Ageing management of France’s nuclear fleet Outlook for continued operation of EDF’s nuclear reactors NOTABLE EVENTS NOTABLE EVENTS 2025 18 ABSTRACTS – ASNR Report on the state of nuclear safety and radiation protection in France in 2025 As it had done for the 900 MWe reactors in 2021, ASNR set out, on 1 July 2025, the conditions for continued operation of EDF’s 1,300 MWe reactors up to 50 years. In parallel with the ten-yearly periodic safety reviews, ASNR is currently examining the hypothesis of continued operation of the reactors up to 60 years and beyond, in order to inform energy policy stakeholders. 1. The four 1,450 MWe reactors will receive the same safety improvements within the scope of their third periodic safety reviews, starting in 2029. A periodic safety review every ten years In France, the authorisation to create a nuclear facility is issued by the government after consulting ASNR. This authorisation is issued for an unlimited period. An in-depth examination of the facility, known as a “periodic safety review”, is carried out every ten years in order to assess the conditions for its continued operation for a further ten years. During this periodic safety review, the licensee must ensure that the facility is operated in compliance with the applicable safety requirements, and that equipment ageing phenomena are managed appropriately. The licensee must also improve the safety of the facility, taking into account developments in knowledge and bringing it closer to the levels achieved by the most recent facilities. The fourth periodic safety review: significant improvements in reactor safety The fourth periodic safety review, which takes place around 40 years after the reactors were commissioned, will result in significant improvements in safety, bringing their safety level closer to that of so-called “third-generation” reactors. It also completes the deployment of the “hardened safety core” defined following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in Japan. As it had done for the 900 MWe reactors in 2021, ASNR set out, on 1 July 2025, the conditions for continued operation of the 1,300 MWe reactors up to 50 years(1). All the measures planned by EDF combined with those prescribed by ASNR open up the prospect of continued operation of these reactors for the ten years following their fourth periodic safety review. To analyse the studies carried out by EDF for the fourth periodic safety review of the 1,300 MWe reactors, ASNR relied on a tried and tested expert assessment process, the conclusions of which appear in 40 opinions issued by IRSN between 2019 and 2024. Over a period of five years, this expert assessment phase will have involved nearly 160 IRSN experts and researchers at its peak, who will have spent a total of more than 180,000 hours on it (see spotlight No. 13 in chapter 8 of the full ASNR Report). The safety improvements to the facilities planned during this review will be implemented reactor by reactor during the fourth periodic safety review. Substantial work will therefore be carried out, until 2040 in the case of the final reactors, to improve accident control and make the reactors more resilient to hazards. New safety systems will be installed, including an ultimate containment cooling system, which will be used to remove heat from the reactor building in the event of an accident with core melt, and a system for distributing water from the ultimate water source, which will supply the steam generators and the spent fuel pool. The fifth periodic safety review: taking greater account of the effects of climate change ASN set out its position on the objectives of the fifth periodic safety review of the 900 MWe reactors in December 2024. This review will take place around 50 years after the reactors were commissioned. In the light of the major modifications made as a result of the fourth periodic safety review, not all the hazards and environmental impacts will be reassessed during the fifth periodic safety review. This will primarily focus on: ∙verifying the conformity of the installations with their applicable requirements, maintaining equipment qualification and ageing management, for operation up to 60 years; ∙the effects of climate change, both in terms of managing the risks of accidents caused by external hazards (rise in sea level, heatwaves, etc.), and the impact on the environment (water intake and consumption). Outlook for continued operation beyond 60 years French nuclear power reactors were commissioned on a tight schedule, mainly in the 1980s. Despite the specific characteristics of each reactor, this situation could lead to their final shutdown over a relatively short period.
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