French nuclear start-up Calogena and the the Alternative Energies & Atomic Energy Commission (CEA – Commissariat à l’énergie Atomique et aux énergies Alternatives) have signed a letter of intent to examine the potential installation of a Calogena small modular reactor (SMR) at the CEA’s Cadarache centre. They will also consider the possibility of its connection to the centre’s heating network. A site has been selected for assessing the feasibility of installing the Calogena module.
Calogena, a subsidiary of French industrial company Group Gorgé, is developing CAL30, a 30 MWt SMR specifically designed to supply urban heating networks. Calogena was selected in 2023 as part of the French government’s Innovative Nuclear Reactors call for projects through the Secrétariat Général Pour l’Investissement (SGPI).
CAL30 is specifically designed for district heating. Its simple and compact design envisages a core that is less than one cubic metre, meaning that systems and components can be factory-assembled and then transported to the installation site. The Calogena concept is based on pool-type research reactor technology.
A Calogena module would have a limited footprint of 3,000 m2 for the land and less than 1,000 m2 for the buildings. The module does not need a major water or electricity supply and refuelling would require just one delivery every two years. Calogena says the reactor is capable of load following according to the needs of the network, and of ramping up quickly.
The core will use a shortened version of the rod fuel used in numerous power reactors globally and in France’s NPPs with 3.4% low-enriched uranium pellets. According to Calogena, the heating module over a lifetime will create waste equivalent to less than a cup of coffee. Calogena, founded in 2021, aims for deployment of its SMR by 2030. CAL30 is one of four SMR designs being evaluated by the French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority (ASNR) and is in the pre-licensing phase, which enables initial technical assessments to be started.
The CEA centre in Cadarache, located in Saint-Paul-Lez-Durance (Bouches-du-Rhône), is dedicated to research platforms and technological development in carbon-free energies (nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, solar, bioenergy, biotechnology, hydrogen).
