Orano Chooses Rail Transport for VLL Nuclear Waste

Orano has announced at the World Nuclear Exhibition that it has recently completed mainly rail shipment of very low-level (VLL) nuclear waste from Orano's Valognes site (Manche, Normandy) to Andra's CIRES site (Aube, north-eastern France). This is the third shipment of this type. Previously, the Group had been using road transport, which is more carbon-intensive. Orano is thus pursuing its decarbonization efforts with the development of rail transport of nuclear materials in Europe.

The change in nuclear transport methods follows Orano's acquisition of STSI, made in 2021 with a view to decarbonizing its activities, and the strategic partnership established the same year with the rail company Fret SNCF.

The mode of transport significantly reduces the carbon footprint compared with road transportation, with a tenfold reduction in CO2 emissions for a shipment of this kind. By way of illustration, on average, transport mainly by rail produces 1.5 tonnes of CO2, compared with 15 tonnes using the road route1.

According to Jean-Michel Romary, Orano's Director of Strategic Planning for Dismantling and Waste, "giving priority to rail transport for the shipment of VLL waste is a further step towards reducing our carbon footprint. In this way, we are expanding our range of solutions, in line with our goal of reducing the carbon footprint of our industrial and, more specifically here, logistics activities".

About Orano

As a recognized international operator in the field of nuclear materials, Orano delivers solutions to address present and future global energy and health challenges. Its expertise and mastery of cutting-edge technologies enable Orano to offer its customers high value-added products and services throughout the entire fuel cycle. Every day, the Orano group’s 17,000 employees draw on their skills, unwavering dedication to safety and constant quest for innovation, with the commitment to develop know-how in the transformation and control of nuclear materials, for the climate and for a healthy and resource-efficient world, now and tomorrow.

Orano, giving nuclear energy its full value.

About Orano NPS

With over 60 years’ experience, Orano NPS, a subsidiary of the Orano group, provides global solutions to its customers throughout the world, ranging from the design of packages, together with their approval and manufacture, through to nuclear materials transport operations. Orano NPS carries out more than 6,000 transport operations each year worldwide, covering the entire fuel cycle, in compliance with the most stringent French and international safety requirements.