This is a double premiere for Cyclife Engineering. This summer 2024, Cyclife's engineering subsidiary started its very first works on two client sites: the EDF DP2D plants at Fessenheim and Creys-Malville currently being dismantled.
Already recognised for its expertise in dismantling engineering, Cyclife Engineering has launched its first works directly on site, on behalf of EDF DP2D (Decommissioning and Waste Projects Division).
Fessenheim and Creys-Malville nuclear power plants are the first two EDF sites on which Cyclife Engineering is undertaking dismantling works. This is an important step in the development of Cyclife's engineering and expertise subsidiary which is becoming a dismantling operator in the field, as close as possible to the needs of EDF DP2D.
Access modification to the reactor building at the Fessenheim site
At Fessenheim in Eastern France, Cyclife Engineering teams have been working with the site teams since 1 July 2024 to begin works on modifying the ‘Tampon Matériel’ (TAM), the main access to the first pressurised water Reactor Building (RB) at the plant being dismantled, and will then continue on unit 2 by the end of the year.
On each unit, the modification consists of replacing the current TAM, as well as the ‘wart’ access door to the BR*, with two doors operating in sequential mode at the BR wart level, at the 0 metre level of the building. These 'warts' will act as airlocks and will save time for equipment entry/exit and waste disposal operations, particularly those that will be generated as part of the forthcoming dismantling of the reactor building's major components.
Cyclife Engineering will be responsible for dismantling the steam generators from 2026. The dismantled TAMs will then be stored at the bottom of the pool, pending their removal during the dismantling phase.
In addition, the heavy floor of the reactor building will also be reinforced by Cyclife Engineering teams to ensure its stability when the steam generators are evacuated. The lateral part of the RB wart, as well as the ceiling and the door of the wart, will be fireproofed to reinforce the fire sectorisation.
*Wart: a structure or extension added to an existing building or facility
Installation work for the dismantling of the Superphénix site
Further south in the Rhône-Alpes region, on 8 July 2024 it was the turn of the Cyclife Engineering team at Creys-Malville to launch its first works on the Superphénix building.
These works represent the first stage in the dismantling of the safety vessel and the ‘vessel well’ area of the plant's reactor building. The first activities involve removing the heat insulation and creating an additional access point in the civil engineering infrastructure to facilitate dismantling operations.
These changes are necessary for the next stages: dismantling the equipment in the vessel well, cutting out the safety vessel (22 metres in diameter) and evacuation of the waste produced.
Together with its local team and partners, Cyclife Engineering aims to complete this work in 2028.
Cyclife Engineering's works at Fessenheim and Creys-Malville NPP will soon be followed by activities at other sites, including Chooz, Brennilis, Chinon and Saint-Laurent.
Together with EDF DP2D, Cyclife Engineering shares the ambition of making a success of these works for the Group's overall performance.