Paris-headquartered Newcleo reactor developer has received a favorable opinion from the council of the Aube Department region of eastern France to sell a piece of land in the Nogentais area, which could host the fast neutron reactor developer’s mixed-oxide fuel manufacturing facility.
Newcleo plans to invest in a mixed uranium/plutonium oxide (MOX) plant to produce fuel for its small modular lead-cooled fast reactors. The MOX fuel would be produced from nuclear materials recovered through the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. In June of 2022 the company announced it had contracted France’s Orano for feasibility studies on the possible establishment of a MOX production plant.
The Aube Department council has now agreed to sell land that it owns which is located in the municipalities of Pont-sur-Seine and Marnay-sur-Seine to Newcleo on which to construct the MOX plant.
Designed as a modular facility, the MOX plant is expected to scale its production capacity as required. The project would represent an initial investment of two hundred billion dollars. It could ultimately consist of three production lines. The first line, scheduled for 2030, would involve up to two thousand people during construction and generate eight hundred and fifty direct jobs. By 2040, an additional investment of three and three quarters billion dollars could enable the creation of two more lines, bringing the total number of direct jobs at the site to seventeen hundred.
In March, Newcleo announced it had acquired a site in Chusclan in the Gard department in southern France where it will build an R&D innovation and training center supporting the development of its future fuel manufacturing and assembly facility in France.
At the same time, Newcleo is moving ahead with another strategic project in France: They are constructing a demonstration LFR-AS-30 reactor, with a power output of thirty megawatts, which it plans to site in Indre-et-Loire in the Chinon Vienne et Loire community of municipalities in western France. This demonstration reactor would offer, in addition to electricity generation, advanced research services and the production of medical isotopes. The company continues administrative procedures in close cooperation with local elected officials, aiming for commissioning by 2031.
Newcleo said it plans to submit construction authorization applications for both the MOX fuel facility and the demonstration reactor by the end of 2026.- Newcleo describes these two projects as describes as interdependent.
Stefano Buono is the Newcleo founder and CEO. He said, “France has all the assets to develop a true circular economy in nuclear energy, serving national and European energy sovereignty and industrial competitiveness. By setting up our future fuel manufacturing facility in the Aube, we would demonstrate that fourth-generation nuclear can transform what is today considered waste – spent fuel from other reactors – into a strategic resource for Europe. Our project illustrates our deep belief: through innovation and close collaboration between public and private stakeholders, France can become the leader of an innovative and export-oriented European nuclear sector.”
The U.S. has been working on the construction of a MOX facility at the Savannah River Site for decades. A contract termination notice was issued by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in 2018. In March of this year, the NNSA issued a contract expiration order to extend the construction termination date issued in 2018.t