The port of Dunkirk in northern France on Friday gave EDF the green light to build one of Europe's biggest liquefied natural gas terminals, set to handle six billion cubic metres of gas annually from 2012.
'The board of the port of Dunkirk has selected the candidacy of EDF,' the Dunkirk port authority said in a statement.
The terminal of Dunkirk would be a key supply hub for EDF's gas business in France, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
The French group has said that it planned to double its annual capacity to 12 billion cubic metres beyond 2012.
Dunkirk said that this would represent an investment of 700 million euros (S$1.5 billion) for EDF, over the French group's original estimate of 500 million euros.
The Dunkirk terminal is one of EDF's key projects to expand in LNG, just as Gaz de France and Suez prepare to seal a 100 billion euro merger that will create Europe's largest LNG importer, with a 25 per cent market share.
It also comes at a time when European Union countries are seeking to expand global LNG supplies - which is gas cooled to liquid form for transport by tanker - in order to help reduce their reliance on Gazprom , which supplies a quarter of EU needs.
The Dunkirk terminal will use warm water from Europe's biggest nuclear power plant to heat the LNG into gas ready for pipeline transport across north-west Europe.
By using the warmed seawater that its nearby Gravelines nuclear power station has used for cooling, rather than burning gas to turn the super-cooled gas back into gaseous form, EDF says that it can save fuel while helping the environment by reducing carbon emissions.
The cooling water comes out of the nuclear plant 12-15 degrees warmer than the seawater that is fed in, and passing it over the pipes full of frozen gas will also cool the water, with environmental benefits.