Framatome and VUJE Sign MoU to Boost Nuclear Engineering Cooperation

Framatome, the EDF-owned French nuclear giant, and VUJE, Slovakia's specialist nuclear engineering firm, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on March 10, 2026, formalising a strategic partnership aimed at strengthening the European nuclear supply chain and deepening cooperation on reactor modernisation and advanced technologies.

The signing ceremony took place at the EDF Lounge during the Nuclear Energy Summit, held at La Seine Musicale in Boulogne-Billancourt. The second Nuclear Energy Summit was convened by the Government of the French Republic in Paris on March 10, 2026, following the inaugural summit in Brussels in March 2024. The IAEA co-organised the event, giving the Framatome-VUJE agreement a high-profile international stage.

The MoU was signed by Thomas Epron, Executive Vice-President Sales and Marketing of Framatome, and Zoltán Harsányi, Chairman of the board of directors of VUJE. The two companies agreed to expand cooperation in nuclear engineering, plant modernisation and advanced reactor technologies. Specifically, the partnership targets nuclear engineering services, modernisation of nuclear power plants, and the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies, with both sides committing to explore concrete joint initiatives across all three areas.

The deal carries explicit regional significance. The Framatome press release states the partnership is expected to "support the long-term sustainability and safety of nuclear energy in Slovakia and beyond, while contributing to the resilience and competitiveness of the European nuclear sector." VUJE has a long record in Central and Eastern Europe, including work on the V1 units at the Jaslovské Bohunice nuclear plant in Slovakia, with teams deeply versed in VVER reactors of Soviet origin, from reconstruction projects to safety upgrades.

Framatome CEO Grégoire Ponchon framed the agreement as a practical engineering platform: "This MoU provides a framework for developing joint initiatives that will contribute to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities."

Harsányi went further, describing the memorandum as more than a cooperation document. "We see this memorandum as a platform for combining complementary strengths in engineering, innovation, technical excellence and the safe operation of nuclear facilities," he said. "It also reflects our shared ambition to contribute to a strong and resilient European nuclear value chain." In a separate characterisation reported by NucNet, Harsányi said the MoU elevates the relationship between the two companies to a strategic partnership.

Framatome, majority owned by EDF, has spent decades as a backbone supplier: designing reactors, making fuel and servicing plants. By aligning with VUJE, Framatome gains a front-row seat in the life-extension and modernisation programmes of Eastern Europe's VVER fleet. That positioning matters as Central and Eastern European utilities face mounting pressure to extend operating lifetimes, upgrade safety systems, and integrate new technologies into ageing Soviet-era plant designs, all areas where VUJE's in-country expertise is difficult to replicate.

The Framatome-VUJE agreement was one of two cooperation deals Framatome signed within 24 hours, the other being an extended fuel agreement with US SMR developer NuScale Power. Together, the moves strengthen Framatome's position on both the emerging SMR market and the vast installed fleet of existing reactors in Europe, with the twin announcements signalling that the nuclear supply chain is being locked in now, not sometime in the 2030s.

The Framatome-VUJE partnership adds to a broader pattern of Framatome formalising Central European ties. In 2023 at WNE Paris, Framatome signed a separate MoU with Czech research body ÚJV Řež and Research Center Řež, focused on nuclear fuel, advanced materials, and the long-term operation of existing nuclear power plants, underscoring the company's strategy of anchoring itself across the region's engineering ecosystem well ahead of any new-build wave.