Enrichment: AREVA completes a major stage in the Georges Besse II project

On line with the Georges Besse II project time schedule, AREVA has just handed over the keys to the centrifuge assembly building of the uranium enrichment plant on the Tricastin site to the Enrichment Technology Company (ETC).

This marks a major milestone in the construction of the Georges Besse II plant and illustrates how AREVA is successfully meeting project lead times.

ETC - an AREVA and Urenco subsidiary - has thus taken possession of the site where, as of summer 2008, its subsidiary ET France will assemble centrifuges from its German and Dutch workshops. Component manufacture is currently underway, in line with ETC's time schedule. The first centrifuge cascades at the Georges Besse II plant will begin operation during the first six months of 2009. Similar equipment has been successfully used on three European sites for almost fifteen years.

Concurrent with the construction of Georges Besse II and with the technical support of ETC, AREVA is continuing to train employees on the operation of the future site, under real-life conditions, notably on the British site of Capenhurst.

Through the Georges Besse II site, AREVA hopes to reinforce its position on the enrichment market where it currently has 25% of available world capacity. The centrifuge enrichment process to be used on the site marks an economic and environmental advance as it consumes less electricity than gaseous diffusion and further increases the level of safety of facilities.

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With manufacturing facilities in 41 countries and a sales network in more than 100 countries, AREVA offers customers reliable technological solutions for CO2-free power generation and electricity transmission and distribution. We are the world leader in nuclear power and the only company to cover all industrial activities in this field.

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