Innovative Reactors: Naarea and Newcleo Announce Strategic and Industrial Partnership

Newcleo and Naarea, the first two winners of France’s “Innovative Nuclear Reactors” project call under the France 2030 initiative, announced on Tuesday, January 16, a partnership aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of 4th generation technologies.

The industrial, technological, scientific, and regulatory collaboration between the two entities aims to pool research efforts and accelerate the development and deployment of advanced nuclear technologies. This also coincides with meeting the growing demand from authorities and public powers, uniting their voices to express common needs. Jean-Luc Alexandre, President and Founder of Naarea, states that “our two companies aim to simplify the work of public authorities and, ultimately, promote the development and deployment of fourth-generation nuclear power in Europe, in a context of strong global competition.” Of course, both startups retain their technology and specificities.

Driven by Naarea and Newcleo, this partnership is intended to be an open door to all players involved in the industrial design and deployment of fast neutron reactors, through four predominant areas of cooperation:

  1. Access to spent nuclear fuel and the implementation of a supply chain for reprocessing;
  2. Funding of fuel cycle infrastructure through the development of public-private partnerships;
  3. Development of a common research and development platform;
  4. Optimization of industrial development with safety and security authorities, particularly by facilitating access to computational tools for safety demonstrations.

A European Dynamic

Stefano Buono, President and CEO of Newcleo, explains: “By joining forces, Newcleo and Naarea further encourage the development and deployment of fourth-generation nuclear technology in Europe.” This partnership also aligns with the European Commission’s announcement last November of the creation of an industrial alliance dedicated to Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), open to 4th generation technologies. European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, stated in her speech at the “Small Modular Reactor Partnership event” that “the stakes of global competition are high, and it is important that we maintain European technological and industrial leadership in the nuclear field.”

As a reminder, Naarea is developing an Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) with fast neutrons cooled by molten salts, which will provide an electrical power of 40 MWe and a thermal power of 80 MWth. Newcleo is developing two concepts of lead-cooled fast neutron AMRs, of 30 MW and then 200 MW. Both aim to maximize the use of spent fuels, ensuring the complete closure of the fuel cycle. They have set their sights on the horizon of 2030 to industrially and commercially deploy their technologies. â–