MOSCOW, July 10, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- NUCON-RF, Inc. (Pink Sheets:NNRF) today announced that it had completed a key strategic initiative by entering into a joint venture with the Russian company Atomenergomash to jointly meet the growing demand in the nuclear power plant market for power generation, both in Russia and abroad.
OAO "Nuclear and energy machinery building" (Atomenergomash) was established in 2006 as a 100% affiliated company of TVEL Corporation (http://www.tvel.ru/en/) for the management of nuclear machinery building capacities. The founder of Atomenergomash is TVEL. TVEL and Atomenergomash are identified as two of the four main components of the newly formed Russian state nuclear energy company ATOMENERGOPROM (ATOMPROM) (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070709/russia_nuclear.html?.v=1).
A joint venture between ZAO ATOLL, which is 50% owned by NNRF, and Atomenergomash has been finalized under Russian law - registration number: 1077847311717.
This joint venture will become a division of Atomenergomash. Atomenergomash is to become the machinery building component of ATOMPROM. ATOMPROM has been modeled after GAZPROM, the company that has successfully consolidated Russia's oil and gas assets into one of the world's largest corporations from a market capitalization perspective The newly formed ATOMPROM is intended to become a world leader in the development of nuclear power.
NNRF believes that this joint venture will play a pivotal role in the construction of two serial nuclear reactors per year, generating not less than one gigawatt each, with an efficient construction period of a maximum of five years and as much as a 10% reduction in costs.
NNRF stated that this joint venture is anticipated to substantially add to the current operating revenues of ATOLL. The Company added that it believes it has the potential to position other intended acquisitions of NNRF into similar joint ventures with components of ATOMPROM.
This joint venture agreement demonstrates the commitment of both parties to developing a long-term strategic and industrial partnership. The joint venture will focus on the growing nuclear power plant market in Russia, while also participating in the development of power plant projects abroad utilizing the technical resources and proprietary technology portfolio of ATOLL/NNRF to provide services for the entire nuclear cycle; including decommissioning and final disposal of nuclear wastes.
The joint venture is anticipated to provide ATOLL/NNRF with access to new orders not only for nuclear reactors, but also for nuclear waste disposal facilities, floating nuclear power plants currently under construction in China, and other facilities of the Federal Agency of Nuclear Energy (Minatom) (www.minatom.ru).
The joint venture will be located at Izorsky Works, the largest industrial enterprise in St. Petersburg, Russia
About NNRF:
NNRF is a U.S. corporation with executive and operations offices in Moscow, Berlin and Washington. NNRF offers design and manufacturing of specialized products for nuclear reactors and nuclear waste management; proprietary nuclear shielding, decommissioning and decontamination technologies; and engineering/design services for a range of environmental challenges. NNRF owns manufacturing facilities and provides both equipment and services for nuclear power plants and compliance, shielding, transport and interim and final storage requirements for government agencies and nuclear service companies. NNRF also owns or licenses proprietary leading edge technologies which provide NNRF with a market edge in manufacturing, design, engineering and services capabilities. NNRF's management team has extensive industry and government service including extensive in-house expertise in all aspects of radiological protection and radiological waste management. NNRF has entered into strategic alliance agreements with government agencies of the Russian Federation. Access through NNRF's strategic alliances to key processing and disposal facilities in the Russian Federation enables it to complete a broad range of projects efficiently and cost effectively. NNRF believes that this access provides vertically integrated services that distinguish it from competitors. NNRF manufactures nuclear power plant equipment in Russia and has multi-year sales contracts for a significant portion of current production with ROSATOM, the owner and operator of all Russian nuclear reactors. NNRF also provides products, services and proprietary technology based solutions through its strategic alliances to multilateral and bilateral funded projects located in northwestern Russia known as the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP). This area contains the largest repository of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in the world. The projects involve the decommissioning and disposal of nuclear powered naval vessels of the former Soviet Union. The projects are funded by G-8 member countries. NNRF currently is expanding its marketing to include the European Union, China, India and North America in 2007-08 through strategic marketing partnerships with multinational energy service companies. NNRF is currently engaged in the due diligence phase of potential further acquisitions in 2007-2008 which are intended to substantially increase its current asset and revenue base.
Safe Harbor Statement:
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding announcements of financial results, business potential and other prospective presentations by NNRF. Such statements reflect management's current views, are based on certain assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results, events, or performance may differ materially from the above forward-looking statements due to a number of important factors, and will be dependent upon a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, our ability to obtain additional financing that will allow us to continue our current and future operations and whether demand for our products in domestic and international markets will continue to expand. NNRF undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof or to reflect any change in NNRF's expectations with regard to these forward-looking statements or the occurrence of unanticipated events.