This 6.5 km2 industrial-nuclear complex resembling Fort Knox is home to a "well-kept secret": the production of enriched uranium, or the final stage before the manufacture of nuclear fuel which will be loaded into the reactors to generate electricity.

It is "known only to + those who must know it +", summarizes the head of the installation, Kévin Longuet de la Giraudière.

Behind heavily armored doors, the uranium ore once purified and converted (chemically transformed) is introduced in gaseous form into centrifuges rotating at very high speed to obtain a commercial concentration of around 4%.

After several weeks of enrichment, it can then be sent in its solid state to manufacturers who will condition the fuel for use in the power plant.

An employee in the George Besse II uranium enrichment unit at the Tricastin nuclear power plant, January 26, 2023 in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux (Drôme) © OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP

The enriched uranium cylinders produced on the site make it possible to supply current to 90 million households per year, the equivalent of the population of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, combined, we advance to Orano.

With 12% of the world enrichment market share and 60 customers worldwide, including the energy company Electricité de France (EDF) and South Korea, Orano (formerly Areva) is already a major player in the market.

But the war in Ukraine has whetted new appetites.

In the wake of the Russian invasion, Orano relaunched a project to expand its enrichment plant inaugurated in 2010, for an estimated investment of between 1.3 and 1.7 billion euros.

As with any project with an environmental stake, the public is called upon to debate this possible extension under the aegis of the National Commission for Public Debate, from February 1 to April 9.

But for Greenpeace, this project "only puts a coin back in the machine".

"The industry continues to produce fuels that will become hazardous waste for thousands of years," said Pauline Boyer, "nuclear" campaign manager.

New uranium routes?

By pushing the walls, Orano, which works with uranium from mines in Niger, Canada or Kazakhstan, intends to increase its enrichment capacities by a third and perhaps move the uranium routes.

The market, which has only four "enricher" players, is shared between the Russian Rosatom (43%), the leading exporter, the European group Urenco (31%), the Chinese CNNC, which serves its domestic market, and Orano, indicates that -this.

Located near the EDF nuclear power plant in Tricastin, the Orano site is the only one in France to carry out the conversion and enrichment of uranium for civil purposes.

An employee in the George Besse I uranium enrichment unit at the Tricastin nuclear power plant, January 26, 2023 in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux (Drôme) © OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP

Even if uranium is not at this stage subject to international sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine, Orano is betting on the fact that customers "are looking for alternatives to depend less on Russian uranium".

“Since the war in Ukraine, we have re-examined this extension, because customers, in particular Americans, have contacted us”, indicates François Lurin, director of the Orano Tricastin site.

The American market is promising: the largest nuclear fleet in the world with 93 reactors uses 20% enriched uranium of Russian origin, according to the American Department of Energy, the DOE.

At the end of the public consultation, Orano will however have to obtain firm commercial contracts and the green light from its board of directors to validate the project.

For the time being, the United States insists that it wants to strengthen its independence with "Made in USA" energy.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is considering a draft proposal to boost domestic production of moderately enriched uranium: This would be funded with credits from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a massive plan largely devoted to climate, as an alternative to existing Russian supplies.

The two cooling towers of the Tricastin nuclear power plant, January 26, 2023 in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux (Drôme) © OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP

Orano, which is aiming for the start of the extension to be put into service in 2028, is advancing the card of a rapid deployment of its new capacities to weigh in on the negotiations.

© 2023 AFP