The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a €125m ($142m) credit line to Orano to accelerate the development of its medical subsidiary, Orano Med. This financial backing centres on manufacturing lead-212 targeted alpha therapies to treat cancer and construction of the €250m Advanced Thorium Extraction Facility (ATEF) in Bessines-sur-Gartempe, France.
ATEF will be the world’s first industrial facility dedicated to large-scale production of thorium-228, a critical precursor needed to generate the rare radioisotope lead-212. Orano is seeking to centralise the specialised nuclear medicine supply chain entirely within France to feed Orano Med’s Alpha Therapy Laboratories (ATLabs). The expanding pipeline currently encompasses four critical clinical programmes run either independently or developed with global healthcare leaders, including Sanofi, Roche, and Swiss biotech Molecular Partners.
Frédéric Desdouits, CEO of Orano Med said the loan agreement “reflects the strategic value of our investment plan dedicated to the development and production of innovative targeted alpha therapies for the treatment of cancer patients”.
Through this project, EIB aims to anchor health sovereignty, scale top-tier biotech pipelines, and keep cutting-edge radioactive medical technology rooted firmly in Europe. For the EIB, this is the second loan agreement signed with the Orano group in just over a year. In March 2025, EIB announced a €400m loan agreement to finance the expansion of the Georges Besse 2 uranium enrichment plant at Orano’s Tricastin site, France.
“By supporting the development of Orano Med and notably the construction of its industrial infrastructure, the EIB is reaffirming Europe’s commitment to advancing research in healthcare and the development of new cancer therapies, while establishing the industrial capabilities needed to produce these treatments on European territory,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. “Following the financing agreement of the uranium enrichment program concluded last year, this second transaction with the Orano group is also fully in line with the EIB’s priorities: fostering innovation, strengthening the production capacity of strategic European industries, and ensuring the development and manufacturing of cutting-edge technologies in Europe.”
The development of ATEF) falls under strict European and French nuclear and environmental regulatory frameworks. Because the site processes nuclear materials to yield medical radioisotopes, it requires exhaustive Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and ongoing ecological oversight.
Under Orano’s corporate sustainability guidelines, every major modification or new facility construction requires a formal environmental impact study. The facility must secure operating permits under France’s Installation Classée pour la Protection de l’Environnement (ICPE) guidelines. This strictly regulates potential noise, waste, and chemical footprints.
The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN – Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire) monitors the site to guarantee strict radiological protection and prevent environmental contamination. The primary focus is capturing and containing short-lived byproducts generated during thorium-228 purification, preventing any radioactive release into the local ecosystem.
Building on practices used at other Orano industrial sites, the ATEF plant uses specialised scrubbing and filtration systems to keep liquid and atmospheric emissions well below regulatory limits. The Bessines-sur-Gartempe hub runs dedicated local audits (renewed at least every 10 years) to monitor surrounding wildlife and ensure industrial operations do not disrupt local flora and fauna.
Bessines-sur-Gartempe has a long history of uranium processing. This means the new facility integrates directly into a legacy network of environmental surveillance and water table monitoring handled by Orano’s remediation division. Securing the €125m credit line required compliance with EIB’s strict environmental criteria, ensuring the factory’s physical construction matches modern energy-efficiency benchmarks.
