Sargent & Lundy, an industry-leading engineering design firm, is part of a joint venture that has received a limited notice to proceed for the initial design phase of Units 3 & 4 at the Cernavodă Nuclear Generating Station in Romania. Working with joint venture partners Fluor Corporation, AtkinsRéalis and Ansaldo Nucleare, the firm will develop the initial licensing and engineering documents to support both the regulatory approval and financial investment decision to enable the detailed design and construction of Units 3 & 4 to move forward.
EnergoNuclear S.A., a subsidiary of SN Nuclearelectrica S.A., signed the engineering, procurement and construction management contract during a ceremony at the United Nations COP29 climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. Also in attendance were Romanian Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, and officials from Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Italian government.
The EPCM contract, with an estimated duration of 108 months, is structured in two phases, namely the limited notice to proceed phase (24-30 months) and later, subject to commercial terms being further refined and agreed and the final investment decision being taken in in line with the support agreement between the Romanian State and Nuclearelectrica, the final notice to proceed stage phase (80-84 months).
The project is the culmination of efforts under a 2020 intergovernmental agreement between the U.S. and Romania designed to enable cooperation in advancing the Cernavodă projects and the civil nuclear power sector in Romania.
“Today marks a major milestone in the advancement and ultimately completion of Romania’s strategic Cernavoda NPP Units 3 and 4 project. The EPCM contract represents the very foundation of the project. We are honored to work on this contract and project with highly professional, internationally recognized partners such AtkinsRéalis, Fluor Corporation, Ansaldo Nucleare, Sargent & Lundy as the success of a project derives from both expertise and robust technology. Units 3 and 4, CANDU technology, will provide Romania with energy security and clean energy in a safe and sustainable manner. Once Units 3 and 4 are connected to the grid, 66% of Romania’s clean energy will be provided by nuclear energy, showcasing, one more time, the critical role of nuclear energy in deep decarbonization. I express my strong appreciation to the EnergoNuclear team, SNN team and our partners for their professionalism and joint efforts into building together a solid project,” stated Cosmin Ghita, Chief Executive Officer, Nuclearelectrica.
“We’ve worked with the governments of both the United States and Romania since the inception of the intergovernmental agreement,” said Sargent & Lundy Chairman, President and CEO Victor Suchodolski. “Through this cooperation, we bring our comprehensive integrated nuclear plant design expertise to help provide safe, reliable and sustainable solutions to Romania. Together, we’re striving to meet the world’s growing energy needs while reducing carbon emissions.”
The Cernavodă project is a significant advance towards Romania’s decarbonization goals and in Sargent & Lundy’s work to support carbon-free and secure power in the country. Sargent & Lundy has completed projects in over 100 countries around the world.