European Industrial Alliance on SMRs expresses confidence in lead-cooled SMRs project
The joint EU-SMR-LFR project by SCK CEN, ENEA (IT), Ansaldo Nucleare (IT) and RATEN (RO) was selected along with eight other projects by the European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors, an initiative by the European Commission, Nucleareurope and SNETP. This selection highlights Europe's strong belief in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as part of the energy transition.
The European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors received 21 project proposals for both water-cooled and advanced reactors. The Alliance's selection of and support for our project gives us confidence in our choice of innovative lead-cooled SMRs, also known as SMR-LFR (Lead Fast Reactor).
Label of European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors for European partnership
"Our project is getting a label – a vote of confidence from Europe. This will give a huge boost to the partners working on this; it only further strengthens our ambition to demonstrate the potential of lead-cooled, fast reactor technology," said Marc Schyns, Director of Innovative Nuclear Systems at SCK CEN. Lead-cooled SMRs could become an indispensable link in a sustainable energy supply. They can play an important role by providing low-carbon electricity and heat with a relatively small ecological footprint. In a closed fuel cycle, they also have the advantage of burning up nuclear fuel more efficiently and leaving less long-lived radioactive waste behind.
The consortium to be set up for this purpose, consisting of SCK CEN, Ansaldo Nucleare, ENEA and RATEN, has recently been given a European orientation. Despite the change in potential partners within the consortium – Westinghouse is focusing on its water-cooled projects from now on – the shared vision and ambition remains unchanged and work is continuing on a binding contract. This European recognition confirms that we are on the right track and underlines the strength of the consortium that the four partners want to form: under the leadership of Ansaldo Nucleare, we aim to fuse together industrial know-how and expertise in liquid metals.
Joining forces for lead-cooled, fast reactor technology in Europe
The promising potential of lead-cooled, fast SMRs is now receiving official recognition within the European Union. The European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors selected three advanced SMR projects, two of which use the lead-cooled, fast reactor technology. The innovative and advanced SMR from the consortium (SCK CEN, ENEA, Ansaldo Nucleare and RATEN) is one of the initiatives selected, the one from newcleo (IT) the second.
The four future partners Ansaldo Nucleare, ENEA, RATEN & SCK CEN have therefore signed a collaboration agreement, together with newcleo. This will launch discussions to see how we can work together and where the two consortiums can collaborate on LFR technology. By joining forces, we are enhancing our shared commitment to innovation and sustainability within the nuclear sector and can further promote the development of fast reactor technology in Europe.
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