GE and Hitachi Launch Nuclear Business

US-based power company General Electric and Japanese technology company Hitachi have launched a joint nuclear business to provide advanced boiling water reactor plants and related services.

GE and Hitachi say they are combining their nuclear businesses to capitalise on rising demand for electricity and increasing concerns about carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired plants.

The two companies will also offer equipment and services for a separate nuclear plant technology known as pressurised water reactors.

GE Energy says nuclear plants produce virtually no carbon gases and reactors can take the place of aging power plants that rely on fossil fuels.

The GE-Hitachi alliance plans to spend between $350 million and $400 million for nuclear plant designs and certification. The designs are expected to be complete by 2010.

In 2005, President Bush signed an energy bill that provides incentives to build new nuclear power plants in the U.S.

By Staff writer