Review Article

European collaborative efforts to achieve effective, safe, and cost-controlled dismantling of nuclear facilities

¹ Cyclife SAS, Tour EUROPE, 33 Place des COROLLES, CS 90345, 92049 Paris la Défense Cedex, France
² EDF DP2D, Direction des projets déconstruction et déchets, 154 Avenue Thiers, CS 60018, 69458 Lyon, France
³ ONET Technologies, Engineering Business Unit, 26700, Pierrelatte, France
⁴ Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, List, 91120, Palaiseau, France
⁵ CEA CETAMA, BP 17171, 30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze cedex, France

^* e-mail: marie-benedicte.jacques@cea.fr

Received: 17 March 2022
Received in final form: 18 August 2022
Accepted: 21 October 2022
Published online: 10 January 2023

Abstract

This paper aims to give an overview of very recent European coordinate efforts to implement technologies of the “4.0 Industry” in the nuclear deconstruction sector. This objective aims to benefit from the lever of efficiency and reliability represented by innovative technologies on all the value chain of the dismantling, from early characterization to the dismantling operations themselves through engineering studies, waste management, project management and coordination of multiple stakeholders of each project. The outcomes of five projects (INNO4GRAPH, LD-SAFE, PLEIADES, CLEANDEM and INSIDER) are summarized here. They result in a unique data and knowledge common base, as well as in a significant sharing of experience based on dismantling projects already carried out or to come. They also result in designing new tools or methods natively taking into account the needs of a maximum of dismantling operators, as well as new test facilities. This will allow the undertaken joint work and collaboration to be continued. All of this paves the way to further collaborative projects and developments, in order to continue to implement reliable new technologies and processes in European dismantling projects to make future dismantling operations more efficient, safer and more cost-effective.