France’s Orano and Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited have signed a support services agreement relating to the Rokkasho reprocessing plant and two contracts to support the J-MOX fabrication plant, currently under construction at Rokkasho-Mura in northern Japan.
The contracts cover technical reviews of J-MOX key equipment and experience-based feedback from Orano experts on equipment maintenance.
As part of the first contract, 20 experts from Orano Melox and Orano Projets will provide until April 2019 a "technical review" for J-MOX key equipment, focused on maintainability, operation and product quality. The second contract will see Melox experts will deliver feedback on maintenance of some Melox equipment, similar to those planned for J-MOX.
Other contracts will follow during the different phase of J-MOX construction to support JNFL during startup and to improve its expected operational performance, Orano said.
"This service agreement and associated contracts confirm the long-term strategic partnership in the nuclear fuel cycle between our two companies. In the coming years, Orano and JNFL also intend to resume training sessions for Japanese specialists in France," said Pascal Aubret, executive director of the Recycling Business Unit of the Orano Group.
