Naarea and QGEMS form strategic partnership

Friday, 10 January 2025

In addition, Naarea said using QGEMS' advanced energy management system would extend the applications of its reactor to data and AI centres, commercial properties, industrial facilities and remote territories.

"The partnership marks a significant step in Naarea's mission to revolutionise the clean energy landscape," the company said. "By leveraging QGEMS' cutting-edge platform, Naarea will enhance the efficiency and reliability of its energy operations, ensuring seamless integration into the broader energy grid and various sectors."

Naarea - formally established in November 2021 - says its ultra-compact molten salt fast neutron reactor will use "the untapped potential of used radioactive materials, and thorium, unused mining waste". Once it develops the eXtra Advanced Nuclear Reactor (XAMR) design, the company intends to target applications in areas such as transportation, agriculture and smart buildings.

Naarea says that, because of the compact size of its reactor and because there is no need for it to be grid-connected, the XAMR can "be deployed as close as possible to regions, to match energy demand as closely as possible and allow the control of security of supply, at the service of industries and communities". It expects the first units of XAMR - which can generate 80 MWt/40 MWe - to be produced by 2030.

"As we prepare to bring our energy production online, partnering with QGEMS was a natural choice," said Naarea CEO Jean-Luc Alexandre. "Their expertise in energy management aligns perfectly with our goal of delivering clean, reliable energy solutions across multiple industries. This collaboration will allow us to optimise our energy production and distribution, maximising the impact of our technology."

The integration of QGEMS' platform is already under way, with full implementation expected to coincide with the launch of Naarea's energy supplying offer in 2025.

The parties agreed to address, as a first step, the UK and US markets. "These mature markets will enable Naarea and QGEMS to reap the maximum benefit from this partnership," Naarea said. European markets will be addressed as a second step.

"We are thrilled to work with Naarea on this groundbreaking project," said QGEMS CEO Gordon Winston. "Our energy management platform is designed to handle the complexities of emerging energy sources such as hydrogen and optimise energy use across various sectors.

"This collaboration showcases the potential of combining innovative nuclear technology with advanced energy management systems to drive efficiency and sustainability across industries. This, combined with our growing project financing capabilities, will accelerate the integration, aggregation, and orchestration of distributed energy resources and intelligent Virtual Power Plant deployments."