US Exim Bank issued two Letters of Interest for the financing of US sourced pre-project technical services for Nuclearelectrica’s Units 3 & 4

At United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27), US Exim Bank announced the issuance of two Letters of Interest for the financing of US sourced pre-project technical services in connection to the Cernavoda Units 3 & 4 Project developed by Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica S.A.’s subsidiary in Romania.

Based on the preliminary information submitted, EXIM would be able to consider financing up to 50 million USD of the U.S. export contract for pre-project engineering services as part of engineering multiplier program (EMP) and up to 3 billion USD of the U.S. export contract for engineering and project management services for Units 3 and 4 Cernavoda NPP Completion Contract.

Approved in April 2021 by the Ordinary General Meeting of Nuclearelectrica’s Shareholders, the Strategy for continuing the CANDU Units 3 and 4 Project of Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant is being implemented in three stages, in accordance with the international experience in the construction of nuclear power plants.

Stage 1, the current one, started at the end of 2021, represents the preparatory stage, which initiated by capitalizing and operationalizing the project company, Energonuclear S.A. This stage will last up to 24 months, during which a set of engineering and safety documentation necessary for the Project re-start will be prepared/up-dated (update of Licensing Basis Documents, Safety Design Guides, Safety Related Design Changes, re-evaluation of the existing civil structures etc), required to substantiate a preliminary investment decision.

On November 25, 2021, Energonuclear S.A., the project company, signed the first contract with Candu Energy, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group and the Design Authority and OEM Candu (the Original Manufacturer of the Candu Technology) for the Project. Within the contract, CANDU Energy will provide engineering services for drafting and updating the necessary documentation for initiating the Project of Units CANDU 3 and 4.

Stage 2 of the project (Preliminary Works) consists of performing preliminary works and estimated to last up to 30 months. This stage will consist in preparation of critical engineering (“Limited Notice to Proceed – LNTP”) for the definition of the project, structuring and contracting financing and agreeing upon an adequate contractual architecture for the implementation of the Project, obtaining the Nuclear Safety License for Construction, re-assess the feasibility of the Project based upon updated technical and economic indicators and adopting the Final Investment Decision (FID), for the transition to Stage III (Construction).

Stage 3 of the Project consists of site mobilization, start of the construction works, commissioning and start of the commercial operation of the Unit 3 in 2030 and Unit 4 in 2031.

Based on the ROMATOM study on the capability of the Romanian Nuclear Industry to participate in the development of the Romanian nuclear program, it is estimated that the potential participation of the Romanian Nuclear Industry, with reference to the goods and services identified in this study, can be evaluated at about 1-1,6 billion Euro, which would represent between 25% to 40% of the total value of the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Management Contract, thus representing a significant contribution with a major impact on the national economy and its re-industrialisation. The study also estimates that local industry can provide a maximum of 19,000 jobs committed to the development of the Romanian nuclear program (11,000 existing jobs plus 8,000 jobs that can be created if orders are received).