In April 2011, the French nuclear services provider ONET Technologies has decided to take a position on the civil nuclear industry market in India by setting up a joint venture with PCI Ltd in New Delhi and by working in the field of conventional energy.
ONET Technologies holds 70% of the shares in the joint venture and PCI Ltd 30%.
PCI Ltd belongs to the Indian group PRIME, which supplies technical solutions to the electricity sector for companies such as BHEL, ABB and L&T.
The company will be called ONET Technologies India and will supply services to the nuclear industry such as engineering design expertise, maintenance, decommissioning and waste management.
In the first phase, the joint venture will rely on PCI’s facilities to train Indian engineers in nuclear technology.
Dominique Mouillot continues: “Considering the Indian government’s desire to increase the number of its civil nuclear power stations and to encourage international companies, ONET Technologies has committed itself to supply solutions with high added value that are technologically safe and that put into practice leading-edge technologies”.
This move by ONET Technologies forms part of the development strategy of the French nuclear power industry; it is also consistent with the bilateral cooperation that exists between France and India to support the latter’s development programme for the civil nuclear industry.
The president of ONET Technologies, Dominique Mouillot, explains: “To date the shareholders have not decided on a limit to the investment in the joint venture since the civil nuclear industry market in India is expected to grow significantly in the years to come to meet the tremendous demand in India”.
Surinder Mehta, chairman of PCI Ltd, says: “PRIME has committed itself to the partnership via PCI Ltd because it is very much the right moment to introduce ONET Technologies’ leading-edge technology to India. This move fits in with PRIME’s development strategy”.
In addition, the company has announced it has taken over UK company Bradtec Decon Technologies. The company holds EPRI DFD and DFDX (Chemical Decontamination Process) operating licences.
