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[grupo guitarlumber] 14/1/2011 11:35

Alstom Signs EUR950 Million Contract To Build Power Plant In Estonia
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Today : Friday 14 January 2011
French engineering firm Alstom SA (ALO.FR) Friday said it has signed a contract worth up to EUR950 million to build a power plant for a unit of Estonia's state-owned utility Eesti Energia.

The power plant will be fired with fossil fuels, Alstom said in a statement. The Estonian utility has signed for the construction of a first EUR540 million unit, with an option for a second EUR410 million extension.

Alstom will be responsible for the conception, construction, supply and installation of the plant.

-By Inti Landauro, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]

[grupo guitarlumber] 12/1/2011 20:06

France's Alstom to ink power plant deal with Estonia
(AFP) – 2 hours ago

TALLINN, Estonia - Estonian state power firm Eesti Energia said Wednesday it would sign a 950-million-euro (1.23-billion-dollar) deal with France's Alstom to build a new electricity plant.

Eesti Energia spokeswoman Marina Bachmann told AFP that the deal would be inked on Friday, during a visit by Pierre Lellouche, France's foreign trade minister.

"The cost of the project is 950 million euros. The new power plant will be fired by oil (from) shale and will have up to two energy blocs of 300 megawatts each," Bachmann said.

"The first bloc of the new power plant will have to be completed by 2015 and a decision on the second will made in 2012," she added.

The plant will be located next to an existing facility in Narva on Estonia's northeastern border with Russia.

Estonia, a European Union member with a population of 1.3 million, covers almost all its energy needs using oil derived from its reserves of shale -- rocks which contain matter from which petroleum can be extracted by distillation.

Narva is the country's energy hub, with 95 percent of the country's power generated in the region.

Two bids were submitted to build the new plant last summer, but a Polish contender fell short of requirements, leaving Alstom as the only player.

Eesti Energia said it had agreed terms with last month with Alstom, which in 2009 also struck a deal to supply desulphurisation systems at existing facilities in Narva.

"The construction of the new power plant is an extraordinarily important investment for Estonia which will make the production of energy more environmentally-friendly in future," Eesti Energia's Narva plants' chief Tonu Aas told reporters.

"It will also ensure that we will have enough capacity to produce energy later, when some older blocs at Narva's power stations need to be closed," he added.

Eesti Energia declined to say whether the new plant would be part-financed from EU funds, which poorer member states such as ex-communist Estonia are able to tap to upgrade their infrastructure and clean up their environment.

[grupo guitarlumber] 12/1/2011 19:06

12/01/2011France's Alstom to ink power plant deal with Estonia
Estonian state power firm Eesti Energia said Wednesday it would sign a 950-million-euro (1.23-billion-dollar) deal with France's Alstom to build a new electricity plant.

Eesti Energia spokeswoman Marina Bachmann told AFP that the deal would be inked on Friday, during a visit by Pierre Lellouche, France's foreign trade minister.

"The cost of the project is 950 million euros. The new power plant will be fired by oil (from) shale and will have up to two energy blocs of 300 megawatts each," Bachmann said.

"The first bloc of the new power plant will have to be completed by 2015 and a decision on the second will made in 2012," she added.




© 2010 AFP

[grupo guitarlumber] 12/1/2011 04:59

Alstom Advances After Morgan Stanley Upgrades Stock
By Francois de Beaupuy - Jan 11, 2011 6:40 PM GMT+0100
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Business ExchangeBuzz up!DiggPrint Email .Alstom SA, the world's third-largest maker of power equipment, jumped the most in 13 months in Paris trading after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to "overweight," citing a rebound in orders.

Alstom, based in Levallois-Perret near the French capital, rose 6.3 percent to finish at 37.20 euros, its highest price for the day. It was the stock's biggest gain since Dec. 1, 2009.

"Although the market has become increasingly cognizant of Alstom's recent order rebound, we suspect it is both sustainable and not yet adequately discounted in the share price," Morgan Stanley analysts including Ben Uglow wrote in a research note today. New orders may have exceeded sales in the October-to- December period, they said.

