Orano Selected By Ontario Power Generation To Supply Enriched Uranium

During the World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE), an international event dedicated to the civil nuclear industry, the Orano Group announced partnership with Ontario Power Generation (OPG), a Canadian electric utility and nuclear power plant operator, for the supply of enriched uranium.

Under this arrangement, Orano will supply part of the enriched uranium to power the BWRX-300 SMR1  reactor developed by GE Hitachi. With a capacity of 300 MWe, this is the first SMR reactor project to be developed in Canada, and will be operated by OPG at the Darlington nuclear power plant, located 70 km east of Toronto, Canada.

This is Orano's first contract to supply enriched uranium for an SMR development project.

Nicolas Maes, Chief Executive Officer of Orano, commented: "Orano is proud to be able to support OPG and the development of its nuclear project in Darlington. We applaud OPG's commitment to deploy a breakthrough technology that will contribute to meeting Canada's climate goals. The development of SMR technologies is key to the production of low-carbon electricity, which is essential in the fight against global warming".

Orano produces enriched uranium for its French and foreign customers for the fabrication of fuel for nuclear power plants. With its Tricastin industrial platform, the Group holds 30% of the West's enriched uranium production capacity, which in terms of generating output corresponds to low-carbon electricity for some 90 million households - the equivalent of France, Germany and the UK put together.

Orano's teams are working on an industrial project to increase enrichment capacity at the Tricastin site by 30%, so as to contribute to its customers' future needs in terms of security of supply.