Orano Plans to Recycle Used Nuclear LWR Fuel in US

• Orano Partnership to Recycle Used Nuclear LWR Fuel in US
• Orano to Open New Isotope Production Plant in Indiana
• French Reactor Uses Full Core Of Recycled Uranium Fuel
• Tractebel And Thorizon Sign Partnership On Thorium MSR Development
• X-Energy Completes CNSC Vendor Design Reviews
• Plan for Nuclear Powered Data Center in Virginia
• India Plans 18 New Reactors Some Funded by Private Investors

Orano US Plans to Recycle Used Nuclear LWR Fuel

• First step in creating coalition of companies to provide a cost-effective solution for recycling and reusing used nuclear fuel material.

Orano US, Bethesda, MD, and SHINE Technologies, Janesville, WI, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate in the development of a U.S. pilot plant with commercial-scale technology for recycling used nuclear fuel from light water reactors.

The recovered nuclear material can be made into new fuel for advanced and existing reactor designs along with using critical isotopes for medical and industrial purposes.

This initial agreement is seen as a first step in a broader coalition of companies focused on developing a national used nuclear fuel recycling industry. Two of the biggest challenges for increasing carbon-free nuclear energy are waste disposal and cost.

This coalition aims to play a leading role in providing a cost-effective solution to nuclear energy growth by recycling and reusing used nuclear fuel, and by transforming long-lived radioactive waste into shorter-lived or stable materials.

“This MOU aligns two innovative companies in the single pursuit of recycling 100 metric tons a year of used nuclear fuel into a valuable resource,” said Nicolas Maes, CEO of Orano.

“For this initiative with SHINE, we bring more than 55 years of experience transporting and recycling used nuclear fuel in France and managing used fuel in the U.S.”

“It is time for the U.S. to seriously consider recycling used nuclear fuel,” said Jean-Luc Palayer, CEO of Orano USA.

“Working together, SHINE and Orano will extract the valuable material for use in critical industrial applications and in creating new nuclear fuels for existing reactors and future advanced reactors.

Greg Piefer, Founder and CEO of SHINE Technologies, said, “Our goal is to stand up an operational pilot facility by the early 2030s. While this is challenging, our track record with the Chrysalis facility shows that we know how to navigate the complex design, regulatory, and build aspects of 10 CFR part 50 nuclear facilities and do so cost-effectively. The lessons learned in the execution of that project are directly applicable to waste recycling, and uniquely position us for timely delivery on this important national priority.”

According to a fact sheet released by the two firms, the effort aims to rcycle 100 metric tons per year of used nuclear fuel, transforming it into valuable resources. The plans would extract 99% of usable uranium and plutonium. Transmutation would further reduce waste volume by 80%

This is a relatively small plant, compared to other global initiatives. For instance, China is building two plants to produce MOX fuel from used LWR fuel with production targets of 200 tonnes/year. China and EDF have been negotiating the terms of a much larger plant, which could process up to 800 tonnes/year, but the project remains in the talking stage. Russia has been fabricating MOX fuel for its BN600 and BN800 fast reactors for some time, but the volume of production isn’t confirmed.

Currently, Orano produces MOX fuel assemblies, which it does at the Melox plant in France. Opened in 1995, the plant produces enough MOX fuel each year to supply 25 to 30 reactors as a supplement to enriched uranium fuels.

Site selection for the pilot facility in the U.S. is expected by the end of this year. The pilot plant concept will validate commercial-scale aqueous recycling with integrated nonproliferation measures. The system is based on SHINE’s proven critical separation technology and Orano’s methods in operation at its La Hague facility in France, where more than 40,000 tons of used nuclear fuel have been reprocessed.

Multiple US Sites Under Consideration

In an email response to questions, a spokesperson for Orano’s US office in Bethesda, MD, told Neutron Bytes that multiple sites for a user fuel reprocessing center were under consideration. The spokesperson declined to say whether the firm’s planned interim storage site for used fuel in Andrews, TX, is one of the sites.

What is the Climate for Reprocessing Spent Fuel in the US?

