Cyclife, already present in Japan since 2020 through its nuclear engineering offers, strengthens its presence in the archipelago by establishing a subsidiary, Cyclife Japan.
The official launch of Cyclife Japan took place on 1st February 2024 in Tokyo, during the 28th N20[1] meeting of nuclear industry leaders from France and Japan. It was on this occasion that Estelle Desroches, CEO of the Cyclife Group, presented the company’s strategy of "waste-led decommissioning": a decommissioning based in efficient waste management and minimised environmental impact.
In a global context of renewed interest in nuclear energy, full control of the life cycle of nuclear facilities is essential. This is a fundamental challenge, as well as a social and environmental responsibility.
As in Europe, decommissioning projects are set to accelerate in Japan, where 24 reactors have been permanently shut down by 2023. As a result, the nuclear engineering and waste management needs will grow in the coming decades.
Expertise in serving a growing market
"The success of decommissioning projects requires innovation and proven industrial waste management solutions that must be integrated from the earliest stages of operational planning", explains Jérôme Altounian, Managing Director of Cyclife Japan. "With over 30 years of experience in waste management, the Cyclife Group is a major player in the decommissioning market. Cyclife Japan will support Japanese operators and provide them with the long-term expertise that has become a benchmark in the market.”
Cyclife has engineering centres and waste processing capacities in France, Sweden and the UK, as well as unique digital solutions. For example, its processing facility in Sweden enables a nuclear power plant operator to entrust Cyclife with large metal components (steam generators, heat exchangers, etc.) for processing and recycling in compliance with current regulations.
"With the creation of Cyclife Japan, we are contributing to the continuation of partnerships between French and Japanese players in the nuclear sector," says Estelle Desroches. "The Cyclife Group's solutions for the management of radioactive waste incorporate the principles of volume reduction and the circular economy. Cyclife Japan is therefore also an opportunity to continue our development around these useful services for the future and the acceptance of the nuclear industry.”
[1] The N20 members are CEA, EDF, Framatome and Orano in France, and JAIF, JAEA, FEPC, TEPCO, Kansai EPCO, Chubu EPCO, JNFL, Toshiba ESS, Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in Japan.