Nuclear engineering and services
UC3 at Marcoule: Onet Technologies at the heart of the recovery and conditioning of CEA's historical waste
Since 2020, Onet Technologies has been contributing to the project management of the UC3 project on behalf of CEA Marcoule, as part of a consortium led by Orano Projets, alongside Egis and Amentum.
Objective: to design the facilities needed to take back, sort and condition old radioactive waste in a constrained environment. A new stage has just been reached for our teams with the completion of the detailed design phase.
UC3: a strategic project for CEA Marcoule
The UC3 project aims to process several tonnes of waste from the former UNGG (natural uranium graphite gas) reactors stored in the DEGAINAGE facility at the Marcoule site. This waste, notably magnesium cladding stored in concrete pits, will be taken back, sorted and packaged in two streams (FMA-VC and MA-VL). The operation relies on specially designed and qualified equipment, installed in existing buildings refitted to accommodate the new processing units, including a sorting cell, compacting, packaging and conditioning units, and a sludge recovery cell.
Open the cover and lower the carrier through the hopper into the pit.
Onet Technologies' design know-how
As a key partner in the project, Onet Technologies is responsible for the design of several critical systems: waste retrieval units (USR), heavy handling equipment, nuclear ventilation, low-voltage systems and intermediate storage. Working in an existing, sometimes ageing, environment imposes high technical demands, reinforced by nuclear safety imperatives. Onet Technologies' teams - up to 32 people mobilized at certain stages - contributed their expertise in remotely-operated mechanics, radiation protection and management of technical interfaces. The use of digital tools for monitoring requirements, such as the 3D digital mock-up, helped to secure the design and ensure that decisions were followed up.
Now that we've reached this milestone, we 're ready to move on to the real thing.
After four years of studies and more than 20,000 hours of work, the Detailed Preliminary Design (APD) phase for UC3 is now complete. The teams are now focusing on drafting the tender documents, in preparation for the construction phase, scheduled for after 2026. This phase will start at the end of the CEA procurement process, and will cover manufacturing, on-site work, testing and commissioning of the facilities. Onet Technologies will continue its commitment at every stage, in the service of this emblematic project for nuclear waste management in France.
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Nuclear engineering and services
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