In 2019 the US Department of Energy to shut down the construction of a facility to reprocessing weapons grade plutonium into fuel for light water reactors. WNA reported that the plant was designed to dispose of 34 tonnes of weapons-grade plutonium by converting it into MOX fuel, but the US DOE terminated the contract in October 2019 with the facility 70% complete. The government reportedly spent %$8 billion on the project which was supposed to reprocess 34 tonnes of surplus PU-239 into 1,700 MOX fuel assemblies for use in LWR reactors.

Orano was asked what has changed since 2019 regarding the US climate for recycle used LWR fuel? In response, the spokesperson said, “Nothing has technically changed, except the escalated liabilities and inventories of UNF. But attitudes toward the role of nuclear energy have shifted, and a strong industrial ecosystem will be needed to support the ongoing requirements of the existing fleet and the addition of new advanced reactor systems. Additionally, developments in nuclear medicine and the commercial space industry are driving new demand for separated isotopes.”

He added, “We see developing needs and a timely opportunity. Orano has a lot of relevant recycling tech and operations know-how that we bring to the MOU. And SHINE is a proven innovator. Development of a commercial recycling platform in the U.S. would position availability of unique and valuable services for the government and the private sector (energy, medicine, space applications).”

Used nuclear fuel still contains more than 90% of its energy capacity when it is removed from the reactor. Globally, a select few countries choose to recycle used fuel in what is termed “a closed fuel cycle.”

Though the United States originally developed the technology and began recycling used nuclear fuel in 1963, the program ceased operation in 1992. The US Navy reprocessed spent nuclear fuel from its reactors during this time.

Recycling used nuclear fuel into useful products will significantly reduce the mass, volume, and toxicity of the remaining nuclear material for permanent disposal. According to a report by US General Accounting Office, as of September 2021 there were about 86,000 metric tonness of spent nuclear fuel from commercial reactors stored at 75 U.S. sites. This amount continues to grow.

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Orano to Open New Isotope Production Plant in Indiana

• Orano Med’s Builds U.S. Manufacturing and Distribution Facility in Brownsburg, IN.

Orano Med, a French-based biotechnology company, is in the process of opening its second US-based manufacturing facility in Brownsburg, IN. The company plans to make a first investment of $15 million in new laboratories and equipment to manufacture and distribute radiopharmaceuticals to treat cancer in humans. Orano Med’s new facility will assist the company in distributing these nuclear medicine cancer treatments to hospitals in the US.

“This new facility is a major step of our development. It demonstrates our commitment to offer innovative 212Pb-based cancer therapies to patients in North America” said Julien Dodet, CEO of Orano Med.

Orano Med’s ambition is to develop a new generation of targeted therapies against cancer using the unique properties of lead-212 (212Pb), a rare alpha-emitting radioisotope and one of the more potent therapeutic payloads against cancer cells.

Despite considerable advances in oncology research in recent years, high unmet needs remain in a wide variety of cancer types. Orano Med’s approach, known as Targeted Alpha Therapy (TAT), has the potential to bring significant benefits where conventional therapies have failed to treat patients.

FDA Action on Orano Med’s Lead 212 Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer

With significant positive patient response during client trials, RadioMedix and Orano Med receive FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for AlphaMedix targeting gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. This accelerates FDA review for approval of this nuclear medicine treatment.

Orano is also established a manufacturing facility in France to help supply our increasing nuclear medicine production with Lead-212

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French Reactor Uses Full Core Of Recycled Uranium Fuel

(WNN) Unit 2 of the Cruas-Meysse nuclear power plant in south-eastern France was restarted on 02/05/24 with its first full core of recycled uranium fuel. The move marks a major milestone in France’s efforts to revive its domestic uranium reprocessing industry. In France, only the four reactors at the Cruas-Meysse plant in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes are certified to use Enriched Reprocessed Uranium (ERU). Fuel containing RepU has the same general characteristics as natural uranium fuels. Worldwide, 75 reactors have used, or currently use, RepU.

Reprocessed uranium (RepU) is derived from used fuel from nuclear reactors that has been processed at Orano’s La Hague reprocessing plant. Once enriched again to 4-5% U235, this uranium can be used again to fuel nuclear power reactors.

