Newcleo opens EUR10 million MOX fuel testing center in France
Seven test facilities are already operational at the Chusclan site near Marcoule, with further installations under development.
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Key facts
- Fuel team of around 100 engineers and specialists; facility announced March 2025
- Planned Aube MOX plant near Nogent-sur-Seine; initial investment EUR1.8 billion
- First production line scheduled for 2030, with up to 2,000 people during construction
- Two more lines by 2040 for EUR3.2 billion; 1,700 direct jobs at the site
- First French reactor as early as 2032; final investment decision expected around 2029, per Newcleo
Newcleo said on October 15 that it has opened a EUR10 million (USD11 million) fuel engineering, testing and training centre in Chusclan, in the Gard department in southern France. Announced in March 2025, the FASTER (Fuel process Assembly Storage Training and Enhanced Reality) centre is near the Marcoule nuclear site and supports the company's mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel manufacturing technology. It serves Newcleo's fuel team of around 100 engineers and specialists.
Seven test facilities are already operational at FASTER, with further installations under development. They address powder dosing optimization, glovebox ergonomics, pellet handling, fuel pin assembly and decontamination, pellet inspection and helium filling.
MOX plant proposed near Nogent-sur-Seine
Newcleo aims to fabricate MOX fuel, a mixture of uranium and plutonium oxides, to power its lead-cooled fast reactors and other potential third-party off-takers. It has proposed a MOX fuel fabrication facility in the Aube department, near Nogent-sur-Seine, to manufacture fuel for its future European reactors.
Newcleo submitted its Safety Options File to the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire et de Radioprotection (ASNR) in December 2024. In July, the ASNR published its opinion on the safety features proposed by Newcleo, concluding that the provisions adopted for its safety approach were satisfactory at this stage.
First line scheduled for 2030
The plant is designed as a modular facility, expected to scale production capacity as needed. The project represents an initial investment of EUR1.8 billion (USD2.1 billion) and could ultimately include three production lines. The first line, scheduled for 2030, would involve up to 2,000 people during construction and generate 850 direct jobs. By 2040, an additional EUR3.2 billion could enable two more lines, bringing the total number of direct jobs at the site to 1,700.
First reactor targeted for France by 2032
Newcleo's delivery roadmap sees the first non-nuclear precursor prototype of its lead-cooled fast neutron reactor ready this year in Italy, and the first reactor operational in France as early as 2032. The final investment decision for the first commercial power plant is expected around 2029.