The objective: to distance itself from Moscow. The French Ministry of Industry and Energy affirmed this Thursday, March 28, that it was “seriously” examining the option of building a uranium conversion and enrichment site. reprocessing on the territory. So far, Russia is the only country in the world to have a plant to convert this recycled uranium for integration into nuclear power plants.
“The associated conditions are still under study,” specifies the ministry, thus confirming statements to the newspaper The world, 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.
For the moment, in order to convert its reprocessed uranium (URT), France has no other option than to carry out this step in Russia, via its public operator Rosatom. The next stage of enrichment can be carried out in Russia or the Netherlands.
A contract between EDF and Russia
In recent months, the environmental NGO Greenpeace has denounced the continuation of uranium deliveries between Russia and France, in particular for the benefit of EDF power plants, despite the war. The electrician is in fact still 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 respected its “contractual commitments” with Tenex while “strictly applying all international sanctions” and trade restrictions vis-à-vis Russia. At Worldthe industry also says it downplays its links with Rosatom and denies any “dependence” on Moscow, praising on the contrary its “exceptional resilience”.
The group specifies that it “maximizes the diversification of its geographical sources and its suppliers”, without however specifying the share of its enriched URT supplies coming from Moscow. Last February 5, as reported The gallery, the electrician, however, announced that one of the reactors at the Cruas power station (Ardèche) had restarted after being loaded with URE. A first in over ten years.
In France, 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. . The executive then spoke of the implementation of “a European industrial sector”. For its part, EDF is working on the construction of “a reprocessing uranium conversion plant in Western Europe by 2030”, in discussions “with several partners”.