Orano will invest €1.7bn ($1.8bn) to raise the production capacity of the Georges Besse II (GB- II) uranium enrichment plant in southern France by more than 30% after the board of directors approved the decision.
A further four modules, identical to the 14 existing modules, will be built. Claude Imauve, Orano chairman of the board of directors said: “In the current geopolitical context, the purpose of this increase in enrichment capacities is to strengthen Western energy sovereignty in France. Orano’s decision responds to requirements expressed by our customers to strengthen their security of supply with production expected to start up as of 2028.”
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The GB-II was originally opened in 2011 and reached its full production capacity of 7.5m separative work units in 2016. In a statement, the company said the centrifugation technology in the enrichment plant “offers the best possible guarantees in terms of safety, competitiveness and energy savings, technical reliability and environmental impact”.
Orano’s chemistry-enrichment business unit senior executive vice-president François Lurin said: “With this extension to capacity, the uranium produced on the Orano Tricastin site will allow low-carbon energy to be supplied to the equivalent of 120m households each year.”
In 2022, a proportion of France’s nuclear fleet was shut down for maintenance work by power giant EDF. Output was therefore curtailed and only 282TWh of nuclear power was produced, well below the ten-year average of 395TWh.
However, analysts expect that by the end of this year, French nuclear supply will total between 290TWh and 320TWh, returning the country to a net exporter of 15TWh to neighbours. Some of the reactors have come back online, although others are due to undergo maintenance.
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