Newcleo sets out plan for licensing of US MOX plant

The Regulatory Engagement Plan (REP) sets out the proposed framework for the company's pre-application engagement with the NRC. It identifies the principal regulatory and technical topics that Newcleo expects to address with NRC staff, together with technical submissions and an indicative engagement schedule.

In March, Newcleo announced it had initiated pre‑application engagement with the NRC to support the future licensing of its first LFR-AS-200 lead-cooled fast reactor and an associated mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility in the USA. Following the submission of a letter of intent to the NRC on 23 February, Newcleo began early interactions with the NRC that were intended to familiarise NRC staff with the proposed facility designs and associated safety approaches for both the reactor and the MOX fuel fabrication facility. These discussions also supported the development of regulatory plans and facilitated NRC resource and budget planning, it said.

Newcleo submitted the Regulatory Engagement Plan for the LFR-AS-200 - the commercial 200 MWe version of its lead-cooled fast neutron reactor - last month. 

The company said that with the submission for the fuel facility it has "achieved a significant milestone in establishing a source of advanced nuclear fuel for its planned advanced modular reactors".

"This submission to the NRC is a concrete step to advance our MOX fuel facility in the US, building on the work of over 100 engineers with decades of industrial experience," said Newcleo CEO Stefano Buono. "Our goal is to reduce the long-term burden of spent nuclear fuel and increase energy independence, turning existing nuclear material into a domestic resource, not a long-term liability, effectively closing the nuclear fuel cycle."

In July, France's nuclear safety regulator, the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire et de Radioprotection (ASNR) - published its opinion on the safety features proposed by Newcleo for its planned French mixed-oxide fuel facility, concluding that the provisions adopted by the company for its safety approach are satisfactory at this stage. The ASNR's official opinion on the submitted safety options will contribute to securing the application for authorisation to construct such a facility.

Alongside its regulatory activities, Newcleo continues to develop FASTER (Fuel process Assembly Storage Training and Enhanced Reality), its engineering and testing centre in Chusclan, France. Designed to accelerate the development of its innovative fuel manufacturing pilot line in a non-nuclear environment, the facility will ultimately bring together around 100 employees and provide state-of-the-art engineering, immersive training and technology testing capabilities. The site is becoming increasingly operational, with several prototypes and test mock-ups already installed and supporting the development, validation and optimisation of future MOX fuel manufacturing processes.

Newcleo's delivery roadmap sees the first non-nuclear precursor prototype of its lead-cooled fast neutron reactor being ready this year in Italy and the first reactor operational in France as early as 2032, while the final investment decision for the first commercial power plant is expected around 2029. At the same time, Newcleo will directly invest in a mixed uranium/plutonium oxide (MOX) plant to fuel its reactors. It has initiated site acquisition and public consultation processes in France for the MOX fuel pilot assembly line in Nogent-sure-Seine.