24 September 2024 – As the technical and economic requirements for the Ecocombust project have not been met, EDF plans not to pursue biomass conversion project at Cordemais thermal power plant, and confirms its intention to maintain industrial activity at the site.
On the strength of extensive employee involvement, several solutions have been reviewed since 2015 to maintain industrial activity in the region while dealing with the challenges of the energy transition. Since January 2022, the Ecocombust conversion project, led by PAPREC with the support of the EDF Group, has been aimed at manufacturing a wood waste-based fuel (pellets) as an alternative to coal.
After analysis, as the technical and economic requirements for this project have not been met, EDF will not be able to completely substitute coal with pellets. EDF salutes all the efforts made by the teams working on this project.
Under these conditions, EDF plans to stop electricity production at the Cordemais thermal power plant in 2027. This project will be submitted for consultation to the employee representative bodies. It will include support for employees throughout the process and the possibility of remaining at the site until their career plans are finalised, and in any event until 2029.
Meanwhile, through its subsidiary Framatome, EDF is planning to create the prefabrication plant on the Cordemais site for the manufacturing of the main secondary system piping[1] destined for the EPR2s. This piping is a critical component of the construction programme. EDF and Framatome are already carrying out feasibility studies for the plant on this site, and are engaged in dialogue with all the stakeholders concerned. The plant would employ around a hundred staff at the onset, rising to around two hundred at peak operation.