French Nuclear Fuel Giant New Areva Rebrands as Orano

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Following its split from nuclear power parent company AREVA (EPA:AREVA) (Paris, France), the nuclear fuel production and uranium mining business New Areva (Paris) has revealed a new identity as Orano.

The company, which has revenues of 4 billion euro ($5 billion) and 16,000 employees, is involved in mining, conversion-enrichment, used fuel recycling, nuclear logistics, dismantling and engineering. New Areva was created after AREVA's struggling nuclear power construction business was taken over last year by leading French energy company Électricité de France SA (EPA:EDF) (Paris, France) in a 2.7 billion euro ($3.3 billion) deal. For additional information, see June 5, 2017, article--EU Gives Seal of Approval for EDF AREVA Nuclear Takeover.

Orano, which is named after the Greek god Ouranos (Uranus), said it has an order backlog of 31.8 billion euro ($39.4 billion).

"Orano symbolizes a new start," said Orano Chief Executive Officer Philippe Knoche. "A new start that has been under preparation for several years now. We have set up a new organisational structure, a new business plan, a new strategic action plan and a new social contract. Our new identity is the natural result of all this."

He added: "Our new name symbolises our conviction: Nuclear power has a future, as it is a competitive, low-carbon [source of] energy that creates jobs. Orano has all it needs to play a key role in this. We have big ambitions for Orano, namely for it to become the leader in the production and recycling of nuclear materials, waste management, and dismantling within the next ten years. I have full confidence in our capacity to give nuclear energy its full value."

The company is planning to invest roughly $4 billion ($5 billion) in its mines and production plants to 2025, but Knoche told a news briefing that there is no financial incentive to invest in new uranium mines due to the very low price of uranium--a price that has plummeted by 80% in the last decade. New nuclear power projects have suffered greatly in Europe since the Fukushima Dai-Ichi accident March 2011, with countries like Germany and Switzerland announcing a complete withdrawal from nuclear power.

Asia will become a more important market for the company, accounting for 30% of its revenues by 2020, up from 20% now.

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