The analysts upgraded Alstom from "equalweight" and raised their target price for the company, which also makes railroad and power-transmission equipment, to 52 euros from 35 euros.

To contact the reporter on this story: Francois de Beaupuy in Paris at [e-mail].

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at [e-mail]

[grupo guitarlumber] 11/1/2011 09:32

Alstom (ALSO.PA: Cotation) s'adjuge 3,4%, plus forte hausse du CAC 40, dopé par Morgan Stanley qui a relevé sa recommandation sur le titre ce matin, de "pondération en ligne" à "surpondérer", ainsi que son objectif de cours, de 35 à 52 euros, selon des traders.

[waldron] 04/1/2011 15:05

ALSTOM : to Supply an Additional 22 Coradia Polyvalent Trains to the Auvergne and Poitou-Charentes Regions for €125 Million
01/04/0111 | 09:21 am
Regulatory News:

The Poitou-Charentes and Auvergne regions have just placed an order with Alstom (Paris:ALO) to supply 10 and 12 regional trains, respectively, from the Coradia Polyvalent range (Régiolis) for some €125 million. The Auvergne region is already operating 37 regional Alstom trains and the Poitou-Charentes region, 18 trains.

The order, which was booked in the third quarter of fiscal year 2010/11, is part of the contract financed by the French regions and signed on 27 October 2009 with SNCF. The initial contract consisted of a first tranche totalling €800 million for the supply of 100 Coradia Polyvalent trains. The two order options exercised in January (19 trainsets) and March (23 rames) 2010, brought the total number of trainsets ordered to 142 units. To date, 164 trainsets have been ordered and will be distributed among the regions of Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie, Haute-Normandie, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrénées, Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The total volume of trains could eventually reach 1,000 Coradia Polyvalent trains, for total orders of over €7 billion.

The production delivery of the contract dated October 2009 is currently ongoing. The first carriage frame is being finished at Alstom's plant in Reichshoffen, Alsace, and the first train will roll off the assembly line in June 2011. The deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2013 and end in mid-2015.

Coradia Polyvalent will be entirely designed, manufactured and assembled in Alstom Transport facilities in France and Belgium: train engineering and assembly in Reichshoffen (Alsace); bogies in Le Creusot (Bourgogne); motors in Ornans (Franche-Comté); traction drives in Tarbes (Midi-Pyrénées); onboard computing systems in Villeurbanne (Rhône-Alpes); and electrical equipment in Charleroi (Belgium).

Régiolis, a product of Alstom's range of regional Coradia trains

The highly-modular Coradia Polyvalent range is a single-level regional train offering different technical configurations and modular fittings for passengers. It can travel at up to 160 km/h in both its electric and hybrid versions and operates at two different voltages (25 kV and 1,500 V). It is also available in a cross-border version for operation on the German and Swiss rail networks at a voltage of 15 kV. Its platform-height floor provides travellers with optimal accessibility and full all-point visibility for improved security. Motor bogies are positioned at the ends of the carriages to limit vibrations and noise levels.

The Coradia Polyvalent consumes about 15% less energy than its competitors – and hence less CO2 – and its design incorporates eco-friendly and sustainable materials. It is equipped with permanent magnet motors that are more compact and efficient than conventional electric motors. The technical choices incorporated into its design serve the two-fold purpose of facilitating maintenance and optimizing life-cycle cost.

Thanks to over 30 years' experience in regional transportation, Alstom's Coradia range of regional and suburban trains provides adapted solutions to the sharp rise in road traffic, both within cities and on motorways, and to continued suburban sprawl. Alstom has built over 3,000 regional trains in its French, German and Italian plants, which have already covered more than 4 billion kilometres.

About Alstom Transport

Alstom Transport develops and offers the most complete range of systems, equipment and services on the rail market, with sustainable transport always in mind. Alstom Transport is capable of managing an entire transport system, from rolling stock to signalling and infrastructure, as well as offering turnkey solutions. In 2009-2010, Alstom Transport achieved sales of €5.8 billion. It is present in over 60 countries and has 26,000 employees.

