Investing for the future

Transcription

1 OMURHEX II Investing for the future

2

3 SECURING ENERGY SUPPLY OVER THE LONG TERM AREVA IS A KEY PLAYER IN THE WORLD CONVERSION MARKET The AREVA group s development and investment program helps guarantee a secure nuclear fuel supply over the long term to its customers. One strategy is to increase and diversify the group s mining reserves. The AREVA group is also replacing its industrial facilities in order to develop its uranium conversion & enrichment and fuel fabrication capacities. The future COMURHEX II uranium conversion project is a key component of AREVA s customer service strategy. Together with the group s other major projects, such as the Georges Besse II enrichment plant at the Tricastin site and the renovation of the FBFC plant s fuel fabrication facilities at Romans (in Southern France s Drôme region), the COMURHEX II plant will enable AREVA to secure its position as a sustainable and integrated player in the front end of the fuel cycle. These major investments confirm AREVA s strong commitment to develop the global nuclear power industry. AN EXCELLENCE CENTER AT TRICASTIN With its future COMURHEX II uranium conversion plant and the new Georges Besse II uranium enrichment plant, AREVA is building a unique conversion & enrichment excellence center at the Tricastin site. The United States COMURHEX: A LEADING WORLD CONVERSION PLATFORM Brazil England Spain France Sweden Belgium Germany Switzerland Finland Czech Republic South Africa A nuclear reactor cannot use the uranium ore extracted from the mines as is, not even when it is concentrated in the form of yellowcake. Conversion is an essential step in the fuel cycle, after mining and before enrichment. Conversion operations involve purifying the uranium concentrates to the high grade required for nuclear fuel fabrication by converting the ore concentrates into uranium hexafluoride (UF6) for the enrichment process. AREVA s COMURHEX subsidiary uses a two-step chemical process. First, the uranium is converted into uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) at the COMURHEX-Malvési site near Narbonne (in the Aude region, Southern France). The ore concentrates are China South Korea Japan INVESTING IN THE FUTURE COMURHEX is the first player in the market to replace and modernize its industrial conversion facilities, thereby guaranteeing its customers a reliable fuel supply in compliance with safety and environmental regulations. Locations of AREVA group s conversion customers dissolved in nitric acid, purified, precipitated and calcined into UO3 powder. The powder then undergoes a hydrofluorination process to obtain UF4. The uranium tetrafluoride is shipped to the COMURHEX plant at the Tricastin site, where it is converted into uranium hexafluoride (UF6). One physical property of UF6 is that moderate changes in temperature cause it to change from solid to liquid or gaseous state. In its gaseous form, UF6 is suitable for enrichment, either by the gaseous diffusion process, at EURODIF Production, or by centrifugation process at the SET (Société d Enrichissement du Tricastin) in the Georges Besse II plant

4 AREVA has more than 50 years of experience in conversion operations at the Malvési site near Narbonne (in the Aude region) and at the Tricastin site near Pierrelatte (in the Drôme region). Taking advantage of such long-acquired experience and of its positive local integration, the AREVA group has decided to expand its activities on these two platforms through upgrading and building new industrial facilities: this is the COMURHEX II uranium conversion project. WITH MORE THAN 50 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, A MODEL OF LOCAL INVOLVEMENT COMURHEX II, THE CONVERSION PLANT OF TOMORROW Nuclear power is one component of the solution to global energy issues, and its share in the future energy mix is sure to increase. Given the growing demand for energy, the problems with supply, the rising oil prices and the challenges of climate change, nuclear power offers a number of advantages, namely: cost competitiveness, supply availability, enabling countries to increase their energy independence, low CO 2 emission thus environmentally friendly. TIMELINE 1959 Uranium Refining Company SRU (Société de Raffinage de l Uranium) created at the Malvési site near Narbonne 1961 Pierrelatte Chemical Plants Company SUCP (Société des usines Chimiques de Pierrelatte) 1971 the two companies merge to form Uranium Hexafluoride Metal Conversion Company COMURHEX (COnversion Métal URanium HEXafluorure) 1993 COMURHEX becomes an AREVA subsidiary 2009 Cumulated production comes to 350,000 metric tons of uranium in UF6 form COMURHEX, Malvési site SUCCESSFUL LOCAL INVOLVEMENT For 50 years or more, COMURHEX has maintained close relations with local stakeholders (e.g. administrative establishments, elected officials, associations, local inhabitants, and the general public) around its two industrial sites. As part of the regulatory licensing process for the new COMURHEX II conversion plant, public inquiries were held in 2009 in the areas around Narbonne and Tricastin, providing an opportunity to dialogue with local authorities and the general public. Both sites received approval from the authorities. COMURHEX Pierrelatte, Tricastin site The demand for nuclear fuel will rise sharply over the next few years, driven by new nuclear power plant builds worldwide and service life extensions for currently operating reactors. The upper scenario projected by the World Nuclear Association is based on a rise in installed generating capacity from 365 gigawatts/hour (GWe) in 2005 to 520 GWe in 2020 that should result in expanded requirements for uranium and therefore for conversion operations. Conversion plant operators will need to upgrade or replace their facilities in order to meet market demand in future economic, regulatory and environmental conditions. Moreover, new facilities will also have to be built to handle market growth. In 2007, AREVA has chosen a proactive approach to these future changes with its COMURHEX II uranium conversion project. AREVA is the first uranium converter to renovate its industrial conversion facilities in order to produce 15,000 metric tons of uranium per year, which could then be expanded to 21,000 metric tons of uranium per year as soon as the market so requires. By investing in new facilities at the sites of its COMURHEX subsidiary, AREVA intends to remain a leader in the uranium conversion market

