Unit 2 at the Cruas nuclear power station in France has been restarted with its first load of entirely recycled uranium fuel, marking “an historic milestone for the relaunch of the uranium reprocessing sector”.

“A decade-long effort has been made to revive a uranium reprocessing sector, which was suspended in 2013 (and resumed in 2018), and has just reached a historic milestone,” said Cédric Lewandowski, director of state nuclear operator EDF’s nuclear and thermal park on LinkedIn.

“Indeed, on February 5, 2024, Unit 2 of the Cruas station restarted with the first load of entirely recycled uranium.”

Spent nuclear reactor fuel in France is reprocessed at nuclear fuel cycle company Orano’s reprocessing facility at La Hague in Normandy.