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Announced on July 28, EXCEL Services Vietnam will provide advisory and technical services as Vietnam advances plans to develop nuclear power as a reliable electricity source to support continued economic growth.

“EXCEL is extremely excited to launch our new company in Vietnam,” said Donald Hoffman, president and CEO of EXCEL Services Corporation. “Vietnam has demonstrated a strong commitment to developing nuclear power as an important electricity generation source, and EXCEL is proud to support the country’s efforts to establish safe and effective nuclear power operations. We look forward to being part of this important and exciting journey.”

The company has named James Voss as general director of EXCEL Services Vietnam. It has established offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and has entered into memoranda of understanding with the Vietnam National Innovation Centre (NIC) and the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. Additional cooperation agreements are under development with strategic government agencies and corporate partners.

EXCEL is a veteran-owned nuclear engineering, licensing, regulatory, and policy consulting firm based in the US supporting operating reactors and advanced nuclear initiatives in the US and throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Its work spans nuclear licensing and regulatory strategy, governance and institutional design for nuclear programmes, and technical and policy analyses that help utilities, governments, and developers evaluate deployment pathways and execute projects within established legal frameworks.

Vietnam is pressing ahead with plans to develop nuclear energy. Under Vietnam’s strategy for the peaceful development and application of atomic energy to 2035, with a vision towards 2050, nuclear power is expected to account for between 6 and 8 per cent of the country’s total electricity output. The plan includes the construction of four large-scale nuclear power units and between 10 and 15 small modular reactors.

According to the revised Power Development Plan VIII, Vietnam aims to bring Ninh Thuan 1 and 2 into operation between 2030 and 2035, with a combined capacity of 4,000-6,400MW. By 2050, an additional 8,000MW of nuclear capacity will be required to provide stable baseload power, with the potential for further expansion depending on demand.