- Engineering and construction services for new facilities for the treatment of used nuclear fuel
Bilfinger has been an acknowledged partner of the nuclear industry for decades. This is underpinned by a new order in France from Orano, the company formerly known as New Areva, for what is currently one of the country's largest nuclear projects. The order was awarded to a consortium of Bilfinger's French subsidiary Bilfinger LTM Industrie and Foselev and contains a package of engineering, supply and prefabrication of piping as well as erection and testing services for two new facilities for the treatment of spent nuclear fuel at Orano's La Hague site. Bilfinger will book its share of the order volume in the segment Engineering & Technologies (E&T).
"The order demonstrates once again that Bilfinger is a well-respected supplier to the nuclear industry in Europe," says Michael Loeffelmann, Executive President of Bilfinger's E&T segment. Bilfinger received an order for delivery of a nuclear waste treatment unit for the new British reactor Hinkley Point C already last year. The company is also participating in the system design of an encapsulation plant in Sweden for the storage of spent nuclear fuel, an order that was awarded in 2017 as well.
For the Orano project in La Hague, Bilfinger LTM Industrie also provides pressure vessels. Orano transforms nuclear materials so that they can be used to support the development of society, first and foremost in the field of energy. As part of its nuclear activities, the Orano La Hague site provides the first steps of used nuclear fuel recycling and is the largest nuclear fuel processing plant in the world.
Bilfinger LTM Industrie employs up to 500 people and has a strong focus on engineering and construction projects for the pharma/biotech, nuclear, oil & gas as well as chemical industries. In 2017, Bilfinger LTM Industrie also entered into the maintenance business and is now responsible for maintenance activities at the Saint-Vulbas site of pharma company Siegfried AG. Bilfinger LTM Industrie plans to win further maintenance customers in the coming years and expects that such contracts will also lead to additional engineering business.