Concerning non-EDF installations:
EDF’s currently adopted strategy with regards to the fuel cycle, in agreement with the French State, is to process spent fuel, to recycle the separated plutonium in the form of MOX fuel (Mixed OXide of plutonium and uranium) and recycling of reprocessed uranium.
The quantities processed by Orano at the request of EDF, totalling approximately 1,100 tonnes per year, are determined based on the quantity of recyclable plutonium in the reactors that are authorised to load MOX fuel.
Consequently, provisions for spent fuel management cover the following services to be provided by Orano Recyclage:
The processing expenses included in these provisions exclusively concern spent fuel that can be recycled in existing facilities, including the portion in reactors but not yet irradiated.
Expenses are measured based on forecast physical flows at the year end, with reference to the contracts with Orano which define the terms for implementation of the framework agreement for the period 2008-2040. The most recent contract, signed on 5 February 2016, covers the period 2016-2023. These contracts contain price indexes that are revised annually.
Negotiations are currently in process with Orano Recyclage, notably concerning the amendment for the current period 2016-2023. At 31 December 2021, EDF used its best estimate of the costs to be incurred under this contract considering progress on the discussions with Orano. An additional provision of €267 million was recognised to cover the increase in processing costs for EDF associated with the various Orano projects, notably in view of changes concerning the new fission product concentrators.
In 2018, the Board of Directors approved resumption of reprocessed uranium recycling (which had been suspended in 2013 pending availability of a new industrial schema), with loading of the first fuel assemblies scheduled for 2023, subject to technical adaptations and the necessary authorisations from the Nuclear Safety Authority. The objective is to start recycling in certain 900MW units, and later in certain 1,300MW units. The corresponding contracts were signed with the respective suppliers in the second quarter of 2018.
The 50-year operating life for the 1,300MW-series plants – reflected in the financial statements at 30 June 2021 by extension from 40 to 50 years of the depreciation period for the relevant units – which will entail industrial adaptations to allow enriched reprocessed uranium fuel to be loaded into 1,300MW reactors, and attainment of the significant industrial milestones for resumption of uranium recycling, particularly commissioning the Tenex residual waste vitrification plant during the second half of 2021, confirm that all the industrial, regulatory and economic conditions for resumption of uranium recycling are now fulfilled. Consequently, from an accounting perspective, a portion of the provision related to storage of uranium from reprocessing was partly recovered, for an amount of €476 million based on a 50-year operating life for the units concerned).
Furthermore, the temporary storage of spent fuel is a key issue for the back-end of the nuclear cycle. Usage forecasts for Orano’s intermediate storage facilities at La Hague for spent fuel from EDF’s generation fleet suggest that the pools at La Hague could be saturated by 2030. Consequently, the long-term storage capacity for spent fuel is to be increased by construction of a centralised fuel storage pool under EDF’s supervision (see below). Commissioning of the new pool is scheduled for 2034 and it will be operated by EDF. The following measures will also be taken to address storage needs.
For the period until the centralised storage pool is built, studies of transitional solutions were launched by Orano and EDF in 2019 in association with the ASN. The preferred solution is densification of the existing pools at Orano’s La Hague site (with a related provision of €168 million at 31 December 2020 for this plan). A supplementary solution would be to use a dry storage facility for MOX fuel (Mixed OXide of plutonium and uranium) and reprocessed uranium.
Production issues at Orano’s Melox plant are affecting the pace of reprocessing in the short and medium term, and the lower level of recycling has increased the quantities requiring storage in the medium term. As a result the provisions were increased in 2021 by €362 million in consideration of both these industrial solutions, based on a forecast storage capacity of approximately 3,100 tonnes as opposed to a situation involving neither densification nor dry storage.
Provisions for spent fuel management also cover long-term storage of spent fuel that cannot currently be recycled in existing industrial facilities or under construction: plutonium fuel (MOX) or uranium fuel derived from processing, and fuel from Creys-Malville and Brennilis until fourth-generation reactors become available. Dedicated assets are held in association with this provision, which is unrelated to the operating cycle as defined by the law of 2006 (see note 38). The provision is founded on a scenario involving construction, managed by EDF (as nuclear operator), of a centralised underwater storage site at La Hague. This project was presented during the public debate on the National Plan for Managing Radioactive Matter and Waste (PNGMDR) in 2019-2020, and is subject to a specific public consultation organised by France’s National Public Debate Commission (CNDP) that began on 22 November 2021. This consultation was suspended on 3 February 2022, to take time to reinforce consultation practices so as to better cover the Manche county and the themes raised. The procedure will continue from 20 June to 8 July 2022.
These provisions concern the following future expenses:
The volumes of waste concerned by provisions include existing packages of waste and all waste to be conditioned, resulting in particular from plant decommissioning or spent fuel processing at La Hague (comprising all fuel in reactors at 31 December, irradiated or otherwise). These volumes are regularly reviewed, in keeping with the data declared for the purposes of the national waste inventory undertaken by ANDRA.
