Nuclear: the state is studying the construction of a uranium processing plant “in France”

The government is “seriously” considering the option of building a plant for the conversion and enrichment of processed uranium “in France.” So far, Russia is the only country in the world that has a plant for processing this secondary uranium intended for use in nuclear power plants.

“The option of implementing an industrial project for the conversion of reprocessed uranium (or reprocessed, editor’s note) in France is being seriously considered under the auspices of the Nuclear Policy Council,” the Ministry of Industry and Energy told AFP on Thursday evening. .

The desire to no longer depend on Russia

The ministry confirmed the statements of Le Monde newspaper in an article on France’s trade with the Russian nuclear industry, which, unlike oil, has so far escaped international sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. “The surrounding conditions are still being studied,” the ministry said.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 underscored the need for France and other countries such as the United States to become less dependent on Russian giant Rosatom for the fuel cycle of nuclear power plants.

In this case, to convert its uranium reprocessed (URT), France has no choice but to carry out this step in Russia, the only country that, through its state operator Rosatom, has a conversion plant for this URT. The next stage of enrichment could be carried out in Russia or the Netherlands.

New supplies despite the war

Environmental NGO Greenpeace has in recent months denounced the continued supply of uranium between Russia and France, particularly to EDF power plants, despite the war.

In fact, EDF is linked to a €600 million contract awarded in 2018 to Tenex, a subsidiary of Rosatom, to reprocess and enrich uranium resulting from the reprocessing of the French group’s spent fuel. EDF has always said it complies with its “contractual obligations” with Techsnabexport, while “strictly applying all international sanctions” and trade restrictions against Russia.

Asked about the contract during the French Nuclear Energy Company (SFEN) congress on Thursday, Jean-Michel Quilicini, director of EDF’s nuclear fuel division, explained to Le Monde that EDF will continue to “comply with the contract.” In a report to AFP, the group stressed that it is “diversifying its geographic sources and suppliers as much as possible,” without specifying how much of its supplies come from Russia.

European project by 2030

The option of building a plant for the enrichment and conversion of processed uranium was already mentioned by the government in November in the document “French Energy and Climate Strategy” (SFEC), which talked about the creation of a “European industrial sector”. .

For its part, EDF tells AFP it is discussing “with several partners the construction of a uranium processing plant in Western Europe by 2030.”

As a result of fuel reprocessing, URT can be reused to produce new fuel after reprocessing and subsequent re-enrichment. On February 5, 2024, the reactor at the Croix (Ardèche) power plant was restarted for the first time in ten years with “the first filling of fully processed uranium,” EDF announced on the social network LinkedIn.