Areva - Reference Document 2016

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

6.4 Operations

6.4.3.1.

PROPULSION AND RESEARCH REACTORS

Businesses

Nuclear power supply systems for marine propulsion

The core business of AREVA TA is to design, manufacture and maintain nuclear

propulsion reactors for the French Navy and to provide related fuel, services

and equipment. This business meets stringent safety, reliability and availability

requirements. It is a strategic activity for France’s nuclear deterrence.

The market consists of nuclear-powered vessels and related testing and production

facilities. This market requires mastery of key methodologies and technologies,

such as systems architecture, project management, digital safety systems, safety

analysis, thermohydraulics and neutronics, and integrated logistics support. Nuclear

reactors designed by the AREVA TA teams have powered several of the French

Navy’s submarines and an aircraft carrier during all of the fleet’s operating missions

for more than 40 years.

AREVA TA also provides propulsion-related services and systems, control systems,

monitoring systems, acoustic discretion of facilities and their components. It has

unique experience as a designer and facilities operator for the CEA. In addition

to reactor design and related fuel design and fabrication, it provides support to

the operator of onboard reactors or facilities in the form of training, services and

maintenance.

Engineering of nuclear facilities and major scientific research

instruments for complex facilities (nuclear research reactors,

small modular reactors)

AREVA TA offers engineering solutions for the design, construction and

commissioning of complex facilities to customers in the defense and civilian nuclear

industries.

For example:

its teams can take charge of the engineering and construction of a research

reactor;

AREVA TA is also responsible for the supply of certain equipment related to the

construction of the MegaJoule Laser in Bordeaux and has provided its support

to the customer since the beginning of the program;

it is in charge of design studies for small modular reactors (SMR) as part of the

future consortium led by EDF or for other interested customers (Engie).

Design of electronics and instrumentation and control systems

AREVA TA offers its defense and civilian nuclear customers high-tech electronics

and instrumentation and control systems through its subsidiary AREVA Expansion.

Operations and highlights

Highlights of 2016 include:

In the defense nuclear segment:

for the Barracuda program: The instrumented nuclear steam supply system

(NSSS) module of the second submarine in the series (the

Duguay Trouin

) was

transferred fromNantes-Indret to Cherbourg, and the non-instrumented NSSS of

the third submarine in the series (the

Tourville)

was transferred from Cherbourg

to Nantes-Indret to be fitted with its equipment. At the end of May, the training

platforms consisting of NSSS simulators were inaugurated in Toulon and can

now be used to train seamen in the operation of the submarines in the series;

several important contracts were awarded for the following projects: The contract

for the major overhaul no. 2 of the

Charles de Gaulle

aircraft carrier was received

in late January. In June, a contract was received to start the design definition

phase of the NewMode RES project. In December, a contract was signed for the

start of the detailed front end engineering and design phase of the S3G project

involving the design of the NSSS of a third-generation ballistic missile submarine;

for the operating and manufacturing operations:

○

land-based test reactor (RES): overall testing of the reactor starting in March

(pressure and temperature tests with a fake core) and the first tests in the

Hippocampe test program; on July 21, active startup of the reactor and

combining of the fuel storage pool and the reactor in a single facility; complete

qualification in October of the full-time engineering staff and of the shift teams

for reactor operations,

○

end of the manufacturing and execution of neutronic and thermo-hydraulic

qualification tests of the two cores to be used in the NSSS of the

Charles de

Gaulle

aircraft carrier during major maintenance in 2017.

In the civilian nuclear segment:

for the Jules Horowitz Reactor program (RJH):

○

in terms of the project management contract, civil engineering is 90%

complete: The completed buildings include the reactor building, the change

rooms, the refrigerant building, the safeguard building and the hot cell building.

In the nuclear annex building, the pole crane has been accepted and the

concreting and rebar of the roof is in progress. The ventilation and fluids

studies restarted after DCNS left by mutual agreement,

○

for the reactor block supply contract: The reactor design and drawings of tubes

and elbows in the primary cooling system have been completed; the design

of the transfer system and pool floor are almost complete. Manufacturing has

been launched for the mechanisms (qualifications complete), the reflector,

and the components of the second containment building (including welding),

○

a new organization was set up internally in early October to improve its

efficiency as concerns project management and supply contracts in order to

be better prepared for the integration and testing phase and to optimize the

effectiveness of the resources deployed,

for the EPR reactors:

○

Hinkley Point C: Continued early studies of the non-computerized safety

system (NCSS) and of the engineering of analogue instrumentation and

control for the Unicorn platform.

In the field of organization:

Until June 30, 2016 the Propulsion and Research Reactors operations were

combined within a business division in AREVA’s Reactors and Services Business

Group. Operations relating to the fabrication and sale of fuel for research reactors

and of medical targets were removed from the Propulsion and Research Reactors

Business Division in April 2016, although they were kept within the Reactors and

Services Business Group. As from July 1, 2016, the Propulsion and Research

Reactors operations were combined operationally within a NewCo business unit

while maintaining a direct legal link to the parent company, AREVA SA.

In early August, AREVA SA, AREVA TA and ECA Group, a subsidiary of the Gorgé

group, entered exclusive negotiations following the unilateral purchase agreement

2016 AREVA

REFERENCE DOCUMENT