Belgium’s Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC – Federaal Agentschap voor Nucleaire Controle) has approved the restart of unit 3 at the Tihange NPP following a thorough analysis by FANC and its technical branch Bel V.
Tihange 3 was shut down at the beginning of April for extensive maintenance and upgrades with a view to operating for ten more years. Work was carried out that FANC considered absolutely essential for life extension, such as the replacement of certain parts. Plant operator Engie now has three years, until September 2028, to complete the rest of the work.
In May, Belgium’s Chamber of Representatives voted to repeal a 2003 law setting out plans to phase out nuclear power. The 2003 law set a date for the closure of Belgium’s seven nuclear plants and prohibited the construction of new nuclear capacity. Over the past two decades, the law has been amended several times to allow a number of plants to remain open longer. Belgium has seven nuclear power reactors – three at Tihange near Liege and four at Doel near Antwerp. All seven are pressurised water reactors operated by Electrabel, part of Engie. Apart from Doel 1&2, which are 430 MWe plants, the others have a capacity of approximately 1000 MWe
Under the phase-out law, Doel 1 was to be taken out of service in 2015. However, the law was amended in 2013 and 2015 allowing it to operate for an additional ten years. Doel 3 was closed in 2022 and Tihange 2 in 2023. Tihange 1 is set to shut in October this year and Doel 2 in December. Doel 4 and Tihange 3 were scheduled to close in November 2025 but the conflict in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Russian oil and gas resulted both being allowed to operate for ten more years. The bill to repeal the nuclear exit law now allows for the possibility of further extension.
For further operation, Electrabel had to submit an extensive LTO (Long Term Operation) file with safety studies and an action plan to further increase safety. That file was submitted in December 2024 for both Doel 4 and Tihange 3. In recent years, intensive consultation has already taken place between the FANC and Electrabel, which means that the proposed action plan already largely complied with the expectations of the FANC.
The FANC made a thorough analysis of the LTO files for Tihange 3 and Doel 4 in the first half of 2025 and delivered the results to Electrabel in June. In addition, the FANC requested some additional adjustments to the action plan, including additional studies, clarification of certain action points and accelerated implementation of some planned actions. The action plan for Tihange 3 has now been completed and approved.
Doel 4 is also being prepared for further operation. The reactor was shut down for its LTO overhaul on 30 June. A restart, as with Tihange 3, requires approval of the action plan and a positive assessment of the actions implemented. The restart of Doel 4 is scheduled for no later than 1 November 2025.
