Respond to Urenco’s transition to natural refrigerant replacements
The ANVS intends to amend Urenco’s current licence. Urenco enriches uranium as fuel for nuclear power plants, with heat being released in the process. Urenco intends to use natural refrigerant replacements instead of artificial refrigerant materials to cool its facilities at its Almelo plant. We intend to approve Urenco’s licence amendment application, as our assessment shows no adverse impacts on people and the environment. Everyone has until 8 April 2025 to respond to our draft licence.
Assessment also covers environmental impact
The ANVS assesses the potential environmental impact of Urenco’s activities, for instance in cases of refrigerant leakage. We take this into account in issuing our licence, which also covers ionising radiation and nuclear safety. In the latter two areas, there are no changes at this time.
Additional building for stable isotopes
Urenco has also asked us to authorise the construction of a second building to be used for stable isotope enrichment. Stable isotopes are non-radioactive substances used in various scientific research applications, for example. We intend to issue a licence that will allow Urenco to expand its facility to include this building. Urenco is responsible for applying for the relevant planning permission to the local municipality. The company must also apply to us for a separate licence for the activities it intends to carry out in this building.
Uranium storage more clearly defined
The amended licence will also more clearly state what Urenco may store in the building housing the Cylinder Receipt and Dispatch Department (CRDD). This building is a storage facility for uranium, a material used in the production process of fissionable material for nuclear reactors.
Responses welcome until 8 April 2025
You can review the draft licence (in Dutch) for Urenco until midnight on 8 April 2025. If, after reading the draft licence, you have any views on its content, you can respond by submitting a statement of opinion.
There are 3 ways to respond:
- By email: send an email to Postbus.Aanvragenenmelden@anvs.nl and put ‘Statement of opinion concerning draft licence for Urenco’ in the subject line of your email.
- In writing: send a letter to the ANVS, Statement of Opinion concerning draft licence for Urenco, P.O. Box 16001, 2500 BA, The Hague.
- By phone: call the Information Desk for Nuclear Energy Act licences at +31 (0)88 489 05 00, available from Monday to Friday between 8.30 and 17.00.
Response in final licence
We will respond to the statements of opinion when we make a final decision on the licence application. We will include the statements of opinion and our response to them in our final licence. We will publish this licence on Publicatieplatform UitvoeringsContent (in Dutch). If you have submitted a statement of opinion, we will inform you of our decision.
Additional information
For more information, see the official announcement (in Dutch) in the Government Gazette.