At Hanover Fair, France calls for safer nuclear power

Apr 3, 2011, 20:03 GMT

Hanover, Germany - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, whose country is a major nuclear energy user, called Sunday for tougher international safety rules to assure the future of nuclear power.

He was speaking at the inauguration in Germany of the Hanover Fair, the world's top expo for engineering companies.

Fillon said the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan had shaken trust in nuclear technology and the European Union must act.

'Our duty is to learn the lesson,' he said, noting all French reactors would face a safety review and France would take action if any turned out to be deficient. 'If certain plants have to be shut, it will be done.'

His pro-nuclear message contrasted with the views of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has become a nuclear sceptic amidst the Japan disaster. She called in her speech for a faster transition to power generation using the wind, sun, biomass and hydro power.

'If we want to reach the era of renewables, we must have the courage to rethink and try new things,' she said. 'The word Fukushima has brought new meaning to the expression residual risk.'

But she voiced confidence in German nuclear reactors, saying they were among the safest in the world. She has ordered a three-month review of Germany's existing timetable to gradually close all its reactors.

The fair is expected to be a gauge of the revival in European Union manufacturing after the recession.

More than 6,500 companies and institutes from 65 nations will be showing technology from Monday morning until Friday at the Hanover fairgrounds. The Sunday evening ceremony was held several kilometres away in an inner-city theatre.

France is this year's partner nation at the event, and Fillon was to tour the event Monday and meet with French exporters.

Machinery suppliers say the future of world electricity supplies after Japan's earthquake, tsunami and radioactive leaks is likely to remain a talking point during the week.

Makers of wind turbines and geothermal-bore equipment sense that their products are likely to be in even bigger demand. However the price of electricity is also expected to rise, because wind energy is more expensive to harness than nuclear fission.

Industry leaders in Germany said just before the fair that their chief worry was that Berlin might order all nuclear power stations closed within a decade, making electricity supplies less dependable and more expensive.

That could hit big electricity users, such as aluminium smelters, copper refineries and steel mills, at a time when Japan will also be struggling to rebuild its electricity-generating industry after the nuclear disaster.

The German organizers of the fair said a key selling point for new factory machinery at the fair would be energy efficiency. The Hanover Fair displays factory machinery ranging from simple electric motors and gearboxes to ingenious industrial robots.

Japan's triple disaster has caused ripple effects through world industry, with some Japanese-made items in short supply because the manufacturers are still fixing their factories. Like Germany, Japan is a key engineering exporter.

Most customers have said they can rely on other suppliers, but not every alternative supplier can cope with the added demand.

Germany has come roaring out of recession with full order books for its machinery exports. Domestic demand for machinery has also picked up strongly in recent months.

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