5 THE NEW COMURHEX II PLANTS COMURHEX II MALVÉSI SITE COMURHEX II means more than just upgrading industrial conversion facilities that rely on tried-and-true process technology. The project is also based on technological innovations that will enable higher production capacity, reduced environmental impact, and safer facilities. The first COMURHEX-Malvési facilities started up more than 50 years ago. Successive upgrades have brought the plant s UF4 conversion capacity up to 14,000 metric tons of uranium per year. New facilities will be built to replace existing ones, while the most recent units will be upgraded at the Malvési site. COMURHEX II WILL COMPRISE: a new facility for emptying the concentrate drums, and for dissolution and denitration processing. This facility is housed in a 2,500-sq-meter building, designed for reinforced containment of products and materials, 3D view of COMURHEX II Malvési a gaseous effluent treatment facility that will enable recycling the nitric acid, a facility to treat raffinates from the purification unit, PRIORITY TO FACILITY SAFETY COMURHEX II will include new design features to reduce the risk of incidents or accidents along with their consequences, improve working conditions, and facilitate operations. To ensure compliance with the latest safety regulations, specific new safety features will be implemented in the new conversion facilities: for example, the buildings that will house the plants are designed to withstand flooding and earthquakes to the extent of worst-case scenarios (like a centennial flood, or an earthquake increased by a safety factor). Construction worksite NEW DEVELOPMENTS Since 2006, AREVA has invested nearly 29 million euros to reinforce safety and protect the environment around the Malvési site ponds. More recent developments include an efficient system for managing process water and a new closed loop cooling system. Once these works completed, the entire industrial platform will have been upgraded. the existing purification unit, namely, will be upgraded

6 COMURHEX II AT THE TRICASTIN SITE Formwork for the construction of UF4 tanks To replace Tricastin s existing COMURHEX plant, a totally new conversion plant is being built on the Tricastin site, just north of the current one. COMURHEX II WILL COMPRISE: a new hydrofluoric acid storage building with improved containment and safety system, new facilities for fluorine production that incorporate the latest improvements to electrolisers, a liquid effluent treatment facility that produces less waste and minimizes releases to the environment. The new COMURHEX II plant at Tricastin will also improve gas treatment operations to minimize both the need for chemical reagents and the waste produced, in particular 60 % less potassium consumption and 50 % less production of fluorite. a new fluorination facility for converting uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) into uranium hexafluoride (UF6) with its adjacent UF4 storage building and a containment unit for storing UF6 cylinders during the cooling process subsequent to filling, Pouring the concrete slab of the UF4 storage building at night-time 3D view of COMURHEX II Pierrelatte, Tricastin site 10 11

