The 4th meeting of France’s Nuclear Policy Council (CPN – Conseil de politique nucléaire), chaired by President Emmanuel Macron, decided to delay the commissioning of EPR2 reactors to 2038 – a postponement of three years. The CPN, which has been held regularly since 2022, defines the main orientations of national nuclear policy.
The EPR2 programme, announced in February 2022, envisages the construction of six upgraded EPR reactors with an option for eight more. The first three pairs of EPR2 reactors are planned for the Penly, Gravelines and Bugey NPP sites. Construction is expected to start in 2027.
The cost was originally estimated at €51.7bn ($56.4bn), but this was revised upwards to €67.4bn in 2023, according to the Court of Auditors. Taking inflation into account, a total budget of nearly €80bn is now being considered.
Discussions during the CPN meeting focused on financing for the project. This is to be secured through a subsidised state loan covering at least 50% of the construction costs. This is modelled on funding of the Czech Dukovany NPP, approved by the European Union, particularly the use of a zero-interest loan.
A contract for difference may be put in place to secure the price of electricity produced by the future reactors intended to protect investors while stabilising energy market prices. The Élysée clarified that discussions between the state and EDF should be concluded in the coming weeks. Talks would be opened with the European Commission to obtain a final investment decision from EDF by 2026.
The CPN asked EDF to increase measures to control costs and timelines and to present by the end of the year an assessment of costs and deadlines. It noted the need for EDF to consolidate industrial control of the programme. More robust monitoring would be led by an inter-ministerial delegation and the Ministry of Energy.
Commenting on this, Le Point noted the failure of the Flamanville unit 3 project – France’s first EPR reactor which was completed 13 years behind schedule and €12bn over budget. It cited a source close to negotiations as saying: “The government has made a fairly severe review of the EPR2 programme and its design. And obviously, it is not satisfied.”
However, the CPN reaffirmed the strategic nature of the nuclear renaissance in France, which is integrated into the multi -year energy programme (PPE3 – la programmation pluriannuelle de l’énergie) in line with the energy policy objectives set in 2022.
The CPN also validated a strategy for the development of Orano’s mining activities. The company was mandated to secure supplies over 20 to 30 years through increased development of its mining activities. “The main uranium suppliers in the world today are in Canada, Africa and Central Asia”, and “it is important to give the means to companies in the French sector and in particular to Orano to pursue a policy that guarantees the country’s uranium supply”, the Élysée said.
The Council confirmed the programme for renewal of installations at Orano’s La Hague site for storage and recycling of used fuel. This includes a new used fuel pool which will have to be put into service by 2040 to meet the needs of the existing nuclear fleet and planned EPR2 programme. “These installations will make it possible to guarantee a proper functioning of the park… consolidating the leadership of France in controlling all the industrial stages of the uranium cycle”. The Council said the financing of this programme should be mainly carried by EDF, “as the future customer of these facilities”.
The need to close the nuclear fuel cycle by the second half of the century was noted by the CPN and the need to revive a programme to achieve this. “Significant technological developments are necessary to make fuels from plutonium and depleted uranium, the mastery of fast neutron reactors as well as the reprocessing of used fuel”. CPN requested that manufacturers (EDF, Framatome, Orano), the CEA (Commissariat a l’energie atomique et aux energies alternatives – Atomic & Alternative Energies Commission) and all actors mobilised on fast neutrons, should draw up a work programme and an industrial organisation proposal by the end of 2025”.
Le Point described this as “Astrid’s discreet resurrection”. CEA’s prototype fast-breeder Astrid (Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration) project was cancelled in 2019. The project was launched in 2006 after closure of superphenix, fast reactor. “It was a mistake,” an industrialist in the sector told Le Point. “Investors were waiting for a rapid return on investment, which is not compatible with one or two decades of research. Only the state can carry such a project.” Designed as a research programme and led by the CEA, Astrid was not equipped to lead to a physical prototype for large -scale production. Now industrial development of fast reactors is being considered “but uncertainties remain” Le Point said. “What resources will be allocated to this new project? What workforce?”
Finally, the Council welcomed the success of the first phase of the France 2030 programme relating to small modular and innovative reactors and confirmed the commitment of the State alongside actors to develop these technologies, by mandating the General Secretariat for Investment (SGPI – Secrétariat Général pour l’Investissement), to continue its support by prioritising the projects most likely to lead to the commissioning of a demonstration reactor by the early 2030s. CEA was requested to make available to companies that request it relevant site details at Marcoule and Cadarache and to initiate discussions for the most advanced projects.
This initiative, launched with €200m, saw 12 companies shortlisted for support in phase one. However, a confidential audit by Vincent Berger, High Commissioner for Atomic Energy, according to Le Point revealed that only two to four projects are considered viable before 2040. Most were impeded by immature technologies and fuel problems. However, the audit has not been made public. “Publishing the audit would undermine the losers and their investors (some start-ups have raised hundreds of millions of euros in the markets), while silence weakens leaders in the face of international competition,” Le Point noted.
Overall, the CPN supports the nuclear renaissance, Le Point said. The financing of EPR2 is strengthened, fast reactors could soon regain industrial scale support, the SMRs have been selected, and Orano supports the sector. “Without proclaiming it, Emmanuel Macron corrected past hesitations. But the challenges remain: mistrust of EDF, lack of a precise budget for fast reactors, a delay in the face of increasing international competition with China in the lead. The deadlines for the end 2025 – quantification of the EPR2 and plans of fast reactors – will be decisive to assess the solidity of the recovery.”
