France’s Orano and nuclear start-up Calogena have signed a partnership agreement to strengthen collaboration on the CAL30 small modular reactor (SMR) project. Calogena, a subsidiary of French industrial company Group Gorgé, is developing CAL30, a 30 MWt SMR specifically designed to supply urban heating networks. Calogena, founded in 2021, 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).
The agreement covers the development of a used nuclear fuel transport cask adapted to fuel for CAL30. Orano’s commercially available TN Eagle transportation solution will be used as the baseline for this development. The TN Eagle is a packaging model designed for the transportation and dry storage of used fuel from NPPs. The agreement also envisages the study of solutions for filtration and purification processes, based on Orano’s experience in interim fuel storage pools.
Calogena is already involved in five projects in France and in Finland, and, in August 2025, announced the launch of studies for the installation of a CAL30 module at the Alternative Energies & Atomic Energy Commission (CEA – Commissariat à l’énergie Atomique et aux énergies Alternatives) in Cadarache (Bouches-du-Rhône).
“Orano, convinced of the essential role that nuclear energy has to play in the decarbonisation of urban heating, is delighted to be strengthening its collaboration with Calogena,” said Jacques Peythieu, Orano’s Senior Executive Vice President for Customers and Strategy. “The aim of this partnership is to adapt Orano’s industrial solutions to support Calogena’s development.”
Julien Dereux, CEO of Calogena, noted: “This collaboration is in particular going to enable Calogena to offer its customers in France and in Europe a solution for the transportation and storage of used fuel, a key element of our value proposition.”
