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Paul Taylor, commercial counselor at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, said on Tuesday that U.S. companies are expected to increase business activities after the Philippines-U.S. nuclear agreement takes effect on July 2. (Photo by Joel Dean B. Lagarre)
ILOILO CITY – As many as 40 American companies are expected to enter the Philippine nuclear energy sector as the nuclear energy agreement between the Philippines and the United States takes effect.
The U.S. State Department announced on Tuesday that the two countries’ breakthrough “123 Agreement” on nuclear energy cooperation came into effect on July 2.
read: Philippines, US civil nuclear energy agreement takes effect
The Philippines-U.S. Nuclear Energy Agreement provides a legal framework that allows U.S. companies to export nuclear materials, equipment and components to other countries.
It would allow the transfer of nuclear materials, equipment (including reactors), components and information for nuclear research and civilian nuclear energy production.
Paul Taylor, commercial counselor at the U.S. Embassy, said that with the implementation of the agreement, now is the “perfect time” to “start shifting the focus to commercialization.”
business activities
“Now that this agreement is in place, American companies can really ramp up their commercial activities,” Taylor said at the U.S. Embassy’s 16th Media Seminar, titled “Driving Progress: Towards the Path to Clean Energy Transformation in the Philippines.”
“In the past few years, the focus of work in the field of civil nuclear space energy has been on the regulatory framework,” he told the seminar.
Work has accelerated since the U.S. Embassy established the Southeast Asia U.S. Civilian Nuclear Industry Working Group last May, bringing together American companies that want to bring their respective technologies to the Philippines.
The industry-leading group will initially focus on the Philippines and eventually expand into other markets in Southeast Asia.
read: U.S., Philippines to provide nuclear power training to Filipinos
Taylor said 14 companies providing technology and services have joined the group, which will promote the development of the country’s civilian nuclear energy industry.
“We expect these 14 companies to expand to 40,” he said.
The organization will hold a virtual meeting on July 31 this year to promote nuclear-related investments in the country.
“This is really just an opportunity to sit down at the virtual negotiating table and discuss how the United States and the Philippines can work together from a business perspective and how we can work more closely together in this area,” Taylor said.
He added: “This could be the model we adopt for this industry-led task force because these companies are not just in the US but all over the world, some in Singapore and elsewhere.”
The U.S. Embassy is working closely with the Department of Energy on various nuclear-related matters, including a Suppliers Forum scheduled for mid-November of this year.
He said U.S. companies are expected to attend the meeting to “take very concrete steps” to build the supply chain needed to carry out civilian nuclear energy development projects across the country.
read: U.S. Department of Energy establishes new nuclear energy division
Apotez Power Corp., one of the few local companies keen on exploring nuclear energy opportunities in the local market, welcomed the Philippines’ nuclear energy deal with the United States.
The listed energy platform of Apotiz Group said the agreement, which took effect on Tuesday, opens the door for the Philippines to acquire nuclear equipment and components and conduct research needed for civilian nuclear energy production.
However, the company still believes that the country still faces “huge challenges” in achieving nuclear energy.
“Much work remains to be done in terms of the policy environment, namely establishing regulations and regulatory bodies to ensure safety, updating the technical expertise of the bureaucracy, developing a talent pool of nuclear engineers and industry professionals, and building and maintaining public acceptance and trust,” the report said.
Since late last year, the group has been exploring nuclear technology in foreign markets such as the United States and Canada to gain a deeper understanding of this energy source.
Another company, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), said in May that it plans to build micro modular nuclear power plants by 2028. However, the Pangilinan-led company declined to comment on the development.
The Department of Energy has yet to issue a statement.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been keen to explore nuclear energy as an option to provide the country with a cleaner source of additional baseload capacity, or power plants that can run 24 hours a day, and wean the country off its reliance on coal.
As recently as April this year, the Marcos administration showed its enthusiasm for attracting small modular nuclear power companies to enter the Philippines.
“We have 7,640 islands. This is perfect for us. It will be safer, it will be cleaner, and it’s a completely new technology,” Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said at the time.
The President has previously said nuclear energy could “become part of the Philippines’ energy mix by 2032.”
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“We prefer to proceed along this path together with the United States, which is one of our partners,” the CEO said in 2023.
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