Dismantle your nuclear facilities with laser cutting
Efficient technology specially designed for complex environments
Onet Technologies is working with the French Atomic Energy Authority (CEA) on the use of laser cutting technologies dedicated to remotely operated dismantling applications, in order to reduce the costs and lead times involved in dismantling nuclear facilities and reactors, and to promote safety, worker protection and environmental protection.
Laser cutting in the nuclear environment:
10 years of experience Onet Technologies
Our experience since 2011:
- Proven expertise in design, R&D and operations;
- 100 cumulative days of laser operation on site (MAR200 project) ;
- Over 6 years of R&D on laser cutting (for Fukushima);
- More than 500 laser shots carried out with CEA (Marcoule & Saclay);
- A dozen materials tested on a hundred or so cutting configurations.
Our skills :
Provider of laser cutting solutions from upstream studies to operational implementation.- Feasibility study, safety analysis and risk management ;
- Design and detailed study, supply of laser systems, testing ;
- Installation, commissioning, operation and/or site completion;
- Identify and respond to R&D needs.
Our technologies :
Unique technologies benefiting from CEA developments and years of R&D.- Patented laser head design ;
- Integrated laser cutting system (mobile and robust) designed for deployment on nuclear sites;
- Associated safety systems to manage specific laser-induced risks (dust, residual energy, gas, etc.).
Our experts in laser cutting technology
Discover the portrait of Joé Vasquez Del Corro, technical architect for remote operation and laser at Onet Technologies. Whether in France or abroad, he is passionate about the daily deployment of our laser dismantling technology, from Marcoule to Fukushima Daiichi.
Onet Technologies' Laser Technocenter
In 2023, we inaugurated the Laser Technocenter, located near the CEA in Marcoule, where an area is dedicated to laser testing and development activities. The Technocentre serves as a laser test center, a showroom for our customers, and an R&D center to perfect laser technology.
Focus on L.DCom laser technology: a complete and efficient solution for nuclear decommissioning
Nuclear decommissioning requires reliable and efficient remotely-operated tools to meet the many challenges of removing radioactive materials from areas inaccessible to man. L.DCom remote-controlled laser cutting technology has been specially developed for these extreme conditions, and is suitable for cutting very thick materials in hazardous environments. The technology can be used both in the air and underwater. The system is designed to be easily installed in existing installations and to interface with remote operation equipment. Modularity and flexibility are essential to enhance its use in a variety of configurations and environmental constraints.
These patented technologies were developed by CEA, then industrialized and now operated by Onet Technologies.
Laser cutting offers excellent cutting performance in remote operation, while providing high positional tolerance when cutting heterogeneous layers of material.
- Efficiency
- No consumables or maintenance (in controlled areas)
- Cost reduction
- Faster work rates
- Enhanced safety
- Robustness
- Reliability
The advantages of laser cutting technology
In comparison with other cutting technologies used in nuclear decommissioning :
| Laser | Plasma | Water jet | Band saw | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | ||||
| Consumables | ||||
| Cutting speed | ||||
| Adaptation to complex shapes | ||||
| TOTAL | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Is laser cutting the best technology for dismantling your nuclear facilities?
Onet Technologies not only provides technical feasibility studies, but also assists its customers in selecting the right laser technology for the right application. We integrate our operational feedback into a technical and financial assessment, which serves as the basis for the analysis of the decommissioning project.
Onet Technologies' participation in the European LD SAFE project
The LD SAFE project is a project funded by the Euratom research and training program. This four-year European H2020 research and innovation project, running from July 2020 to June 2024, focuses on the use of laser cutting technology for nuclear reactor dismantling.
Onet Technologies is proud to be the main contributor and leader of the LD-SAFE project, which will help increase the maturity of laser cutting technology for nuclear decommissioning.
The aim of the LD-SAFE project is to demonstrate that air and underwater laser cutting technologies are effectively operational for dismantling the most complex components of nuclear power reactors (vessels and internals). To achieve this, the laser cutting technique must demonstrate :
- That it is as safe as the best cutting techniques currently in use, and even safer for workers and the environment;
- It does not add any additional constraints compared with other dismantling tools currently in use;
- That it is more profitable;
- It is simpler to implement on site, and better suited to the complex dismantling of components such as reactor internals.
At the end of the project, the efficiency and safety of the laser cutting technology should be largely confirmed.
Onet Technologies' laser cutting experience
Laser dismantling of the dissolver at the UP1 plant
Presented as a world premiere by Onet Technologies in December 2015, the laser technology demonstrated its full potential as part of the UP1 dissolver dismantling project at the spent fuel reprocessing facility at CEA's Marcoule site in France. The dismantling process was also nominated at the WNE Awards and received the SFEN technological innovation award in 2016.
