Orano will supply enriched uranium to OPG to power the BWRX-300 SMR (small modular reactor), developed by GE Hitachi
Orano was selected by OPG to supply enriched uranium. (Credit: Nicolas HIPPERT on Unsplash)
French nuclear fuel cycle company Orano has teamed up with Canadian utility and nuclear power plant operator Ontario Power Generation (OPG) for the supply of enriched uranium.
Under the terms of the agreement, Orano will supply enriched uranium to OPG to power the BWRX-300 SMR (small modular reactor), developed by GE Hitachi.
With 300MWe capacity, BWRX-300 is said to be Canada’s first SMR reactor and will be operated by OPG at the Darlington nuclear power plant, located 70km east of Toronto, Canada.
Orano said that it is the company’s first contract to supply enriched uranium for an SMR development project.
Orano CEO Nicolas Maes said: “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 is engaged in uranium mining, conversion-enrichment, spent fuel recycling, nuclear logistics, dismantling, and nuclear cycle engineering activities.
The French nuclear fuel company produces enriched uranium for its French and foreign customers for the fabrication of fuel for nuclear power plants.
Orano, through its Tricastin industrial platform, holds 30% of the West’s enriched uranium production capacity.
The company generates low-carbon electricity adequate to power around 90 million households, the equivalent of France, Germany and the UK combined.
Its teams are currently working to enhance the enrichment capacity at the Tricastin site by 30% to contribute to its customers’ future needs in terms of security of supply.