Andra cleared to store more waste in Cires repository

22 July 2024

French radioactive waste management agency Andra has been granted approval by the Aube department to increase the authorised capacity of the Cires very-low-level radioactive waste disposal facility, without increasing the disposal surface area.

Cires (Image: Andra)

Opened in Morvilliers in 2003, Cires (the Centre Industriel de Regroupement, d'Entreposage et de Stockage) was designed and authorised to receive 650,000 cubic metres of very-low-level radioactive waste (VLLW) - primarily material such as weakly contaminated rubble, earth, scrap metal - in three storage areas, called tranches 1, 2 and 3. By the end of 2022, Cires had reached 69.4% of its total authorised storage capacity. In view of the VLLW delivery forecasts announced by the producers of waste for the coming years, the site - covering 46 hectares - is expected to reach its authorised storage capacity around 2028-2029.

The national inventory of radioactive materials and waste, published by Andra, predicts that between 2,100,000 cubic metres and 2,300,000 cubic metres of VLLW will be produced by 2050-2060, mainly during the dismantling of nuclear facilities currently in operation.

Andra submitted its environment authorisation application file for increasing the authorised storage capacity of Cires to the Aube department in April 2023. This file included several documents explaining the purpose of the project as well as the work and arrangements necessary for its implementation.

The environmental authorisation procedure comprised three phases. During the first phase, the project was reviewed by the state services, including the Environmental Authority. In the second phase, the public and local authorities were consulted.

In the third phase, the department has now given its approval based on the report and "reasoned conclusions" of the investigating commissioner.

With the authorisation, Cires will be able to accommodate a total of 950,000 cubic metres of VLLW, instead of the 650,000 cubic metres initially authorised, without increasing the disposal surface area.

This has been made possible by the various improvements to the disposal cells since the centre was commissioned in 2003. The disposal cells for VLLW were 80 metres long and could contain 10,000 cubic metres of waste. From 2007, cells 176 metres long were built, increasing the capacity of each cell to 25,000 cubic metres. In 2010, steepening of the slopes and deepening the cells made it possible to reach a disposal capacity of 27,000 cubic metres of VLLW per cell. In 2016, a new optimisation was implemented, which involved raising the height of the above-ground part of the repository. This increased the storage capacity of each cell to about 30,000 cubic metres.

Whilst tranche 1 at Cires has been filled with waste and capped, tranche 2 is currently in operation. Work on tranche 3 is set to begin in April next year, with the tranche becoming available for waste disposal starting in 2028.

Oklo demonstrates fuel recycling process

18 July 2024

California-based liquid metal fast reactor developer Oklo Inc, in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory, has successfully completed the first end-to-end demonstration of the key stages of its advanced fuel recycling process.

Engineers in Argonne’s Chemical and Fuel Cycle Technologies division (Image: Argonne National Laboratory)

Oklo said the completion of the demonstration "marks a significant step forward in Oklo's efforts to scale up its fuel recycling capabilities and deploy a commercial-scale recycling facility to increase advanced reactor fuel supplies, and enhance fuel cost effectiveness".

Supported by a USD5 million cost-share award from the US Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) under the Optimizing Nuclear Waste and Advanced Reactor Disposal Systems (ONWARDS) Program, this project aims to facilitate the deployment of a commercial-scale advanced fuel recycling facility.

Oklo's fuel recycling technology is engineered to extract more than 90% of the remaining potential energy from used fuel, which is expected to be utilised in Oklo powerhouses to generate clean energy. It incorporates unique proliferation-resistant features, including maintaining the consolidation of transuranic materials.

The company said the introduction of commercial fuel recycling operations is expected to save up to 80% on its fuel costs, driving long-term value through enhanced fuel efficiency, alternative fuel source creation, and reduction in high-level waste requiring permanent disposal.

"We recognise the inherent opportunity to enhance our mission through fuel recycling, converting used fuel into clean energy," said Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte. "Oklo's use of fast fission technology positions us well to realise these fuel recycling benefits. The success of this project brings us closer to bringing a commercial-scale domestic fuel recycling facility online, crucial for strengthening our business model and advancing economic viability."

ARPA-E Director Evelyn Wang added: "We know that recycling is an important path to reduce high-level waste, and advance nuclear energy with safe and sustainable domestic fuel stocks. Through ARPA-E's ONWARDS Program, Oklo is working to achieve these goals. This milestone marks an important step forward in the team's progress as they work towards economically viable nuclear fuel recycling."

In January 2023, Oklo submitted a Licensing Project Plan to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), outlining its plans for pre-application engagement activities that support the future licensing of a commercial-scale nuclear fuel recycling facility.

Oklo, founded in 2013, plans to commercialise its liquid metal fast reactor technology with the Aurora 'powerhouse', a fast neutron reactor that uses heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core to a supercritical carbon dioxide power conversion system to generate electricity. The powerhouse uses metallic high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU, fuel to produce about 15 MWe as well as producing usable heat.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News