This technology has also been selected by the Japanese government (METI*) as one of the key technologies for removing fuel debris from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi reactors. CEA and Onet Technologies have been working together since 2014 to develop this technology.
Installation can be carried out manually or remotely using robots.
The ACFM inspection technique is based on the principles of electromagnetism. It is based on the measurement of variations in a magnetic field induced in a conductive material. Suitable for detecting open or underlying fatigue cracks, it can also be used in the presence of a coating.
Laser dismantling for Japan's Fukushima Daiichi power plant
Onet Technologies and CEA are developing scenarios and testing remote-controlled cutting and evacuation systems for the Control Rod Drive Housing (CRD-H) at the Fukushima Daiichi accident site in Japan.
These CRD-Hs are positioned beneath the reactor vessels. They were damaged during the accident in March 2011 and are currently located in an area that is extremely difficult to access due to their location, the amount of clutter and the very high level of radioactivity.
Cutting and removing CRD-H is a real technical challenge. The existence of a solution must be secured through specific study and testing.
MRI entrusted Onet Technologies with the challenge of studying the feasibility and developing the technologies required for this future large-scale operation, drawing on recognized French know-how in the field of teleoperated dismantling operations.
Thanks to this project, Onet Technologies has confirmed its expertise in dismantling scenario studies and in the use of laser cutting under the most extreme conditions.
History of Onet Technologies' nuclear laser cutting business
Onet Technologies wins contract to use laser technology to dismantle the two MAR200 dissolvers at the Marcoule site.
2011On behalf of METI, Onet Technologies, in collaboration with CEA, is carrying out studies and developing a laser gouging head for cutting corium from the Fukusihima Daiichi power plant in Japan.
2014-2016Onet Technologies achieves a world first: laser cutting in high-activity environments.
2015On behalf of METI, Onet Technologies is working with IRSN to design and develop an aerosol collection system.
2016-2018Onet Technologies and CEA are building an underwater laser head prototype, enabling the technology to reach TRL5.
2019Onet Technologies, as part of a European consortium, is piloting the development of underwater laser cutting technology up to TRL7 (the last level before it can be put into service), to meet the future needs of reactor dismantling.
since 2020Onet Technologies, as part of a European consortium, defines the fundamental safety principles to be applied to nuclear facilities.
since 2020A remotely-controlled pulsed laser decontamination process, which allows nuclear components to be decontaminated without altering their mechanical characteristics, and which can also be used underwater, has been awarded by the national France Relance call for projects in 2021.
2021Onet Technologies and its partner IRSN are developing an aerosol collection system for a controlled-dispersion process.
2021-2022Onet Technologies is investing in a facility near Marcoule to enable it to carry out laser tests in air and underwater, enabling its customers to perform all types of cutting tests.
2022-2023With Cyclife, Onet wins the contract to dismantle the peripherals at Brennilis using laser technology, to support its customer EDF.
since 2022Onet Technologies wins contract to use laser technology to dismantle the two MAR200 dissolvers at the Marcoule site.
2011On behalf of METI, Onet Technologies, in collaboration with CEA, is carrying out studies and developing a laser gouging head for cutting corium from the Fukusihima Daiichi power plant in Japan.
2014-2016Onet Technologies achieves a world first: laser cutting in high-activity environments.
2015On behalf of METI, Onet Technologies is working with IRSN to design and develop an aerosol collection system.
2016-2018Onet Technologies and CEA are building an underwater laser head prototype, enabling the technology to reach TRL5.
2019Onet Technologies, as part of a European consortium, is piloting the development of underwater laser cutting technology up to TRL7 (the last level before it can be put into service), to meet the future needs of reactor dismantling.
since 2020Onet Technologies, as part of a European consortium, defines the fundamental safety principles to be applied to nuclear facilities.
since 2020A remotely-controlled pulsed laser decontamination process, which allows nuclear components to be decontaminated without altering their mechanical characteristics, and which can also be used underwater, has been awarded by the national France Relance call for projects in 2021.
2021Onet Technologies and its partner IRSN are developing an aerosol collection system for a controlled-dispersion process.
2021-2022Onet Technologies is investing in a facility near Marcoule to enable it to carry out laser tests in air and underwater, enabling its customers to perform all types of cutting tests.
2022-2023With Cyclife, Onet wins the contract to dismantle the peripherals at Brennilis using laser technology, to support its customer EDF.
since 2022