newcleo has announced the submission of a GDA application for their commercial scale 200MWe Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR) technology in Great Britain.
The GDA process was developed by the UK’s principal nuclear regulators (the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Environment Agency (EA)) as a means to scrutinise new nuclear power plant designs and assess their acceptability for use in Great Britain. The initiation of a GDA process by the regulators must be requested by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) following a successful application by a Requesting Party (newcleo).
newcleo aims to complete a two-step GDA with the ONR and EA, including a fundamental assessment of their technology by the regulators. Subject to acceptance by DESNZ, the GDA would take around two years starting in Spring 2025.
This application reflects the immense progress that newcleo Group has made both in the growth of their global capability as well as the advancement of their research, development, and design activities.
This step follows the application to the UK authorities for a Regulatory Justification Decision on newcleo’sLFR-AS-200 in April this year – the first such application for a new reactor for almost a decade and the first ever for an Advanced Modular Reactor.
Recently, newcleo’s LFR project was selected for support by the European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), one of only two Advanced Modular designs to be selected: a resounding endorsement of the role newcleo’s LFR could play in the delivery of a new European energy mix and a recognition of the advanced potential of the design.
newcleo is already seen as the fastest growing nuclear start up in Europe, whose business now counts over 90 partnerships, and more than 950 employees based in 19 locations across France, Italy, the UK, Switzerland, and Slovakia, including three manufacturing facilities.
Since 2021 the company has raised a total of over EUR 537m from institutional and individual investors and has seen an increasing number of European players joining newcleo’s growing funding base – which to date counts over 700 shareholders.
Stefano Buono, CEO of newcleo said:
“We are delighted to be able to proceed with this next step of newcleo’s journey in the UK. Thanks to our growth as a global team, our Lead-cooled Fast Reactor design has reached new levels of maturity, as has our confidence in the continued development and refinement of our technologies. New nuclear technologies have an immense potential to play a significant role in the decarbonisation of the UK’s energy mix as well its energy security, and we are excited to demonstrate what newcleo can bring to this challenge. We look forward to the prospect of working with the relevant authorities and regulators throughout the GDA process.”
Andrew Murdoch, Managing Director UK said:
“We look forward to the prospect of entering the Generic Design Assessment process and feel that this step reflects our level of preparedness as an innovative player in the nuclear industry in the UK as well as throughout Europe. We have submitted the application after significant growth of our UK team across our three UK offices and following our submission for a Regulatory Justification Decision – the first submission of its kind for an Advanced Modular Reactor design.”
Stéphane Calpena, Global Licensing & nuclear Safety director of newcleo Group said:
“This GDA submission in the UK follows 18 months of intensive technical discussions with the French regulator and international experts about newcleo LFR design, the MOX manufacturing plant design along with their related safety options. These moves in the UK and France reflects our continued commitment to deployment in France, in the UK as well as our interest in sharing our technology and its advantages elsewhere across Europe.”
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