(Bloomberg) -- A financing deal for Electricite de France SA’s Sizewell C nuclear project in Britain needs to be reached by the summer.

A solution to fund the project must be reached by then, an official from the office of the French energy transition ministry, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, told reporters in a briefing on Friday. The UK has pledged to invest £700 million ($833 million) for a 20% stake in the project, with EDF holding another 20%, and private investors making up the rest. 

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met Friday in Paris to discuss, among other things, nuclear power — one of the most important areas for cooperation between Paris and London. EDF needs agreement on the financing deal before it can make a final investment decision next year and begin construction of Sizewell C.

The UK wants to deliver eight new nuclear reactors this decade — needing approval at a pace equivalent to one a year. Doubts remain about the government’s ability to green-light enough projects by 2030 to meet that goal. Macron wants to build at least six new reactors in France that would start operating by 2035, and is currently reviewing the possibility of building more than 14. 

The UK has devised a Relative Asset Base model, that shifts the construction risk onto UK taxpayers rather than private investors. That is meant to placate investors as EDF’s flagship Hinkley Point C runs over-budget and over-time. 

EDF says Sizewell C will cost 20% less than Hinkley Point C, which is now pegged at £32 billion.

If the right offer can’t be found to attract private investors, getting Sizewell built may need further government investment. Simon Barber, UK managing director for engineering company Assystem, which provides expertise to build reactors in Sizewell and Hinkley Point cited soaring inflation and the high cost of capital as the key challenges for the industry.

 

--With assistance from Francois de Beaupuy.

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