The government is “seriously” examining the option of building a reprocessed uranium conversion and enrichment site “in France”. So far, Russia is the only country in the world to have a plant to convert this recycled uranium intended for integration into nuclear power plants.
“The option of carrying out an industrial project for the conversion of reprocessed uranium (or recycled, editor's note) in France is being seriously examined, under the aegis of the nuclear policy council,” indicated Thursday evening to AFP the Ministry of Industry and Energy.
A desire to no longer depend on Russia
The ministry confirmed statements to the newspaper Le Monde in an article devoted to France's trade with the Russian nuclear industry, a sector which, unlike oil, still escapes international sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. “The associated conditions are still under study,” the ministry said.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 highlighted for France and other countries like the United States the need to depend less on the Russian juggernaut Rosatom for the fuel cycle of nuclear power plants.
In this case, to convert its reprocessed uranium (URT), France has no other option than to carry out this step in Russia, the only country to have, via its public operator Rosatom, a conversion plant. for this URT. The next stage of enrichment can be carried out in Russia or the Netherlands.
New deliveries despite the war
The environmental NGO Greenpeace has denounced in recent months the continuation of uranium deliveries between Russia and France, in particular for the benefit of EDF power plants, despite the war.
EDF is in fact linked to a 600 million euro contract concluded in 2018 with Tenex, a subsidiary of Rosatom, to recycle and enrich uranium from the reprocessing of spent fuel from the French group. EDF has always argued that it respects its “contractual commitments” with Tenex while “strictly applying all international sanctions” and trade restrictions vis-à-vis Russia.
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Asked about this contract during a congress of the French nuclear energy company (SFEN) on Thursday, Jean-Michel Quilichini, director of the nuclear fuel division at EDF, explained to Le Monde that EDF would continue to “honor the contract ". Contacted by AFP, the group emphasizes that it “maximizes the diversification of its geographical sources and its suppliers”, without specifying the part of its supplies coming from Russia.
A European project for 2030
The option of building an enrichment and conversion site for recycled uranium had already been mentioned by the government in November in its “French strategy for energy and climate” (SFEC) document, in which it spoke of the implementation of “a European industrial sector”.
For its part, EDF tells AFP it is discussing “with several partners to build a reprocessing uranium conversion plant in Western Europe by 2030”.
From fuel processing, URT can be reused to produce new fuel after being converted and then re-enriched. On February 5, 2024, for the first time in ten years, a reactor at the Cruas power plant (Ardèche) was restarted with “the first fully recycled uranium refill”, EDF announced on the social network LinkedIn.