“A decade-long effort has been made to revive a uranium reprocessing sector, which was suspended in 2013 (and resumed in 2018), and has just reached a historic milestone,” Cédric Lewandowski, Senior Executive Vice-President, Nuclear and Thermal at EDF, said on LinkedIn.

He added, “Reprocessing spent fuel to extract the energy-potential material (which constitutes 96% of the spent fuel’s mass composition), namely uranium, for its second use is a circular economy approach that will save 25% of natural resources in the coming decades. Moreover, this sector emits 30% less CO2 than the natural uranium sector and reduces environmental impact.”

Historically, the enrichment process, requiring centrifuges solely dedicated to RepU, was carried out for industrial and economic reasons by Russia’s Rosatom at its Seversk site. However, the new geopolitical situation since the onset of the war in Ukraine is expected to lead to procurement of RepU from France.

For many years, EDF’s Fuel Division has been developing a strategy for the management, recycling and reprocessing of used nuclear fuel assemblies, as well as the diversification of sources of supply, to ensure energy independence and the preservation of natural resources.

According to the World Nuclear Association, EDF has demonstrated the use of RepU in its 900 MWe power plants, but until recently it was not economic due to high conversionc costs relative to using fresh uranium, and enrichment needing to be separate because of U-232 and U-236 impurities. With the spot price of uranium fuel now a record high levels, the production and use of RepU becomes comparable to market conditions. The price of 100K of U3O8 is currently at about $94/lb but is expected to rise over the next year by an addition $1-to-$2/lb.

One of the conversion issues is the the presence of the gamma-emitting U-232 which requires shielding and must be remote handled. Also, WNA notes that the presence of the neutron-absorbing U-236 isotope means that a higher level of enrichment is required compared with fresh uranium.

EDF has made provision to store reprocessed uranium for up to 250 years as a strategic reserve. Currently, reprocessing of 1100 tonnes of EDF used fuel per year produces 11 tonnes of plutonium (immediately recycled as mixed-oxide fuel) and 1045 tonnes of reprocessed uranium converted into stable oxide form for storage. According to Orano, there are currently nearly 34,000 tonnes of RepU being held in interim storage on the Tricastin site.

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Tractebel And Thorizon Sign Partnership On Thorium MSR Development

• Nuclear plant can recycle long-lived radioactive waste

(NucNet) Belgium-based engineering company Tractebel has signed a three-year partnership with Dutch-French startup Thorizon to advance the Thorizon One molten salt reactor (MSR).

Tractebel will provide engineering services including support on the conceptual design, computational modelling, cost estimates and design reviews.

The Thorizon One will provide 250 MW of industrial heat, which can be directly used in industrial processes including the chemical industry or hydrogen production, or can be transformed into electricity for 250,000 households.

Thorizon said its first prototype will be fueled by a mixture of long-lived radioactive waste from existing nuclear facilities and thorium. In the process, a large portion of the long-lived waste will be transformed into short-lived waste.

“What is unique about the Thorizon One concept is that the core is composed of a set of cartridges that is replaced every five to 10 years, Tractebel said. “This concept offers additional advantages in terms of safety, time to market and costs.”

In 2022 Thorizon raised $13.5 million for development of its MSR. Thorizon is a spin-off from the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group which operates the high flux research reactor in Petten in the Netherlands and manufactures radioisotopes for medical applications.

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X-Energy Completes CNSC Vendor Design Reviews

X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC announced that it has successfully completed milestones in the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC) pre-licensing Vendor Design Review (“VDR”). The Company submitted the design of its Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor to CNSC for a combined Phase 1 and 2 VDR process. Upon completion of these phases, CNSC concluded there are no fundamental barriers to licensing the Xe-100, an outcome that increases confidence in proceeding with formal license applications in Canada.

The Company has been engaged with CNSC in its optional VDR process since July 2020, and included the submission of more than 400 technical documents and white papers across 19 focus areas in the review. The process provides an opportunity for advanced nuclear technology developers like X-energy to demonstrate understanding and compliance with Canadian licensing requirements and seek detailed feedback ahead of a formal license application. Feedback gathered during the process can be incorporated in future CNSC submissions and addressed in future VDR engagements. X-energy plans to pro-actively continue working with CNSC in pursuit of Phase 3 VDR in the future.