Websites www.alstom.com, www.transport.alstom.com

[waldron] 04/1/2011 12:53

CONSENSUS DES PROFESSIONNELS
D'après le consensus de marché calculé à la date du 29/12/2010, les analystes conseillent de rester neutre sur le titre ALSTOM. En effet, sur un total de 13 bureaux d'études ayant fourni des estimations, 6 sont à l'achat, 3 sont à la vente et 4 sont neutres. L'indice de recommandation AOF, reflétant l'avis moyen des analystes et s'étendant de -100% à +100%, est de 23%. Enfin, l'objectif de cours moyen est de 42,58 EUR. Le consensus précédent conseillait d'acheter la valeur .

[simon gordon] 02/1/2011 16:50

MoneyWeek - 23/12/10:

5. Phil Cliff

Occam Asset Management

Phil Cliff's top pick for 2011 is Alstom (PA: ALO). He believes the power investment cycle is set to turn up from the current trough, offering potential returns of around 50% over the next 12 to 18 months.

[grupo guitarlumber] 29/12/2010 10:59

Alstom Confirms Its Leadership in High-technology Signalling in Equipping 121 ICE-trains of Deutsche Bahn with Its ERTMS-based Train Control Solution Atlas
Kelly Dunst on 12 29, 2010

German operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) has entrusted Alstom to equip 121 trains of its fleet ICE* with its signalling ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) based-train control solution Atlas. The contract is worth around € 60 million. The trains to be equipped are 71 ICE-T tilting trains and further 50 ICE3 trains. The 121 ICE-trains are operated in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The first 17 newly equipped trains are to start service in December 2012 in Vienna-St. Pölten and Unterinntal (Austria). From December 2015, they will operate on the German new-built line which will link Halle (Salle)/Leipzig to Erfurt and from December 2016, on the Swiss network.

" This order strengthens our position on the European market for running safety on rail ", declared Dr. Martin Lange, Managing Director of Alstom Transport in Germany and Austria. " This is another proof of our customer's confidence in our technology and service ", he added.

Atlas equipment will be manufactured in Alstom site of Charleroi (Belgium) and Villeurbanne (France). It is foreseen that DB and Alstom teams will then install and integrate the systems in the ICE-T trains in DB-sites in Hagen/Krefeld and Nuremburg in Germany.

Atlas solution optimizes traffic flows and intervals between trains, assuring passenger safety. It guarantees perfect interoperability for the entire European network and reinforces ntework's profitability.

Alstom has already equipped with its Atlas solution 468 vehicles of SBB (the Swiss federal railways) fleet, which are in commercial operation in Switerzland under ETCS Level 2 since July 2006. In 2008, Deutsche Bahn ordered Atlas equipment for 17 ICE 3 trains, which, in the meantime, used for cross-border traffic between Frankfurt and Brussels, and between Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Paris from 2012. In January 2010, Alstom received an order from Austrian Railways ÖBB (Österreichische Bundesbahnen) to equip 449 vehicles with ATLAS which will enter commercial service in December 2012 on the ETCS Level 2 Austrian new-built lines.

About Alstom Transport's ERTMS system : ATLAS

This new contract confirms Alstom Transport's position as the leader in the operational deployment of interoperability in Europe. Alstom holds a market share of 63% of the on-board ERTMS Level2 equipment contracts. Over 1100 trains equipped with Atlas solution have travelled around 40 million kilometres in commercial service. Across Europe, more than 8 trains out of 10 operating under ETCS Level 2 supervision are running under TLAS supervision across Europe. Alstom has more than 30 ERTMS projects in service in nine European countries, including the Rome-Naples line in Italy, the first very high speed line equipped with a Level 2 ERTMS system, the Mattstetten-Rothrist line in Switzerland, used by the biggest equipped fleet and the freight line Betuwe Route in the Netherlands, part of Corridor C.
Furthermore, over 1, 300 vehicles will enter in service with Atlas solution in the next years.

