The European Investment Bank (EIB) and France’s Orano have signed a loan agreement for €400m ($434m) to support the project for a 30% increase in the capacity of the Georges Besse II uranium enrichment plant in Tricastin (Drôme and Vaucluse) in southern France.
The loan finances part of the total investment of nearly €1.7bn that Orano’s Board of Directors of France’s approved for the expansion in October 2023. Orano said the loan strengthens security of supply in Europe in accordance with EIB’s energy sector lending policy and the European Commission’s (EC’s) REPowerEU programme.
The GB-II gas centrifuge enrichment plant, which replaced the ageing Georges Besse I gaseous diffusion enrichment plant, was opened in December 2010 and began commercial operation in April 2011. In October 2022, Orano said it had decided to increase its production capacity by 30%, which could involve an extension of the GB-II plant.
The National Commission for Public Debate (CNDP – Commission Nationale du Débat Public) then announced that it was relaunching a consultation on GB-II expansion. The cost of the project was then estimated at €1.3bn. Construction of GB-II, had previously been the subject of a public debate in 2004, which considered increasing the plant’s capacities from the planned 7.5m to 11m SWU. Currently GB-II is running at full capacity producing 7.5m SWU.
The EIB financing is in line with the European strategy to reduce the European Union’s dependence on fossil fuel imports and accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy sources. It contributes to strengthening Europe’s energy sovereignty and strategic autonomy, as well as enhancing security of supply.
The expansion of the Tricastin plant capacity is a response to Orano group utility customers needing to secure fuel supplies in the context of current geopolitical tensions and the perceived need to reduce dependence on Russian enriched uranium. Initial operation of the expanded capacity is planned for 2028 for complete commissioning in 2030.
The project is for an additional 2.5m separative work units (SWU) in order to strengthen overall enrichment capacities in Europe. It will comprise four modules to complement the 14 already in operation. The first stone of the expansion project was laid in October 2024 after the EC European Commission issued a positive opinion underlining the project’s compliance with the Euratom treaty and its contribution to the security of supply in Europe.
As part of the REPowerEU programme, the EIB Group is supporting projects aimed at promoting energy transition and strengthening Europe’s autonomy in this area. In 2024, the Bank granted a record €31bn in financing for European energy security, which made it possible to mobilise a total of more than €100bn of investment in renewable energies, networks and interconnections, energy efficiency and storage.
“This significant EIB financing contributes to European energy independence,” explained Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President of the EIB. “Decarbonised energies are essential to enable the European Union to meet the ambitious climate neutrality objectives it has set itself.”
Orano CEO Nicolas Maes said: “The financing granted by the EIB for the capacity extension at our Georges Besse II enrichment plantis perfectly in line with this objective, as the project will make it possible to take the number of households supplied with low-carbon energy up to a total 120m. Not least, in the current geopolitical context, this support for our activities from the EIB will help to strengthen security of supply in the European Union.”
