Newcleo opens FASTER fuel centre in France and plans a €1.8 billion MOX fuel plant

Newcleo

Newcleo has opened FASTER, a €10 million nuclear fuel engineering, testing and training centre at Chusclan in southern France, near the Marcoule nuclear site. It supports prototype testing for the company's mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel. Newcleo also plans a MOX fabrication plant in the Aube department, which still needs authorisation before it can be built.

• FASTER has seven test facilities operating, with more in development, and a fuel team of about 100 engineers and specialists
• The planned Aube plant would start with a first line in 2030, an initial €1.8 billion, plus €3.2 billion more by 2040 for two more lines
• The first line would create 850 direct jobs and employ up to 2,000 people during construction; the full site would reach 1,700 direct jobs
• Targets: a non-nuclear precursor prototype of its lead-cooled fast reactor is due in Italy this year, a first reactor in France 'as early as' 2032, and a final investment decision around 2029
• The French regulator's safety opinion covers only the safety approach 'at this stage', so the plant has no construction approval yet