. The project is to be carried out over a 5-year period starting in 2007.