About Alstom Transport
A promoter of sustainable mobility, Alstom is the only manufacturer in the world to offer a complete range of high performance products: rolling stock, infrastructures, information systems, services and turnkey solutions. Mindful of operators´ ever more stringent profitability objectives and of their growing need for sustainable mobility solutions, we propose ecologically and economically efficient products and services to our customers. Alstom transport recorded sales of 5.8 billion euros in the fiscal year 2009-2010. Alstom Transport is present in 60 countries and employs some 26,000 people.

[grupo guitarlumber] 22/12/2010 12:32

Alstom Secures Rail Systems Contract With Germany's ICE
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Aujourd'hui : Wednesday 22 December 2010
French engineering group Alstom SA (ALO.FR) said Wednesday it secured a contract with Germany's high-speed train operator ICE to provide rail traffic management systems, worth EUR60 million.

Alstom will equip 121 ICE trains with the systems, starting with 17 trains being equipped from December 2012, it said.

-By Geraldine Amiel, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]

[waldron] 20/12/2010 15:43

Budapest City Council Plans Talks With Alstom Over Metro-Car Supply Deal
By Andras Gergely - Dec 20, 2010 8:13 AM GMT+0100
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Business ExchangeBuzz up!DiggPrint Email .The Budapest city council wants to negotiate an agreement with Alstom SA, the world's second- largest trainmaker by revenue, over a 65 billion forint ($314 million) contract to supply subway cars.

The council is opting for the talks because litigation would be more expensive, Mayor Istvan Tarlos said on state-run M1 television today.

"If we didn't agree it would cost a great deal for the city," Tarlos said.

Alstom failed to obtain a regulatory permit for the vehicles, risking its contract, the news website Index reported on July 30. The cars didn't meet requirements for the quality of braking systems and the control software needed modification, according to the Budapest-based website.

The Levallois-Perret, France-based company won the contract for 44 new air-conditioned, 100-meter (328 feet) subway trains in 2006 over a bid by OAO Metrowagonmash of Russia. Budapest plans to use the trains for a new subway line and a reconstructed one.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andras Gergely in Budapest [e-mail].

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at [e-mail]
.

[grupo guitarlumber] 15/12/2010 15:25

PARIS (Dow Jones)--French power and transport engineering company Alstom SA (ALO.FR) Wednesday said it has secured EUR340 million of contracts to rehabilitate and maintain part of the nuclear fleet of French state-controlled power group Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR).

MAIN FACTS:

- Alstom will supply stators for 900MW and 1,300MW generators, rotors for 900 MW generators and lines of rotors for 900MW steam turbines.

- By Paris Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]

[waldron] 13/12/2010 19:40

ALSTOM : Contracts Worth More Than €300 Million, Alstom to Equip the First Line of the Panama Metro and Provide 45 Cars for Line 2 of Santo Domingo Metro
12/13/2010 | 07:55 am
Regulatory News:

Alstom (Paris:ALO) has won two contracts to equip both the first metro line in Panama and line 2 of the Santo Domingo metro, representing a total amount of more than €300 million.

In Panama, the SMP (Secretaría del Metro de Panama) has awarded a contract to the ?Consorcio Linea 1? to build the first line of the Panama Metro. This consortium consist of a Brazilian civil works company Odebrecht (55%) and the Spanish FCC (45%). As a subcontractor of this consortium, Alstom is the leader of electromechanical group and will be in charge of the engineering, integration and commissioning of the electromechanical works on a turnkey basis. Alstom will also supply 57 metro cars, traction substations and the CBTC1 train control system. Alstom's share of the contract is worth around €200 million.

With 1.7 million people, Panama City is the most modern and business focused city of the region. The Panama Canal brought economic growth and the city is the headquarter of a large financial community. Transport problems in Panama City will now be alleviated by the construction of the first line of the metro. This line will be 13.7 km long, of which 7.2 km will be underground and 6.5 km on viaduct. The line will have 13 stations and will run from Los Andes at the north of the city, through the historical downtown (Plaza 5 de Mayo), the financial centre (Vía España), and will end at the Albrook neighbourhood, where the maintenance and workshop center will be located. The works are expected to be completed by the end of 2013.

