Orano’s Back End of the Future program
First engineering partnerships signed

Orano today signed the first four five-year engineering partnerships as part of its Back End of the Future program. The signing ceremony took place on Tuesday 8 October at the Orano La Hague site in the presence of Corinne Spilios, Director of the group's Recycling business, Nicolas Ferrand, Director of the Back End of the Future Program, and Guillaume Dureau, Director of Engineering activities, as well as representatives of the partner companies Capgemini, Egis, ECIA -a branch of Equans France- and SNEF-EKIUM. 

As announced on 7 March 2024 during the ministerial visit to the La Hague site, Orano intends to renew its spent fuel processing and recycling plants in the period 2040-2050 as part of a program known as Back End of the Future. At the same time, Orano will be working to keep its existing facilities in operational condition as part of a program to ensure the long-term future and resilience of the La Hague (Manche) and Melox (Gard) plants.

The Back End of the Future program will see the launch of studies for a new MOX fuel fabrication plant at the La Hague site, which is scheduled to start production in the early 2040s, and for a new spent fuel processing plant, also at the La Hague site, by 2045-2050.
In order to be able to carry out these projects in full, Orano is planning ahead: it is getting its engineering department ready for an increased workload. Orano's engineering activity is set to double its workforce over the period from 2,000 to 4,000 employees, and is already committed to developing partnerships based on co-construction with players in the nuclear sector.

For Guillaume Dureau, "Today’s signature represents a key milestone in our Back End of the Future program. We are laying the groundwork for the project by means of an industrial plan that will ensure continuity and develop recycling solutions to meet future needs Based on these partnerships, Orano is getting ready, and committing itself for the long haul, alongside partners who are already recognised players in the nuclear industry.”

Nicolas Ferrand said: "I’m delighted to be taking part in this ambitious project to promote sovereignty, excellence and high technology. The signing of these partnership agreements is an important moment which will determine the success of this large-scale program. We will work hand-in-hand with our partners in order to ensure that it is successful. This collaboration will be key to ensuring that these exceptional works are completed on time and to budget.”