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Urenco to enrich reprocessed uranium

Thursday, 5 July 2018

Urenco is to provide enrichment services to EDF to support the recycling of uranium recovered from used nuclear fuel in French nuclear reactors under a new contract announced yesterday.

Urenco to enrich reprocessed uranium — Dominique Minière, EDF Group senior executive vice president for nuclear and thermal, and Urenco CEO Thomas Haeberle, at the signing ceremony (Image: Urenco)

The "high value and long-term" contract covers the enrichment of uranium recovered from nuclear fuel that has been previously used and reprocessed. "The technical complexities of enriching this material will involve expertise from across Urenco and upgrading our facilities," the company said yesterday.

The announcement is linked to a contract signed in April by Framatome and EDF, under which Framatome is to design, fabricate and supply fuel assemblies using enriched reprocessed uranium to EDF between 2023 and 2032.

Urenco operates plants in Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA using its own centrifuge technology to enrich uranium for use in civil nuclear fuel. Dominic Kieran, the company's chief commercial officer, said it was proud to be part of EDF's endeavour to recycle used nuclear fuel. "It is a significant step in further proving the sustainability of nuclear energy and a testimony to Urenco's technical capabilities," he said.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News