Vessel for Newcleo technology demonstrator installed

To support Newcleo's advanced reactor R&D programme, SRS Servizi di Ricerche e Sviluppo Srl has recently completed the installation of OTHELLO, a 2 MW loop-type lead test facility for qualifying components and materials in lead-cooled environments. SRS is currently working on the installation of PRECURSOR, a 10 MW pool-type non-nuclear test system scheduled for completion in 2026 at the ENEA Brasimone Research Centre. PRECURSOR - which will use electrical heaters to simulate the nuclear fuel - will reproduce the company's demonstration LFR-AS-30 reactor at a reduced scale.

The vessel for PRECURSOR was manufactured in Piombino, in Tuscany, by Fucina Italia srl and engineered by Newcleo together with SRS - all companies within the Newcleo group.

The dimensions are slightly smaller than those of Newcleo's commercial 200 MWe version of its lead-cooled fast neutron reactor, the LFR-AS-200. The vessel weighs just over 20 tonnes empty, but once filled with lead and internal components the full mass will exceed 155 tonnes.

"What makes [PRECURSOR] truly unique is that it will generate electricity using a turbine,the only component we didn't manufacture but just completed by our partner FINCANTIERI, making it potentially the only facility in the world to do such a complete demonstration of reactor functionalities," Stefano Buono, CEO and founder of Newcleo, said.

Newcleo said PRECURSOR is also the demonstration of the company's vertical integration capabilities: engineering, fabrication, transport, and installation.

Newcleo is progressing with the construction of its demonstration LFR-AS-30 reactor, with a power output of 30 MWe, which it plans to locate in Indre-et-Loire in the Chinon Vienne et Loire community of municipalities in western France. This first 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.