The woman behind Areva of France: Anne Lauvergeon
Areva, the French nuclear power giant, signed the largest deal in the industry’s history Monday, with China’s leading nuclear power company.
The agreement will bring both technology and much-needed energy to China, which has the world’s fastest-growing appetite for energy. But the deal could prove an even greater boon to Anne Lauvergeon, Areva’s chief executive, whose strategies — and optimism — have been questioned by critics.
Lauvergeon assembled Areva in 2001 from the bickering factions of France’s state-owned nuclear establishment, creating arguably the world’s only one-stop nuclear shop, selling uranium, reactors, fuel reprocessing and waste storage.
“It’s not expensive, and the costs are totally predictable,” she says. “The cost of uranium is only 5 percent of your costs. Moreover, nuclear energy is not dependent on foreign sources of fuel and produces no greenhouse gases“.
Not everyone shares her enthusiasm. “Currently there is no safe way to deal with radioactive waste,” says Greenpeace, one of many antinuclear groups.
But Lauvergeon highlights Areva’s experience in converting spent fuel into mixed oxide pellets that can be burned in nuclear reactors. She can speak with conviction because France, unlike most of the world, never backed away from atomic power. Roughly 80 percent of the country’s electricity is generated by nuclear plants.
The centerpiece of Ms. Lauvergeon’s sales pitch is the EPR, which she has sold to China. Lauvergeon acknowledges that the company is unlikely to make money on the project. But she even puts an optimistic spin on the loss.
“It’s an investment, an incredible show window,” she says.
Apparently, the Chinese agreed.
