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 to recycle the reprocessed uranium.
The quantities processed by Orano Recyclage 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 (currently, 24 authorised reactors).
Consequently, provisions for spent fuel management (€11,379 million) mainly cover the following services to be provided by Orano Recyclage
The processing expenses included in these provisions 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 Recyclage which define the terms 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 current amendment for the period 2016-2023. At 31 December 2021, EDF adjusted its provisions for spent fuel management using its best estimate of the costs to be incurred under this amendment, which are currently in negotiation, considering progress in the discussions with Orano. An additional provision of €267 million was recognised to cover the increase in EDF’s processing costs associated with the various Orano projects, notably in view of changes concerning the new fission product concentrators. In 2022, some of these costs were defined in letters of agreement relating to the 2016-2023 amendment, while others are still in negotiation. Negotiations also took place in 2022 for an amendment to cover the period 2024-2026, to be continued in 2023, and a corresponding provision for contingencies and losses was recognised at 31 December 2022 (see note 17.2).
Furthermore, the provisions for spent fuel management incorporate specific provisions for the interim storage of spent fuel, which is a key issue for the back-end of the nuclear cycle because usage forecasts for Orano’s interim 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. To prevent saturation, the long-term storage capacity for spent fuel is to be increased by construction of a centralised fuel storage pool under EDF’s supervision. 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 in 2019 in association with EDF and the Nuclear Safety Authority (Autorité de sûreté nucléaire – ASN). The preferred solution is densification of the existing pools at Orano’s La Hague. A supplementary solution would be to use a dry storage facility for plutonium (MOX) fuel and reprocessed uranium (RepU). The need for interim storage is accentuated by production issues at Orano’s Melox plant, which are affecting the pace of processing in the short and medium term: the lower level of recycling has caused an increase in the quantities requiring storage in the medium term.
In 2022, studies of the transitional solutions continued, notably on densification of the existing pools at Orano’s La Hague site with the submission in December 2022 to the ASN of the application file for a notable modification. Development studies regarding this solution are expected to continue until the end of 2024.
The provisions for spent fuel management also cover long-term storage of spent fuel that cannot currently be recycled in industrial facilities that already exist or are under construction: plutonium fuel (spent MOX fuel) or uranium fuel derived from processing (spent RepU), and fuel from Creys-Malville and Brennilis until fourth- generation reactors become available. Dedicated assets are held in association with these provisions, which is unrelated to the operating cycle as defined by the law of 2006 (see note 15.1.2). The provision is founded on a scenario assuming construction of a centralised storage pool at La Hague, to be managed by EDF as nuclear operator. This project was presented during the public debate on the National Plan for Managing Radioactive Matter and Waste (PNGMDR) in 2019- 2020, and was subject to a specific public consultation organised by France’s National Public Debate Commission (CNDP) that began on 22 November 2021 and ended on 8 July 2022. On 7 October 2022 EDF published a document on the lessons of the consultation and the Company’s responses, entitled “Enseignements de la concertation préalable et suites données par EDF”. EDF plans to set up a formal structure for continuous exchanges and dialogue, under the supervision of guarantors appointed by the CNDP. EDF has also stated that at this stage, it is moving ahead with the project, and preparing to file the application for authorisation to create the installation by the end of 2023, with a view to a public inquiry being held in 2025.
In total, provisions for specific storage solutions for spent fuel amount to €257 million for the cost of densification of Orano’s pools at La Hague, and €1,607 million for interim storage of spent MOX fuel and spent RepU, first at La Hague then in the centralised storage pool (these fuels cannot be recycled in existing facilities or facilities currently under construction).
Finally, 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. The corresponding contracts were signed with the respective suppliers in the second quarter of 2018. The first assemblies are being made at the Framatome plant in Romans sur Isère and will be loaded in 2023 into a 900MW reactor that is already authorised. Subject to completion of technical modifications and issuance of the necessary authorisations by the safety authority, other 900MW reactors and certain 1300MW reactors will be loaded with assemblies based on reprocessed uranium by 2027. Since 2021, the provision for storage of uranium for reprocessing included in the provisions for spent fuel management (€410 million) has been based on a 50-year operating lifetime for nuclear plants for the considered series, following the extension of the depreciation period of 1300MW-series plants from 40 to 50 years.
Provisions for long-term radioactive waste management 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.