The train control system chosen for this project is Alstom´s state of the art Urbalis CBTC solution. This modern radio based system is now implemented worldwide for high capacity and driverless metros in Singapore, Beijing, Lausanne and Shanghai. In the Americas, the leading metros of Sao Paulo, Santiago de Chile, Mexico and Toronto have also chosen the Urbalis solution.

In Santo Domingo, the Dominican operator OPRET awarded Alstom a contract worth €101 million to supply 15 Metropolis train sets of three cars each, for the line 2 of the Santo Domingo metro. The contract also includes maintenance services as well as an option for 6 additional trains. The commercial service is scheduled for early 2012.

Line 2 of Santo Domingo metro will run from east to west, connecting Los Alcarrizos with San Luis. The new line will transport around 400,000 people daily and will cross the existing line 1 also served by Alstom Metropolis trains since 2008. The line 2 is 21 km long and will be served by 20 stations. The trains are developed on Alstom's Metropolis platform and will be manufactured in Alstom' Santa Perpetua factory, in Spain.

The Metropolis trains are of the Alstom´s standard Metropolis platform. They will be designed and assembled in Alstom's sites in Europe.

With these two large-scale projects Alstom continues strengthening its position in Latin America and the Caribbean. To date, more than 4,000 Metropolis cars have been sold in different cities such as Barcelona, Warsaw, Singapore, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile.

About Alstom Transport

A promoter of sustainable mobility, Alstom is the only manufacturer in the world to offer a complete range of high performance products: rolling stock, infrastructures, information systems, services and turnkey solutions. Mindful of operators´ ever more stringent profitability objectives and of their growing need for sustainable mobility solutions, we propose ecologically and economically efficient products and services to our customers. Alstom transport recorded sales of 5.8 billion euros in the fiscal year 2009-2010. Alstom Transport is present in 60 countries and employs some 26,000 people.

Websites www.alstom.com, www.transport/alstom.com

[waldron] 13/12/2010 11:05

St Petersburg-Helsinki high speed train service launched Written by John Bonar on Monday, 13 December 2010 09:30 | Published in Road & Rail Transport
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A French-made Allegro train launched a high speed service between St. Petersburg and the Finnish capital Helsinki on Sunday as Russia proposed Visa free travel for passengers on the service.



The train carrying Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Finnish President Tarja Halonen and her husband among other representatives from both countries, arrived at the St. Petersburg Finlyandsky railroad station at 04:50 p.m. Moscow time (1350 GMT).

Halonen took the train from Helsinki at 01:00 p.m. Moscow time (1000 GMT), while Putin joined her in Russia's northwestern city of Vyborg.

The train will run at a maximum speed of 200 kmph on the Russian part, and 220 kmph on the Finnish part, thus covering the 443 km distance in just over 3.5 hours from six hours 18 minutes earlier.

The opening of the route marked another phase of the Russia-Finland cooperation, said the Itar-Tass news agency.


Russia could allow visa free travel for passengers of a high speed train linking Finland and Russia, a senior official said, as Moscow presses the European Union to ease travel restrictions.

Russian Railways launched the service between Helsinki and St Petersburg on Sunday, with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Finnish President Tarja Halonen attending the ceremony.

"We have submitted our proposal (to lift visa requirements for EU citizens travelling by the high-speed train) and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the cabinet will review it," said Vladimir Yakunin, chief executive of Russian Railways.

"Will the European Union do the same thing? I am little concerned about that," Yakunin added. Under the proposal EU citizens would be able to stay in Russia for 72 hours without a visa.

Four high-speed trains supplied by France's Alstom are expected to carry 250,000 passengers between St Petersburg and Helsinki in 2011 in Russian Railways' first joint international project in partnership with Finnish VR-Group.

EU citizens travelling to Russia complain of excessive bureaucracy when applying for visa while Russians say they face long waiting times and embarrassing questions in the European embassies.

Russia has stepped up pressure on the EU to ease visa requirements for Russian citizens travelling to the EU.

