Dr Philip Lewis, CEO of VaasaEtt Global Energy Think Tank, Finland

— Russia has practical knowledge in atomic industry

During Russo-Italian intergovernmental consultations which took place on November, 6 in Kremlin under the guidance of the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, the Ministry of Economic Development of Italy and the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation “Rosatom” signed declaration on intentions. The documents stipulates for cooperation in atomic and thermal energy.

«France in particular, together with Germany to some extent, is seen as the leading provider of nuclear technology presently. But I would predict that the expected European and Global demand for new nuclear generation, will far exceed the export abilities of France or indeed the preferred nuclear power plant building industry as it stands today. I would expect a large backlog of orders for new plants, leading to delays far beyond the generation needs of countries such as Italy.

This being the case, I would expect that some of the more urgent new orders for new plants may need to go to the most professionally advanced alternative suppliers, including Russia. Russia has practical knowledge in atomic industry. If Russia can guarantee a level of efficiency and security which is competitive with alternatives, and meets the requirements of the purchasor and the purchasor’s general public, then my feeling is that there will be little choice but to go with that. In terms of Italy, Areva/France will not be the only alternative to russian companies.

It is difficult to predict how cooperation will be split between the different branches of the industry.

Of course, I can also see great possibilities in the cooperation of Russia and Italy in the field of research, which might in turn also allow Russia and Italy to jointly advance as providers of nuclear technology (filling the demand gap), but would be to early to predict how that might turn out.