Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Toshiba Corp., aiming to win 39 reactor contracts globally by 2015, is in talks with three Finnish utilities seeking to build atomic plants as it challenges Areva SA for a share of the European market.

Finland’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority is reviewing the Advance Boiling Water reactor produced by Toshiba, Yasuharu Igarashi, head of its power systems division, said in an interview in Tokyo on Oct. 14. The Finnish government will decide in February or March whether to grant licenses for new reactors sought by the three utilities.

Areva, the leader in the European nuclear market, had been chosen as of July for at least 11 of 39 new plants planned or under construction in the region, while Toshiba hasn’t built a plant there for more than 20 years. An Areva project in Finland, the Olkiluoto-3 atomic plant, has encountered delays and cost overruns.

Finnish utilities “are eager to know how we can build our reactors on schedule” and on budget, Igarashi said. The company is providing data to the utilities, Fortum Oyj, Teollisuuden Voima Oyj and the E.ON AG-led Fennovoima Oy.

“Our reactors have been used in Japan already, proving their ability,” Igarashi said. The ABWR model unit is used by Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Chubu Electric Power Co.

Toshiba’s shares gained 3.8 percent in Tokyo trading today to 511 yen, outpacing the 1.1 percent rise in the benchmark Topix index. They’ve climbed 61 percent in six months.

Areva’s Olkiluto-3 plant was more than 25 percent over its 3 billion-euro ($4.5 billion) initial budget at the end of last year and its delivery date has been pushed back several times from the original 2009 target.

To contact the reporter on this story: Megumi Yamanaka in Tokyo at myamanaka@bloomberg.net; Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at palpeyev@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 15, 2009 04:23 EDT