Focus will be on Europe, Middle East and Africa
Emirates Nuclear Energy Company (Enec) and European advanced reactor company Newcleo have signed of a memorandum of cooperation to explore the deployment of Newcleo’s Generation IV European Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor (LFR-AS-200) for projects in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
The agreement will see the two companies collaborate to explore opportunities to support the advancement of LFR projects and the development of strategies for managing the full life of the reactors, and the closure of the nuclear fuel cycle for European projects.
The project could create significant value for both organisations and the broader energy landscape, a statement said.
Plans include identifying areas of potential collaboration in investment and deployment of Newcleo’s existing projects in Europe, and for the Middle East and North Africa region.
Enec and Newcleo will also examine how the LFR reactor technology could support the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate projects such as data centres, off-grid applications and hydrogen production.
Enec led the project to build four South Korea-supplied APR-1400 reactor units at the Barakah nuclear power station in the United Arab Emirates. Newcleo is a new nuclear energy company which is progressing licensing in Europe of its LFR technology.
Mohamed Al Hammadi, Enec’s managing director and chief executive officer said the agreement presents a unique opportunity for Enec to leverage its capabilities in nuclear development and operations while exploring cutting-edge technologies for small modular reactor and advanced reactors.
Stefano Buono, founder and chief executive officer of Newcleo, said the Barakah project demonstrated how large nuclear projects can be delivered on time and on budget and Enec is an ideal partner to explore the use of advanced modular reactors for the energy consuming industry.
Newcleo has begun the process to acquire land for its first lead-cooled LFR-AS-30 reactor in the Chinon Vienne et Loire region of western France.
The company is working to design, build, and operate Generation IV advanced modular lead-cooled reactors fuelled by reprocessed nuclear waste.