"The visa regime is dictated entirely by political reasons. It is an atavism from the past and should be abolished," Putin said on Friday at a joint news conference with Finland's Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi.

[ariane] 10/12/2010 15:33

Alstom: To Provide 14 Speed Trains To Morocco For EUR400 Million
Alstom (EU:ALO)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Friday 10 December 2010
French power engineering and train company Alstom SA (ALO.FR) Friday said it has signed a EUR400 million contract with the Moroccan national railways agency to provide it with 14 high speed trains.

MAIN FACTS:

- The trains, which are to run between Tanger and Casablanca, are to start operating in December 2015, the company said in a statement.

- By Paris Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]

[ariane] 10/12/2010 15:33

Alstom: To Provide 14 Speed Trains To Morocco For EUR400 Million
Alstom (EU:ALO)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Friday 10 December 2010
French power engineering and train company Alstom SA (ALO.FR) Friday said it has signed a EUR400 million contract with the Moroccan national railways agency to provide it with 14 high speed trains.

MAIN FACTS:

- The trains, which are to run between Tanger and Casablanca, are to start operating in December 2015, the company said in a statement.

- By Paris Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]

[waldron] 09/12/2010 19:12

PARIS (Dow Jones)--French power engineering and train company Alstom SA (ALO.FR) said Thursday it signed a deal with Russian companies to develop products and services for the Russian energy industry.

Alstom and the Russian companies will work on products and services for hydropower, thermal and nuclear generation plants as well as for electricity transmission, the French company said in a statement.

Alstom signed an agreement with Russian thermal electricity generator INTER RAO UES (IRAO.RS), with gas giant Gazprom (SIBN.RS), with hydropower company RusHydro JSC, with electricity transmission company OAO FSK EES, with Rostechnologii and with the Russian Federal agency for nuclear energy.

Alstom didn't release any financial details about the agreements.

-By Paris Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]

[waldron] 09/12/2010 16:25

Italy Court Rejects Alstom Complaint, Appeal Planned
Alstom (EU:ALO)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 9 December 2010
A regional court in Italy has thrown out a complaint filed by France's Alstom SA (ALO.FR) after it failed to secure a lucrative contract to make 50 high-speed trains for the country's railway operator.

The administrative court for the region of Lazio, known as TAR, also ordered Alstom to pay legal costs, according to MF-Dow Jones.

Alstom said it planned to appeal the decision.

Alstom filed the action missing out on a tender for a EUR1.54 billion contract to build 50 high-speed trains for Italy's state-owned Ferrovie della Stato. Instead, a consortium involving Finmeccanica SpA's (FNC.MI) AnsaldoBreda unit and Canada's Bombardier Inc. (BBD.A.T) were granted the tender.

-By Livia Lepore, MF-Dow Jones; Gilles Castonguay, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]

(Adam Mitchell in Paris contributed to this article.)

[waldron] 09/12/2010 06:37

Alstom sets up tidal business in France
08 December 2010

Alstom has opened its Alstom Hydro's Ocean Energy activities in Nantes and revealed its planned tidal turbine, BELUGA 9.
The tidal turbine will undergo its first tests in 2012, in the Bay of Fundy, Canada.

Philippe Cochet, Senior Vice President, Alstom Hydro and Wind, says: "There is a considerable potential market for tidal energy, estimated between 50 and 100 GW worldwide, of which France and the United Kingdom account for 10%.

"Tidal energy has some unique advantages. It is, for example, possible to predict the amount of energy that will be produced with complete accuracy, and tidal turbine generators are completely invisible once they are submerged. We are now entering an industrialisation and testing phase that will enable us to respond with a reliable solution as soon as the first calls for tenders appear."

Alstom's Ocean Energy activities will be located on the island of Nantes (Ile de Nantes) – a historical site of the French shipyard industry – under the direction of Philippe Gilson, Alstom Hydro's Ocean Energy Manager.

The role of the team will be to design, manufacture and market a new generation of tidal turbine generators that can produce electricity from tidal currents.

