The first of some 250 "exceptional loads" has been delivered to the construction site of the Iter fusion reactor project at Cadarache in southern France. The high-voltage transformer was manufactured in South Korea.

Philippe Knoche and Philippe Varin have been appointed CEO and chairman of Areva's newly created board of directors. Varin also becomes an EDF executive board member.

Westinghouse has signed a long-term contract to provide several thousand tonnes of fuel to EDF for use in its nuclear reactors in France. The contract will continue an existing agreement between the companies that expires at the end of this year.

A team of international experts led by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has completed a review of the corporate performance of French utility EDF. The team noted several good practices at EDF and proposed suggestions to strengthen some safety measures.

Luc Oursel, president and CEO of Areva, has died, the company said yesterday.

Luc Oursel, president and CEO of Areva, has died, the company said yesterday.

The used fuel covered by a contract Areva signed last month with Dutch utility EPZ to supply three "next-generation" TN 17 MAX casks contains 96% of valuable energy materials that can be recycled through treatment-recycling operations, Areva spokesperson Caroline Sagne told World Nuclear News today.

Areva has not submitted all the safety justifications required for the installation and commissioning of new steam generators at Blayais unit 3, according to the French nuclear regulator.

The EPR under construction at Flamanville in northern France is now expected to begin operating in 2017, EDF has announced. The company attributed the further delay on the delivery of certain components and on regulatory issues.

A consignment of irradiated experimental fast reactor fuel has returned to the Idaho National Laboratory in the USA from France for the final stages of a study that has been ongoing for over eight years.

France's Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) has agreed to extend its collaboration with Belgium's Nuclear Research Centre (SCK-CEN) while entering a cooperation agreement with Spanish engineering firm Tecnatom.

French president Francois Hollande has selected Jean-Bernard Lévy to replace Henri Proglio as chairman and CEO of French generator EDF.