The Government is “seriously” examining the possibility of building a uranium reprocessing, conversion and enrichment center “in France”, while so far Russia is the only country in the world that has a conversion plant for this recycled uranium destined for be integrated into nuclear power plants. .
In statements to AFP, the Ministry of Industry and Energy confirmed statements to the newspaper Le Monde in an article dedicated to France’s trade with the Russian nuclear industry, a sector that, unlike oil, still escapes the international sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia, the only country in the world that has a factory
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 highlighted for France and other countries such as the United States the need to rely less on the Russian giant 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 stage in Russia, the only country that has, through its public operator Rosatom, a conversion plant for this URT. The next stage of enrichment can take place in Russia or the Netherlands.
The environmental NGO Greenpeace has denounced in recent months the continuation of uranium shipments between Russia and France, particularly for the benefit of EDF, the operator of French power plants, despite the war.
In fact, EDF is linked to a contract concluded in 2018 with Tenex, a subsidiary of Rosatom, to recycle and enrich uranium from the reprocessing of spent fuel of the French group. EDF has always argued that it respected its “contractual commitments” to Tenex by “strictly applying all international sanctions” and trade restrictions against Russia.
Asked about this contract, during a congress of the French nuclear energy company (SFEN), on Thursday, Jean-Michel Quilichini, director of EDF’s nuclear fuel division, explained to Le Monde that EDF will continue to “respect the CONTRACT.”
The option of building a recycled uranium enrichment and conversion center had already been mentioned by the government in November in its document “French Strategy for Energy and Climate” (SFEC), in which it spoke of the creation of “a European industry”. .
Source: BFM TV
