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Orano executive Armand Laferriere outlines reprocessing model, says U.S. will need scale and incentives
Summary
Armand Laferriere of Orano described France's routine reprocessing model, the technical and industrial scale required to recycle spent fuel, and said Orano is open to licensing technologies for U.S. projects while noting capacity limits due to French renewal programs.
Armand Laferriere, a senior executive with Orano, told the Governor's Nuclear Advisory Council that Orano operates routine, full‑cycle fuel recycling in France and argued recycling reduces uranium demand and compresses waste volume while producing materials that can be reused.
"We are the only full cycle company in the Western world," Laferriere said, describing French reprocessing steps (separation of uranium, plutonium and waste, vitrification of fission products and compaction of metal waste) and the industrial scale of the program. He said the French plant currently processes about 800 metric tons per year and is designed for about 1,200, while the United States holds an inventory of roughly 91,000 tons of spent fuel.
Laferriere said France plans major investments to renew recycling capacity between 2025 and 2050 and that Orano has been selected by DOE to build an enrichment facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, transferring land and presenting filings to the NRC. He argued that reprocessing at scale can save 20–25% of uranium extraction needs and reduce long‑term storage burdens by producing less‑radioactive, more compact waste forms.
On whether Orano would build a U.S. recycling plant, Laferriere said the company currently prioritizes renewing French capacity and lacks spare engineering resources to build a full U.S. plant immediately, but is willing to license technologies and collaborate on design and licensing with a U.S. lead partner and the NRC.
Council members questioned processing capacity, the economics of recycling for diversified reactor designs and whether non‑water‑cooled SMR fuels would be accommodated. Laferriere warned that new reactor types and fuel forms complicate reuse at scale and that each fuel type may require specific recycling approaches, calling for technology cooperation and targeted investment to make some recycling pathways economically viable.
Laferriere's presentation provided a supplier perspective on technical feasibility and the industrial scale needed for reprocessing and enrichment activities in the United States.
