On 12 July 2021, EDF announced the opening of its office in Warsaw fully dedicated to supporting the preparation of a comprehensive nuclear proposal tailored to the Polish market. The decision to anchor EDF's nuclear activity in Warsaw confirms EDF's long-term commitment to support the Polish nuclear ambition. The announcement was made during a press conference attended by H.E. the Ambassador of France F. Billet and the High Representative appointed by the French government for the nuclear cooperation with Poland, Mr. Philippe Crouzet, who both expressed France's full support to the offer led by EDF for the development of 4 to 6 EPR reactors in Poland.
To head the new office, EDF appointed Mr. Thierry Deschaux as Managing Director. In 14 years of career in Poland within various EDF subsidiaries, including Dalkia Polska of which he was the Chief Executive Officer until today, Mr. Deschaux has gained a deep knowledge of the Polish energy sector throughout all the stages of its transformation: from coal supply, to development of Combined Heat and Power plants, to district heating management and Energy Services development. Mr. Deschaux worked also for 15 years at the nuclear branch of EDF in France in engineering, operations and maintenance, as well as in procurement strategy and negotiation of major nuclear fuel contracts.
The activity of the office will focus on extending the engagement EDF has built over the last 10 years with all key stakeholders involved in the Polish nuclear program. One of its key tasks will be to embark the Polish industry into EDF's European supply chain by establishing long-term partnerships and accelerating qualification of Polish suppliers. The office will be the Polish extension of EDF's New Nuclear Development Division and will therefore fully benefit from the support of the Group's engineering and commercial teams.
Thierry Deschaux, Managing Director of the new Polish office of EDF SA said: “The establishment of this new EDF office dedicated to nuclear activities in Poland comes at a crucial point and is yet another piece of evidence of EDF's commitment to anchor locally its industrial and partnership proposal in order to deliver the best offer for Poland. EDF has a long-standing history in Poland of which I have been part for over 14 years. I am honored to be appointed to this new strategic position to support the ambitious Polish and European energy transition”.
Vakis Ramany, EDF Senior Vice-President New Nuclear Development, said: “I am really proud to welcome Thierry Deschaux at the helm of this new office of our development division. Poland is a key market for the EDF Group and, as the leading European nuclear utility, we are deeply committed to provide more than the proven EPR technology to this ambitious program. We promote a long-term strategic partnership grounded in three key dimensions: embarking the Polish supply chain; building the human capacity of the future owner-operator for security of supply and independence; and exploring, with the support of the French government, the various financing tools and options to secure the Polish program”.
Philippe Crouzet, the High Representative of the French government for the nuclear cooperation with Poland, said: “I would like to emphasize France's strong will to support the Polish nuclear program in a spirit of strategic and industrial cooperation. France offers a European solution based on the EPR, a 3rd generation technology already licensed by several European safety authorities, as well as on 50 years of experience with nuclear energy. Nuclear is clearly a solution for the future. It is crucial for achieving European climate goals.”