EDF chose the Amazon cloud to manage part of its orders

EDF has decided to call on Amazon Web Services (AWS), the subsidiary of the American retail giant dedicated to the cloud, to manage part of the information system dedicated to the parts of its nuclear fleet, Le Canard Enchaîné revealed on Tuesday. The information was confirmed by EDF, which also considers that this information is public.

“To support the nuclear fleet in operation over the long term, EDF has decided to modernize part of its so-called management information system. As part of this work, several IT partners (computing and technologies), including AWS, have been selected to complete the offering of data storage centers and internal skills,” indicated the French electrician.

Taken last spring, the decision aims to digitize and save the references of power plant parts, in particular in order to better manage the stock of available parts and thus streamline the maintenance of reactors, whose lifespan the State wishes to extend, explains The chained Duck. This would involve “managing a catalog of spare parts, pumps… for the power plants”, tempers a source close to the matter.

The satirical weekly is alarmed that this data is hosted by an American company - rather than, for example, by the French Outscale, a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes* specializing in data storage.

This approach was undertaken “in compliance with the requirements in particular in terms of cybersecurity, a major issue for the group”, insists EDF, which considers that this subject is not strategic. A line also supported at Bercy, which specifies that the rules concerning sovereign IT apply to administrations and not to companies.

However, according to information from Le Figaro, EDF did call on Dassault Systèmes, particularly for its digital twins. These are real virtual doubles that the group has put in place in particular to optimize the construction and management of its future EPR2 reactors, as part of the new French nuclear program.

Since his arrival at the head of EDF in November 2023, Luc Rémont has made the digitalization of the group one of his priorities, with the relaunch of nuclear power. A fundamental point, which also made it possible to become aware of the delay of the French energy giant in the field. An update was needed. This reform would amount to some 860 million euros, according to Le Canard. EDF indicates for its part that it will make “no comments on the content of the contract, nor on the financial dimensions, this information being covered by commercial and industrial secrecy”.

Another criticism could be addressed to the French clan: despite political declarations aimed at supporting the development of a French offer capable of competing with those of the Americans, AWS, but also Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure, France does not yet have sufficient surface area to present robust alternatives on all levels.

*Dassault Systèmes is a subsidiary of the Dassault group, owner of the “Figaro”.