X-energy’s Xe-100 reactor and TRISO-X fuel are designed to be intrinsically safe, greatly expanding applications and markets for deployment of nuclear technology relative to other small modular and conventional nuclear reactors. The Xe-100 can also uniquely address a broader range of uses and applications, including applications that currently rely on fossil fuels to produce steam and high temperature heat for processes like manufacturing, natural resource extraction, petroleum refining and hydrogen production.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program is supporting X-energy’s initial deployment of the Xe-100 at Dow’s Seadrift, Texas facility and a new commercial facility to manufacture TRISO-X high-assay low-enriched uranium-based fuel for next-generation reactors. The project in Seadrift will be the first grid-scale advanced nuclear reactor deployed to serve an industrial site in North America.

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Plan for Nuclear Powered Data Center in Virginia

• Nuclear-powered data center campus in Surry, Virginia, gets rezoning approval

A plan to develop a nuclear power plant to provide electricity to data centers recently received rezoniong approval in Surry, VA. Green Energy Partners (GEP) plans to build the first facility of its type in the US, adjacent to the 1.6GW Surry Nuclear Power Plant, which is operated by Dominion Energy. GEP acquired the 641-acre site last year, and says it will spend $6.45 billion over the next 13 years.

GEP says the site, which will be known as the Surry Green Energy Center (SGEC), will host up to 19 data centers. It will eventually be used to develop four to six small modular 250 MW nuclear reactors. GEP did not name the planned vendor for the SMRs and no US vendor has an offering at that power rating. GEP said the SMRs will be used used to power the data centers, as well as for production plants generating hydrogen that can be used as a backup energy source for Virginia’s grid.

The data centers on the site will initially be powered from existing grid resources, e.g., the Surry nuclear plant with the revenue the data centers generate then used to develop the small modular reactors. It could take as long as decade or more for the SMRs to be built and enter revenue service.

GEP has formed a joint venture with nuclear power provider IP3 to develop the site. IP3 will handle the project development, financial structuring, and funding solutions for the project using a phased approach. Construction work on the data centers could start later this year.

Accord to GEP Northern Virginia is the world’s largest data center market, but the number of developments planned for the region is to straining the existing power grid. As a result data center developers are looking for alternative sites such as the one in Surry.

GEP isn’t the only provider looking to set up a data center in close proximity to one of Virginia’s nuclear plants. Amazon announced last year that it plans to build a 1.7 million sq ft (157,935 sqm) campus in Louisa County, near the 1.79GW North Anna Nuclear Plant.

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India Plans 18 New Reactors Some Funded by Private Investors

(NucNet) India plans to add 18 more nuclear reactors to its national energy mix by 2031-32, bringing the total nuclear power capacity of the country to 22.4 GW, state nuclear operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) said in a press statement.

NPCIL said 10 proposed new 700 MW PHWR design reactor units with combined capacity of 7,000 MW (7 GW) are undergoing “pre-project activities” in addition to eight reactor units already under construction.

The NPCIL statement follows press reports last week that India will invite private firms to invest about $26 billion in its nuclear energy sector. Reuters reported that the government is in talks with at least five private firms including Reliance Industries, Tata Power, Adani Power and Vedanta Ltd to invest around 440 billion rupees ($5.3bn, €4.8bn) each, sources told Reuters.

In December, India said it planned to build at least 10 more nuclear power units to increase the production of clean energy as the country is still largely dependent on coal.

The 10 plants are Kaiga-5 and Kaiga-6 in Karnataka state, Mahi Banswara 1-4 in Rajasthan state Gorakhpur-3 and -4 in Haryana state, and Chutka-1 and -2 in Madhya Pradesh state. NPCIL announced earlier this week that the Kakrapar-4 nuclear power plant in the western Gujarat state was connected to the grid on 20 February. Construction of the 700-MW indigenous pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) unit began in November 2010.

The PHWR design used for Kakrapar-4 – and for the identical Kakrapar-3 – was developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre near Mumbai from earlier Candu 220 MW and 540 MW designs from Canada.

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