Following approval from the Swedish Safety Authority in December 2023, Cyclife started building a second facility at its Nyköping site on 9 January 2024 to process metallic component waste from nuclear operators. Doubling the capacity of its Swedish facility marks a significant step in the Cyclife group's development strategy in the nuclear decommissioning and waste treatment sector for all its customers and operators around the world.
A major investment in the dismantling and waste management sector
The expertise of Cyclife's teams in Sweden and the facility's operational performance have enabled the Cyclife group to win a number of tenders on the market. In 2025, metal treatment operations will follow the usual process: large metal components with low levels of contamination, such as steam generators and other heat exchangers, turbine parts and boilers, will be recycled and the volume of radioactive waste reduced by up to 90%.
After cutting, followed by decontamination by sandblasting if necessary, the metal is melted to form ingots which, after analysis and measurement, can be recycled. Waste that is unsuitable for recycling is returned to the customer concerned.
Delphine Servot, Managing Director of Cyclife Sweden, comments:
"The extension will increase nuclear waste treatment capacity over the long term, enabling operators around the world to use a state-of-the-art process to treat their low-level radioactive waste, reduce its volume and even recycle the materials. This will also create employment and development opportunities in the nuclear sector."
Up to one Eiffel Tower each year
The design of the new facility is based on Cyclife's unique expertise in Sweden, built on decades of experience at the existing installation. Thanks to the new facility, Cyclife will be able to process up to 10,000 tonnes of waste a year - the equivalent of the weight of the Eiffel Tower - at its Swedish site, as well as receiving waste from customers in Europe and other countries around the world.
Estelle Desroches, Managing Director of the Cyclife Group, concludes:
"We are delighted to be taking such a step at Cyclife to meet the challenges of international decommissioning and waste management. By expanding its capacity in Sweden, the Cyclife group is confirming its ambition to offer a broader range of products and services in a growing market, and to contribute to the development of a sustainable nuclear industry through concrete solutions that include recycling."
Cyclife's teams engage with customers at an early stage and add value by implementing waste-led decommissioning approaches that support treatment and optimise waste diversion, including free release where possible. Discover Cyclife's comprehensive and integrated range of industrial and digital solutions.
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