Collaboration ‘a major step forward’ for reactor deployment plans
European nuclear technology developer newcleo has signed a partnership agreement with France’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) that includes looking at possible scenarios for the development and deployment of advanced lead-cooled fast reactors (LFRs) for the French nuclear power fleet.
In a statement on 9 April newcleo said the collaboration also covers work on fuel qualification, calculation codes, materials and instrumentation and measurement. It said the agreement marks a major step forward in the realisation of its LFR project.
newcleo is developing a 30 MW lead-cooled fast neutron demonstration nuclear plant and a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication unit. It said the two projects represent a total investment of €3bn ($3.2bn) in France.
The CEA is a public research organisation at the forefront of technological innovation, particularly in the field of advanced nuclear power.
newcleo, which is based in the UK and has offices in France, Italy and Switzerland, says it is aiming to deliver its first reactor by 2033. The company was founded by Italian physicist and alumnus of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, Stefano Buono.
Earlier this month the UK-based Nuclear Industry Association said it had applied for a justification decision for newcleo’s LFR – the first new reactor design submitted for consideration in the country for almost a decade and the first ever for an advanced reactor.
newcleo says lead is abundant and has characteristics that allow high efficiencies in a nuclear plant and the ability to simplify reactor design and increase passive safety.
The company has announced a number of partnerships and agreements related to the development of its reactor technology.
Earlier this year, it signed a joint venture with French startup Naarea to support the development and deployment of the two companies’ advanced reactors.
The reactors are different technologies, but both make it possible to reuse spent fuel from conventional reactors, ensuring closure of the fuel cycle.
The company also has an agreement with Italy-based Maire Tecnimont subsidiaries NextChem Tech and Tecnimont to use its nuclear reactors to decarbonise the chemical industry, including hydrogen production
