Innovative concepts: an EDF view point

For EDF as for all nuclear operators the first objective is to generate a low cost electrical kWh in a reliable and safe plant to stay competitive. The fuel cycle as a whole must help to reach this objective and particularly when we are dealing with advanced reactors and innovative fuels. The French law of December 30, 1991 is of crucial importance in this respect, with the request for a 15-year research program related to separation and transmutation of long lived nuclear wastes, geological disposal and long term storage. The present EDF strategy, the recycling of separated plutonium in the 900 MW PWR, with adaptation of reprocessed quantities of UO₂ fuel to the recycling possibilities, is flexible enough to manage different possible future scenarios which were defined and assessed by a task force bringing together nuclear industry operators and research bodies. Another important point is also that no major industrial decisions need to be taken before the deadline of the law in 2006. Concerning strategies for the back-end of the fuel cycle such as partitioning and transmutation or geological disposal, they need not be implemented before 2030- 2050, even if they have to be demonstrated as being possible well before this date