Cyclife is EDF’s subsidiary dedicated to power plant dismantling and radioactive waste management. Cyclife’s main aim is to internationalize this activity. It has several local subsidiaries (France, Sweden and the UK), as well as 6 subsidiaries known as “engineering and expertise centers”, which develop specific know-how, such as digital tools (Cyclife Digital Solutions, Quadrica), services (Cyclife Engineering), equipment (Aquila Nuclear Engineering) and other specific technologies (Graphitech, Waste2Glass).(source)
I. Local subsidiaries
Cyclife France
Cyclife France is the descendant of SOCODEI, created in 1990 by Cogema and EDF, then fully owned by EDF in 2010. It changed its name in June 2019. In particular, it operates the Centraco radioactive waste processing plant. There are two activities:
- the incineration unit, dealing with incinerable waste (e.g., personnel outfits, packaging, rags, used solvents, resins, medical waste…)
- the melting unit, which handles metal waste.
Cyclife France is said to have developed mobile processing and conditioning machines:
- Mercure: “Unité mobile de conditionnement des Résines Échangeuses d’Ions du circuit primaire des Réacteurs à Eau Pressurisée” (Mobile unit for conditioning ion-exchange resins from the primary circuit of pressurized water reactors)
- UMIS: “Unité mobile de mise en conformité à la réglementation transport de conteneurs de déchets en vrac” (Mobile unit for compliance with bulk waste container transport regulations)
- UMC: “Unité mobile de mise en conformité à la réglementation transport de conteneurs de déchets en vrac” (Mobile unit for compliance with bulk waste container transport regulations)
- UM2B: “Mobile radioactive sludge blocking unit”
Cyclife UK
Cyclife UK operates an industrial site with 110 employees in Workington, Cumbria, in the north-west of England. It processes low-level metal waste and, if required, can send waste for treatment in Cyclife Sweden’s induction furnace. It also provides engineering services for waste management.
Cyclife Sweden
Cyclife Sweden operates an industrial site with 100 employees in Nyköping. Its furnace can melt up to 5,000 tonnes per year (compared with 4,000 for the Centraco plant and 1,000 for the UK facility). It also treats organic waste by incineration or pyrolysis. They also have a “high-performance” analysis laboratory for “characterizing” materials and waste.
II. Cyclife’s “engineering centers
In addition to these local facilities, Cyclife has a number of subsidiaries, each developing technologies and know-how that are important for plant dismantling and waste management.
Cyclife Digital Solutions
Cyclife Digital Solutions (CDS) develops the “DEMplus for nuclear” software, a digital decision-making and intervention simulation tool. Previously Oreka Solutions, the company was acquired by EDF in 2018, which owns 90% of it. It will change its name to Cyclife Digital Solutions in September 2019. The structure is made up of 15 employees and located in Bagnols-sur-Cèse, Gard.
Quadrica
Quadrica, like CDS, develops digital tools:
- a software suite for exploiting 3D data. This allows you, for example, to make objects move and see if there is a risk of collision along the way. You can also take precise measurements from 3D photographs.
- virtualSurvey or “ViSu”, a tool that even lets you move around and visualize installations as if you were there. It also allows teams to interact in the simulation.
The company was acquired 100% by Cyclife on April 1 2022.
Cyclife Engineering
Created in October 2019, Cyclife Engineering provides, as its name suggests, engineering services for the decommissioning of power plants and the storage and treatment of radioactive waste. The company’s activities are primarily (and entirely?) international. The company is based in Lyon and employs around 100 people.
Graphitech
Graphitech is a joint venture between Cyclife (EDF) and Veolia Nuclear Solutions (Veolia), whose aim is to find solutions for dismantling graphite-fired power plants. Indeed, their core, a huge block of graphite, is much larger than that of pressurized or boiling water reactors. Dismantling them therefore poses specific challenges. Together with Cyclife, the company is taking part in the INNO4GRAPH project.
Waste2Glass
As with Graphitec, Cyclife is joint owner with Veolia Nuclear Solutions of Waste2Glass, a joint venture that improves vitrification with the Geomelt process, making it cheaper and expanding its possibilities.
Aquila Nuclear Engineering
Founded in 2011 by the Calder Group, Aquila Nuclear Engineering develops specialized equipment for the nuclear (and medical-nuclear) industry. For example, it had designed a cart for transporting radioactive materials. It was fully acquired by Cyclife in early January 2022.
III. Cyclife projects
Cyclife is involved in a number of European projects:
- INNO4GRAPH, which aims to find solutions for dismantling graphite-fired power plants.