Heating SMR to be assessed for Cadarache site

Calogena - a subsidiary of Group Gorgé - is developing a water-cooled small modular reactor (SMR), called the CAL30, with a thermal power of 30 MW, specifically designed to supply urban heating networks with carbon-free energy. The CAL30 will operate at low-pressure and low-temperature. Calogena said its aim is for the fastest possible deployment, as early as 2030.

The company has announced the signing of the letter of intent with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), noting that an area has been selected at the Cadarache site for assessing the feasibility of installing a CAL30 reactor.

The CEA, a public research organisation, plays a key role in nuclear innovation, notably by supporting the French industrial sector, major research programmes and, more recently, by assisting the winning projects of France 2030 in their development and industrialisation.

The CEA site in Cadarache, located in Saint-Paul-Lez-Durance in southern France, is dedicated to research platforms and technological development in carbon-free energies (nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, solar, bioenergy, biotechnology, hydrogen).

Calogena was selected in 2023 as part of the Innovative Nuclear Reactors call for projects under the aegis of the French government via the Secrétariat Général Pour l'Investissement (SGPI), in order to support the development of nuclear technologies.

Calogena's CAL30 is one of four SMR designs being evaluated by the French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority (ASNR). Blue Capsule and Naarea are currently in step 2, the preparatory review. Calogena is in step 3, the pre-licensing phase, which enables initial technical assessments to be started and enables the positions of the regulator to be obtained on a jointly agreed list of identified high-stakes subjects highlighted during the preparatory review phase. Jimmy is in step 4, where it has requested a "creation authorisation decree" from ASNR to construct an SMR intended to supply industrial heat to a Cristal Union Group plant located on the Bazancourt site.