France’s Minister for the Economy, Finance, Industrial & Digital Sovereignty, Bruno Le Maire announced, during a visit to the Orano La Hague that France intended to continue its treatment-recycling strategy for used nuclear fuel beyond 2040. The plans included:

  • a sustainability/resilience programme extending the life of the plants at La Hague (Manche) and Melox (Gard) beyond 2040;
  • the launch of studies for a new mixed oxide (mox) fuel fabrication plant at the La Hague site; and
  • the launch of studies for a new used fuel processing plant, also at the La Hague site, by 2045/2050.

Le Maire, accompanied by Roland Lescure, Minister Delegate for Industry & Energy, was welcomed to the Orano La Hague site by Orano CEO Nicolas Maes, of Orano and site Director Stéphanie Gaiffe.

The visit followed announcements made in February by the French Nuclear Policy Council (CPN) chaired by the President Emmanuel Macron confirming the main lines of French policy on the back end of the fuel cycle, combining the treatment and reuse of used fuel and prospects for full recycling of materials. The CPN laid the foundations for an industrial vision extending through to the end of this century.

Le Maire underlined the importance of "the strength of the French nuclear industry, with its mastery of the entire cycle". He added that a new page in French nuclear history was about to open. “The time for large-scale national projects has returned and the nuclear energy sector has a central role to play," he said.

Nicolas Maes welcomed the announcements by the CPN and Le Maire, which, he said, provide for major investments for the Orano la Hague site. “Processing-recycling is one of the French industry's centres of excellence, representing know-how that has been mastered for some 50 years in our plants and of which all the Group's employees can be proud."

In France, 10% of nuclear electricity is generated by recycling reusable materials in the form of mox. This rate can increase to 25% and to almost 40% with the multi-recycling of used mox fuel. This technology also significantly reduces the activity and volume of final waste, and enables it to be conditioned in a safe and stable form over the very long term. Orano said the reusable materials contained in used fuel (uranium and plutonium – 96% of the total) are separated at La Hague plant, then reused in recycled fuels. Plutonium is reused in mox fuels manufactured by Orano at its Melox plant.

 

Image courtesy of Orano