EDF Chooses Veolia's Pioneering Technological Solution To Reinforce Its Emergency Water Treatment Systems

EDF has chosen Veolia's technological solution, in partnership with REEL, for the design, manufacture and installation of mobile units to treat contaminated water in case of a nuclear accident. This additional solution would drastically reduce environmental impact by treating on-site the primary circuit water stored in the reactor building tanks in the event of a pipe rupture.

This new device is part of the safety modifications implemented by EDF to raise the safety level of its 900 MWe reactors up to EPR’s levels.

This patented technology has been adapted to the French reactor context, and its implementation largely optimized thanks to the combination of Veolia's industrial know-how and REEL, a company specialized in the design and manufacture of special equipment for the nuclear industry.

World leader in water technologies, Veolia has developed an innovative, adaptable and mobile solution. This pioneering water decontamination device, consisting of a system of interchangeable cartridges (filtration and adsorption) operating in closed-loop recirculation with the reactor building, is arranged in a set of mobile units.

Jean-François Nogrette, Senior Executive Vice President, France & Special Waste Europe, comments: "With its worldwide expertise in cutting-edge water treatment technologies, Veolia is proud to support EDF in developing and securing the nuclear power generation sector, which contributes to strengthening France's energy sovereignty. We are delighted with this new milestone in our fruitful collaboration with EDF, which follows the creation of Graphitech in 2019 and Waste2Glass in 2021."

Cédric Lewandowski, EDF's executive director in charge of nuclear and thermal assets, says: "EDF's nuclear assets have chosen Veolia, the world expert in water and hazardous waste treatment, to benefit from proven technology that meets the exacting requirements of the nuclear industry. This new alliance between two French groups, leaders in their fields, illustrates the performance of French industry in cutting-edge sectors."

About Veolia
The Veolia group aims to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. Present on five continents with nearly 213,000 employees, the Group designs and deploys useful and concrete solutions for water, waste and energy management that contribute to radically changing the situation. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia contributes to developing access to resources, preserving available resources and renewing them. In 2022, the Veolia group will serve 111 million inhabitants with drinking water and 97 million with sanitation, produce 44 terawatt hours of energy and recover 61 million tonnes of waste. Veolia Environnement achieved consolidated revenue of 42.9 billion euros in 2022. For more information, visit www.veolia.com.

About EDF
A major player in the energy transition, the EDF Group is an integrated energy company, present in all business lines: generation, transmission, distribution, trading, energy sales and energy services. The world leader in low-carbon energies, the Group has developed a diversified production mix based mainly on nuclear and renewable energy (including hydropower), and is investing in new technologies to support the energy transition. EDF's raison d'être is to build a CO₂-neutral energy future that reconciles preservation of the planet, well-being and development, thanks to electricity and innovative solutions and services. The Group is involved in supplying energy and services to around 40.3 million customers ⁽¹⁾, including 30.3 million in France ⁽²⁾. By 2022, it had consolidated sales of 143.5 billion euros.

⁽¹⁾Since 2018, customers have been counted by delivery site; a customer may have two delivery points: one for electricity and one for gas.
⁽²⁾ Including ÉS (Électricité de Strasbourg) and SEI.