The New York Times interviews Anne Lauvergeon, CEO of France’s nuclear energy giant Areva, about the recent deal struck with China, the largest in the industry’s history:
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.
The reasons for skepticism are clear. In recent years, nuclear-powered countries ” like the United States, Germany and Japan ” have refrained from building more plants, and countries like Italy and Poland, who had none, have refused to plunge into the nuclear age. But as today’s deal illustrates, the business of nuclear energy has come alive again, and it is people like Ms. Lauvergeon, her steely temper softened by a lively manner and a captivating laugh, that are bringing it back to life. [Full text]
[Image: Anne Lauvergeon, left, the chief executive of Areva, with Qian Zhimin, the president of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group, from the New York Times]