BELUGA 9
The BELUGA 9 tidal turbine is intended for powerful currents – up to 4.5 m/s, or 9 knots, on the surface during spring tides.

It will be Alstom's first tidal turbine generator. Once mounted, it will have a diameter of 13 m and a total height of 20 m, the equivalent of a six-storey building. It will be suited to sites at depths of 30 m or more, such as in the English Channel.

The Nantes division has also begun preliminary studies for the development of a second tidal turbine model, intended for sites at greater depths where the tide is less powerful – testing should begin in Brittany in 2013.

Gilson says: "Our global launching-ground for ocean energy had to be in an area where there was a concentration of skills in marine activities, and that could serve France and the United Kingdom as a priority. By establishing ourselves on Ile de Nantes, we will benefit from nearby testing facilities, such as the Ecole Centrale de Nantes's towing tank and wave tank, as well as from an industrial environment that is particularly advanced in areas of mechanical and electrical engineering, and naval construction."



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Wave and tidal energy

[ariane] 08/12/2010 08:14

Alstom, Chinese Partners May Jointly Bid on U.S. Rail Contracts, CEO Says
By Francois de Beaupuy - Dec 7, 2010 7:58 PM GMT+0100
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Business ExchangeBuzz up!DiggPrint Email .Alstom SA may bid with Chinese partners for high-speed rail contracts in the U.S., Brazil and Argentina under an agreement to boost cooperation, according to Patrick Kron, chief executive officer of the French trainmaker.

"We have a two-prong approach, both to cooperate on the Chinese market where there are massive needs, and on export markets," Kron said today in a telephone interview from Beijing. Joint bids in the Americas are "among the things we will study," he said.

Alstom signed a long-term cooperation agreement with China's Railway Ministry to develop infrastructure in the country and elsewhere, the Levallois-Perret, France-based company said today in a statement. Alstom and Chinese companies "will accelerate new areas of the cooperation on a wide spectrum," including intercity rolling stock, high-speed trains, locomotives and signaling, it said.

The French manufacturer, the world's second-largest trainmaker by revenue, is trying to grow in China, the world's biggest market for rail infrastructure, as budget constraints may hurt sales in Europe. Orders at its transport unit fell 16 percent in the six months through September from a year earlier.

Alstom and Chinese companies including China CNR Corp. will discuss partnerships and investments, and see which markets they can target together, Kron said. The talks could translate into "tangible projects" within three months, he said.

Design, Efficiency

"We could co-design" high-speed trains and other equipment "to provide more efficient offers," the Alstom CEO said. "This framework agreement is the opportunity to create a real step-change in our business in China."

Alstom, which is also the world's third-largest maker of power equipment and power-transmission gear, rose 4.5 percent to 34.09 euros in Paris trading today. That pared the stock's drop this year to 31 percent, valuing the manufacturer at 10 billion euros ($13.3 billion).

The French company's expansion outside its home country includes teaming up with Russian railway-equipment maker Transmashholding to tap markets in the former Soviet Union.

Both Alstom, whose products include France's high-speed TGV train models, and the Chinese ministry have separately expressed interest in the past three years in a railway project to link Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Alstom has held off from some Chinese orders because it has refused to transfer bullet-train technology to Chinese manufacturers. Contracts won by competitors include a $4 billion order for 80 high-speed trains awarded in September 2009 to Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. and a 750 million-euro, 100-train purchase from Siemens AG.

Alstom is the second-largest maker of rolling stock by sales after Munich-based Siemens, according to Bloomberg data.

To contact the reporter on this story: Francois de Beaupuy in Paris at [e-mail].

[ariane] 07/12/2010 07:03

Alstom Signs Rail Cooperation Deal With Chinese Government
Alstom (EU:ALO)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Tuesday 7 December 2010
French power engineering and train company Alstom SA (ALO.FR) Tuesday said it signed a long-term cooperation agreement with the Chinese government to jointly develop rail markets in China and abroad.

The deal includes cooperation in developing trains and traffic signs, Alstom said in a statement.

The company expects to develop products for the Chinese market and for export.

-By Inti Landauro, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]