CHallenges
The decommissioning and management of nuclear waste involves complex activities that must be addressed as safely and efficiently as possible:
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Existing plant operations
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Fuel cycle facilities
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Recycling/reprocessing/waste disposal
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Decommissioning of permanently shut-down plants
The nuclear decommissioning market is estimated to be worth more than €200 billion throughout the world in the coming decades (with Europe accounting for 75%), putting the implementation of effective methodologies for faster, safer, and more cost-effective decommissioning at the heart of the challenges facing the nuclear industry.
Whatever the type of facility to be decommissioned or the type of waste to be managed, at least three major challenges must be considered:
Industrial challenges:
- Standardisation of decommissioning processes and activities, including promotion of COTS (commercial off the shelf) and MOTS (modified off the shelf) solutions
- Integration of waste management processes
- Re-use / repurposing of assets
- Design for optimal decommissioning
- Digitalisation of processes
Technical and safety challenges:
- Interventions under constraints, specificity of installations to be decommissioned
- Guarantee of operational safety (people, facilities and environment)
- Technical integration across decommissioning programmes
Economic and ESG challenges (Environmental, Social and Governance):
- Control of decommissioning costs
- Optimisation of lead times
- Reliable and diversified supply chain, involving SMEs (socio-economic value)
- Sustainability considerations across the full project lifecycle
Assystem's expertise in the entire life cycle of nuclear facilities for over 55 years enables us to address the full complexity of this issue.
Our expertise
We assist nuclear operators in managing the end of life of their assets, from defining decommissioning scenarios to designing and supplying storage and treatment facilities for waste from all activities. In coordination with local and international nuclear authorities, we intervene at each stage of the decommissioning life cycle, for all types of facilities to be decommissioned:
- Nuclear fuel cycle facilities
- Experimental reactors
- Nuclear power plants
Our added value in decommissioning and waste management mainly focuses on our expertise in:
- Shut-down of facilities
- Detailed design and scenario planning for decommissioning projects
- Definition of appropriate waste streams
- Integration of remote robotics handling solutions
- Design and delivery of support facilities for decommissioning operations and waste management
- Repurposing of legacy assets
Regarding waste management, the Assystem teams have proven expertise in defining and delivering solutions for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities (reactors, fuel cycle plants, laboratories, research facilities, etc.). We have been involved in these areas in France and the United Kingdom for decades. More recently, Assystem also deployed its expertise in Europe and the Middle-East (Saudi Arabia).
OUR MAIN OFFERINGS
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Waste and characterisation consultancy
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Multi-disciplinary engineering design
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Project management (PMC, PMO)
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Field operation management
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Siting, licensing, and environmental services
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System engineering and design
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Industrial Control Systems
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Risk and safety studies
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Digital decommissioning
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Security and Industrial Cybersecurity
Learn more about our Engineering, Digital and Project Management activities.