Orano’s Industrial Plan to Support the Development of Nuclear Energy

Abstract

With the objective of the U.S. Government to quadruple nuclear energy capacity by 2050, it is quintessential for the United States to reinvigorate its nuclear fuel supply chain and secure its procurement of Uranium domestically and internationally, in particular from ally countries.

For over five decades, Orano has actively contributed to the development of nuclear energy by ensuring a resilient and reliable fuel cycle supply chain for operators worldwide. Present in the United States for 60 years, Orano has been a key supplier of Uranium components to the U.S. Utilities.

Thanks to major investments in the 2010s, Orano modernized its Front-End industrial platform in the OECD, with the state-of-the-art Philippe Coste uranium conversion facility (the only facility renewed in the world) and the Georges Besse 2 enrichment plant, securing long-term and reliable supply.

To meet today’s growing global demand, Orano is scaling up its capabilities and assets through:

• New uranium production in Kazakhstan (South Torkuduk) and Canada (McClean North),
• Increased uranium exploration (doubling budget) to identify future deposits,
• A 30% capacity expansion of the GB2 enrichment plant in France,
• And the IKE project for additional enrichment capacity in the United States.

These investments are reinforcing - and will further reinforce- supply security for operators worldwide.

Orano also maintains a diversified portfolio of uranium mining projects in Canada, Central Asia (Mongolia, Uzbekistan), and Africa (Namibia), ensuring a balanced supply for the short, medium, and long term.

In addition, Orano has launched in 2024 its “Back-End of the future” program with the objective to modernize and renew Orano’s reprocessing and recycling facilities.  

With the trust of its customers and partners, and the expertise of its workforce, Orano is committed to providing high-performance fuel solutions that will support the global energy transition.

Biography

Jean-Luc Palayer, Chief Executive Officer and President of Orano USA and the President of Orano Federal services, oversees Orano's business units in the United States, including the ongoing Project IKE development of America’s new uranium enrichment facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The company’s U.S. portfolio spans uranium mining/ conversion/enrichment sales, advanced reactor services, used nuclear fuel management and recycling, federal site clean-up and closure, and developing and producing nuclear medicines to fight cancer.

With more than 25 years in the nuclear industry, Palayer’s international leadership experience includes nuclear materials transportation and storage, front-end material production and deliveries, supply chain optimization, and industrial project development in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
He began his career in 1999 with COGEMA (now part of Orano) in Seoul. In 2002, Palayer was appointed Business Development Manager for AREVA Nuclear Cycle in Paris. In 2007, Palayer moved to the United States to join AREVA Enrichment Services in Bethesda as Director of Business Analysis. In 2012, he served as Managing Director of AREVA Solar India and Vice-President of Operations for AREVA Solar Inc with the responsibility to lead solar projects in the United States and India. In 2015, he joined TN Americas (Orano NPS) as Vice-President of Global Supply Chain and then as Chief Operating Officer, leading the project management organization, the nuclear manufacturing plants, and the field service business line. Palayer holds a Master of Engineering degree from École des Mines and an Executive MBA from Georgetown University.