Belgium will build a furnace to remelt irradiated steel from nuclear power plants, De Tijd reports.
In the context of the decommissioning of the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 nuclear power plants, Belgium intends to develop a dismantling industry. Codenamed 'S meld', one of the new projects in Belgium's adjusted recovery plan, the project will be submitted to the European Commission next week.
Belgium wants to design and build a furnace which will take irradiated steel used in the construction of nuclear power plants and strip them of their radioactivity, allowing them to be recycled again. Though only mildly radioactive, steel from nuclear plants cannot be put into the normal recycling system without special treatment.
The Federal Government will invest €13.5 million into the project, financed using European Funds. The project is also supported by SCK-CEN, Mol's nuclear research centre, which will issue a call for tenders to find other industrial patterns for the construction of the infrastructure.
SCK-CEN and the Centre for Metallurgical Research in Liège will research the project. The goal is to build the furnace by 2026.
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This project is a first step in the government's plans to set up an industry in Belgium around the dismantling of nuclear power plants. "Whatever happens with the extension of reactors over the next 50 years, there is going to be a huge dismantling project in Europe," State Secretary for Economic Recovery, Thomas Dermine, told De Tijd.
The Federal Government has already brought together 13 different players in the Belgian economy to discuss Belgium's role in this lucrative industry, including steel company John Cockerill group, IBA, Wanty, Netalux and Sarens. Dermine says that Belgium still needs to play catch-up to compete in this sector.
