Nuclear: an SMR project developer invests in research

Since October 3, the Irène-Joliot-Curie Laboratory for the Physics of Two Infinities (IJC Lab) at Université Paris-Saclay in Orsay (Essonne) has welcomed a new addition: the Innovation Molten Salt Lab (IMS Lab). Announced last June, this new research unit will be shared between Paris-Saclay, the CNRS and a private player in the nuclear industry, the Naarea company, whose “XAMR” concept is part of one of the modular reactor projects supported by the French government. Based in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) since 2020, Naarea is aiming to deploy its modular mini-reactor (PRM or SMR) christened “XAMR” by 2030. The concept is that of a fast neutron reactor (RNR) based on used fuel immersed in a molten salt core (MSFR). Each reactor will have an output of 80 megawatts thermal (MWth) at 700°C (or 40 megawatts electrical, MWe). The project is supported by the French government to the tune of €12M as part of the France 2030 plan.