Mr. Jean Castex French Prime Minister, inaugurates the Extractive Metallurgy Innovation Center (CIME) of Orano

Jean Castex, French Prime Minister inaugurated today the new Center for Innovation in Extractive Metallurgy (CIME) of Orano on the Bessines-sur-Gartempe site in the New Aquitaine region in the presence of the Minister Delegate for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari and many representatives of the region.

During the visit, the Prime Minister had the opportunity to discover the CIME facilities as well as the technological solutions developed by the teams targeting a range of sectors including energy, environment, recycling, health, ore processing and engineering.

This brand new industrial asset, which represents an investment of more than 30 million euros, will enable the Group to benefit from a cutting-edge environment to further intensify its support for its customers and to continue its diversification around innovative projects in the fields of energy transition and the circular economy.

CIME will also serve to host industrial pilot tests for Orano projects under development, in particular for the recycling and recovery of metals. Two industrial pilots will be deployed on the site to test the recycling process for materials contained in electric vehicle batteries. This project received support from France Relance, for an amount of 6.1 million euros, and from the Nouvelle Aquitaine region.

Started in March 2019, the construction project for the building has mobilized up to 120 people and 75 companies on the Bessines-sur-Gartempe site, most of them located in the region.

CIME is one of the Group's main R&D centers. Following the construction of this platform for expertise and technological excellence, the commissioning of the facility on May 17, 2021 marks an important step in the modernization of Orano's industrial assets.

Claude Imauven, Chairman of Orano's Board of Directors, said: "The CIME lies at the heart of the industrial fabric of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and we are proud of our longstanding regional presence. The sites and plants of our nuclear industry are a great asset for enabling an industrial and economic revival in keeping with today’s climate objectives".

   French Prime Minister Jean Castex inaugurates the Extractive Metallurgy Innovation Center (CIME) © Orano - François Guichard