Veolia to acquire nuclear waste cleanup company

Resource management group Veolia announced the acquisition of the Kurion, a California-based startup credited for stabilizing Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the wake of the 2011 tsunami and a specialist in nuclear waste cleanup technology, for US$350 million.

The acquisition completes a critical part of Veolia’s strategy in the nuclear cleanup sector. Its objectives in this area were outlined in 2013 when the company signed a collaboration agreement with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and formed Asteralis—a subsidiary that specializes in characterizing waste and assessing nuclear facilities.

With the addition of Kurion’s expertise and technology, Veolia is rounding out its portfolio of services to the nuclear industry and will now be able to provide all existing solutions and know-how in both nuclear facility cleanup and the treatment of low and medium-level radioactive waste.

Kurion was founded in 2008 and is based in Irvine, California. It offers solutions in nuclear waste cleanup and facility decommissioning, as well as treatment of low-level radioactive waste. Kurion has operations in the United States (California, Washington, Colorado, Idaho and Texas), the United Kingdom and Japan.