Italy will build its first nuclear plants after two decades as a non-nuclear power nation under accords to be signed by Enel SpA, Electricite de France SA, Ansaldo Nucleare SpA and Areva SA.

The agreements, to be signed tomorrow at a Franco-Italian summit in Paris, will make operational a plan from 2007 by EDF and Enel to build the first nuclear power plants in Italy since it shut down existing plants in 1988 after voters rejected atomic power in a referendum. The Italian government in the past two years has passed measures reversing the referendum.

Ansaldo and Areva will set up a joint venture to design and build components for nuclear plants, French and Italian officials said. Ansaldo will sign a separate accord with Enel and EDF to supply turbines to the plants. Ansaldo Nucleare is a unit of Rome-based engineering group Finmeccanica SpA.

Other contracts will cover the training of nuclear engineers and the disposal of nuclear waste.

Further agreements to be signed at the summit, attended by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, include one allowing French and Italian train companies to run services in each other's countries and the creation of a joint mountain troop brigade, the officials said.

The French-Italian alpine brigade, modeled on the Strasbourg-based Eurocorps originally set up with French and German troops and now including Belgian, Luxembourg and Spanish units, is expected to be operational by 2013.

Eoin Treacy's view Global energy demand remains in a secular uptrend and consumers are becoming increasingly convinced of the merits of carbon-free electricity production. These complimentary themes are two of the primary drivers behind growth in global nuclear reactor construction. The pace of construction took a hit during the Great Recession, but as energy prices continue to recover, interest in the sector is beginning to revive.

Associated shares have been laggards over the last year but are now showing signs that demand may be returning to dominance. Toshiba Plant Systems failed to sustain the break to new highs in August and has pulled back to test the upper side of the previous 18-month range. A sustained move back above ¥1100 would break the current progression of lower rally highs and indicate a return to demand dominance.

Areva, which is involved in every area of the industry from mining uranium to reactor construction and nuclear fuel reprocessing, retested its 2009 low in February but rebounded sharply and has been consolidating in the region of €380 for a month. A sustained move back below €370 would be required to question scope for further higher to lateral ranging.

GE is so highly diversified that its reactor construction activity is barely reflected in the share price. However, it continues to advance in line with other major industrials, breaking upwards from its 6-month consolidation last month. A sustained move back below the 200-day moving average would be required to question medium-term upside potential.