The French government has published an update of its work since the publication of the Roussely report about the future of the French nuclear industry.

The update makes several radical suggestions: Areva should sell off its uranium mining and exploration business; France should consider building the first unit of the GDF Suez-Areva-MHI reactor project Atmea 1 (and EDF should collaborate on Atmea-1); France should sign a comprehensive civil nuclear partnership with China and work together on a reactor design.

It also says that a formal EDF-Areva collaboration deal is due ‘before the summer’.

An edited translation is included below in full.


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HI-SMUR figures

Power output, thermal 440MW
Power output, electrical 145MW
Flow rate: 5.4×10^6 lb/hr
Hot leg temperature: 580°F
Cold leg temperature: 340°F
Normal operating pressure: 2250 psi
Heat generation/rod: 4.4kW/ft
In-core Reynolds number: 92300
Core volume: 42000 gallons
Reactor vessel length: 140ft