- 3
Framatome at the centre of today’s naval sovereignty challenges
We spoke with Framatome CEO Grégoire Ponchon at Euronaval about the company’s strategic role in supporting national defence. From nuclear propulsion systems for submarines or the future France Libre aircraft carrier to scaling industrial capacity, Grégoire Ponchon walked us through the investments, technological innovations, and cybersecurity issues that come with ramping up defence programmes.
- Metal 3D printing is an additive manufacturing technology used by Framatome.
- Illustration of a weld inspection on a machined part.
- Illustration of how new technologies are being used to manufacture parts.
© Framatome
Historically, Framatome has been a pillar of France’s nuclear industry. What makes the company a key stakeholder in defence?
Framatome is a major player in the Defence technological and industrial base (DTIB). The company has been working on deterrence programmes since their inception and has allocated human resources to this business line for the long term. A fourth of the nuclear power plants currently in operation around the world were designed by Framatome. Today, the company works on nearly two-thirds of all plants. This is important because our historic nuclear business has allowed us to build up decades of know-how that now positions us to supply a wide range of technologies to key defence programmes like the French Navy’s nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs), ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), aircraft carriers, and, more broadly, onshore defence infrastructure.
The Framatome name can be found in nuclear power systems (forged reactor vessels and steam generators, primary pumps and electric pump motors, valves and gate valves, steam generator tubes, etc.), in instrumentation and control systems, and on the zirconium components used in fuel assemblies. We can also provide the defence industry with cybersecurity solutions. What enables us to deliver is an industrial infrastructure and engineering capabilities built up over decades. Today, our 40 plants across France are prepared to be mobilised for defence programmes.
The people at our plant in Le Creusot, France, for example, are already hard at work on huge forged metal parts for the France Libre aircraft carrier’s boiler rooms. The aircraft carrier’s primary pumps are already being manufactured at our plant in Jeumont. Our Montbard plant is making seamless tubes for the steam generators used in nuclear propulsion systems. So, at Framatome we have an end-to-end sovereign supply chain built for long-term programmes. Every day, our people innovate, design, and manufacture – a testament to our robust and sovereign industrial infrastructure in service to our national defence.
What is Framatome doing to prepare for today’s new defence challenges and the associated increase in investment?
The French government has been reinvesting in national defence for the past decade. At Framatome, we are mobilising the necessary human and financial resources to be ready when we are called on. We are investing heavily to support our growing civil and military nuclear business. This includes making sure our industrial capabilities are sufficient, building secure sovereign supply chains, developing and maintaining our expertise, and continuously innovating.
This strategy has already translated into real-world impact. Last year, we started up a modernised production line at our plant in Jeumont that will manufacture primary pumps for defence programmes. In July, we cut the ribbon on a new additive manufacturing unit at our Romans-sur-Isère plant, a first in Europe. The additive manufacturing unit is home to a range of metal 3D printing process equipment we can use to manufacture parts with highly complex geometries, weighing from a few kilograms to several tonnes and measuring from a few millimetres to five metres across. 3D printing lowers costs and shortens lead times dramatically. Our valves business has also benefitted from substantial investment over the past two years, with four acquisitions (Sebim, Segault, Valserve, and Vanatome). With these components now in our catalogue, our sovereign supply chain is even stronger.
Digital, cybersecurity, and AI are becoming increasingly strategic to the defence industry. Are you prepared?
At Framatome, cybersecurity is an integral part of all instrumentation and control solutions – whether they are for civil or military nuclear applications – developed with our subsidiaries Allentis, Cyberwatch, and Foxguard. One example is our D2X platform, which delivers continuous cybersecurity monitoring designed to meet the needs of the defence and other critical industries. Developed using products from our subsidiary Allentis, the solution is based on sovereign technologies. D2X uses business rules and AI to analyse and compare data in real time to very rapidly detect unusual behaviour and potential threats.
The pace of change is faster than ever. Our R&D people are working day in and day out to see how we can leverage AI to increase our productivity and improve our business processes. When it comes to digital, cybersecurity, and AI, our priorities for defence are the same as for our industrial capabilities. Our objective is to be a sovereign partner committed to long-term programmes. And for that, we depend on dedicated people who are proud to contribute their knowledge and expertise… People who are proud to be part of Framatome!
Interview by
- Linda Verhaeghe