7 INNOVATIVE PROCESSES AND PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES COMURHEX II incorporates the latest improvements and innovations from AREVA group R&D programs. The new industrial facilities will replace the existing ones in order to sustain production and increase production capacity. PROCESS DIAGRAM OF COMURHEX II MALVÉSI PLANT PROCESS DIAGRAM OF COMURHEX II PIERRELATTE PLANT THERMAL DENITRATION To replace the current ammonia precipitation step, the COMURHEX II plant at Malvési will use a patented thermal denitration process developed by COMURHEX s R&D department. The new process will reduce the volume of effluents produced and recycle about 80 % of the nitric acid back into the process. FEWER PROCESS WASTES The new liquid effluent treatment process that will be used at COMURHEX II Tricastin plant will reduce the amount of fluorite products by more than half. FURTHER ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT MINIMIZATION ENERGY SAVING The heat emitted by the electrolysers in the future COMURHEX II plant at Tricastin will be used to heat the new buildings. The gas-oil fired boilers will be replaced by electric ones in Tricastin s new facilities, and by natural gas fired ones at Malvési. 12 ( ) saving 1.5 cubic meters million of water per year WATER CONSERVATION The facilities at both sites will use a closed loop cooling system that will tap only one-tenth as much water from the natural environment, saving 1.5 million cubic meters of water per year. The design of COMURHEX II conversion facilities reflects AREVA s abiding concern to further minimize the environmental impact of our activities. GREENHOUSE GAS MINIMIZATION The new COMURHEX II facilities will minimize releases of greenhouse gases even beyond the achievements already completed by current COMURHEX plants. For instance, the Malvési site will implement thermal denitration, improve the hydrofluorination unit, and replace its fuel boilers to minimize releases to the environment. ELIMINATING LIQUID EFFLUENTS A treatment facility for raffinates and effluents will be created at the Malvési site. This facility will later be connected to a treatment unit for stored effluents, thereby eliminating the need for the site s effluent treatment ponds. At the Tricastin site, the new effluent treatment station will considerably reduce the consumption of reagents (60 % less potassium) and the production of tailings (50 % less fluorite). 13

8 THE PROJECT IS ON TRACK Construction worksite of COMURHEX II Malvési PHASING The construction projects planned for both the Malvési and Tricastin sites will be staggered over several years. Together, the two COMURHEX II conversion plant projects will mobilize as many as 700 workers. BUILT FROM THE GROUND UP Works have started in 2007 at Malvési and in 2008 at Tricastin, upon completion of the regulatory licensing process. The preliminary groundwork included preparation of the worksite area and general excavation. After public inquiries were held in compliance with regulatory administrative procedures and building permits were obtained, the civil engineering works have begun at Tricastin in August 2009, and in November 2009, at Malvési. FOSTERING LOCAL INVOLVEMENT AREVA takes special care to involve local companies in the project so that they might also benefit from the economic impact. A number of local and regional companies tendered for and won contracts for building or upgrading facilities at the two sites. For example, up to 80 % of orders for the construction of COMURHEX II plant at Tricastin were put in with local and regional companies. COMURHEX II FACTS AND FIGURES 1.5 million hours of engineering services, studies and project development to design the future COMURHEX II conversion plants As many as 700 workers involved in construction of the new buildings, excluding general contracting and project management More than 110 subcontractors Feasibility and design studies Setting up the project platforms 2009 Public information process public inquiries Start of civil engineering work Construction of new units and testing Gradual startup of units 2015 Full production capacity (15,000 metric tons) Construction worksite of COMURHEX II Pierrelatte, Tricastin site 14 15

9 AREVA supplies solutions for carbon-free power generation. Its expertise and know-how in this field are setting the standard, and its responsible development is anchored in a process of continuous improvement. As the global nuclear industry leader, AREVA s unique integrated offer to utilities covers every stage of the fuel cycle, nuclear reactor design and construction, and related services. The group is also expanding considerably in renewable energies wind, solar, bioenergies, hydrogen and storage to be one of the top three in this sector worldwide in Every day, AREVA s 48,000 employees cultivate the synergies between these two major carbon-free offers, helping to supply safer, cleaner and more economical energy to the greatest number of people. Chemistry Business Unit BP Pierrelatte cedex AREVA Tricastin Communication Direction BP 16, Pierrelatte cedex - Tel: 33 (0) Energy is our futur, dont waste it! november AREVA Tricastin communication direction Production ANNAPURNA 8000 Photo crédits : AREVA photo library Chlorine-free paper Paper production certified under ISO