France 2030

The Two Startups Stellaria and Thorizon Working in Consortium With Orano Selected as Winners of the Call for Projects to Develop Molten Salt Reactors

Regulatory News:

The startups Stellaria and Thorizon are proud to jointly announce that each of their consortia with Orano, the recognized international group in the field of nuclear materials, have been selected as winners of the "innovative nuclear reactors" call for projects, within the framework of the France 2030 investment plan.

Each consortium is going to receive € 10 M of subsidies from the French state. The two projects are the fruit of collaboration between these three partners over a period of several months, with the desire to pool efforts and contribute to the emergence of a European Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) industry.

Stellaria and Thorizon are developing two innovative MSR-type small reactor designs. Each of these two liquid fuel, fast neutron MSR designs is capable of generating the equivalent of 250 MW thermal power or 110 MW of electrical power to decarbonize industrial applications with round-the-clock energy needs. This power generation capacity corresponds to the continuous power needed to supply a major industrial site, or the equivalent of 250,000 households.

MSRs are a promising technology with multiple benefits: high energy output, safety by design, and very rapid tracking of fluctuations in electricity demand. Moreover, by coupling them with the processing of used fuel in a plant such as the one at Orano La Hague, these types of reactors will make it possible to recycle not only the plutonium contained in the used fuel from current reactors, but also "minor actinides" which, to date, are not recycled and are conditioned as vitrified waste. The recycling of these materials in MSRs would make it possible to go even further in terms of nuclear safety, the recovery of materials, and reducing the quantity and lifetime of nuclear waste (to around 300 years).

Thorizon is developing a molten salt reactor powered by modular cartridges, which resolves numerous materials-related constraints, meets nuclear safety concerns and reduces time to market. As part of its development, Thorizon has joined forces with Orano and Oakridge, a nuclear engineering and consulting company, as well as the University of Lille and Centrale Lille.

Stellaria is designing the first reactor to regenerate 100% of its fuel incore during operation, making it possible to provide electricity-intensive industrial users with continuous and controllable supply of renewable energy, to guarantee stable and competitive prices, and ensure energy autonomy for decades to come.