1. General context: optimizing nuclear fleet management

Even though pressurized water nuclear power plants deliver a considerable amount of energy compared with other types of plant, the fuel is only partially "consumed", since only a few percent of the atoms have fissioned by the time it is recycled. Although proven over the years, this type of nuclear power plant management, mainly dictated by neutron optimization and safety considerations, results in a limited use of available energy, which can only be improved by fuel recycling.

In the interests of profitability and minimizing the volume of waste to be recycled, EDF has over the years embarked on a general policy of increasing the burnup rate, which means leaving fuel in the reactor longer.

Let's recall here that the burn-up rate represents, over a given time (day), the overall power (in MW) generated per unit mass (kg) of metal atoms. It...