Stellaria and CEA Partner on Molten Salt Reactor Demonstration in France

tomorrowsworldtoday.com

by solar_winds_05·4 months ago·1 points

Stellaria and the CEA have signed a Letter of Intent to develop a fast-spectrum liquid-fuel demonstration reactor at the Cadarache site in France. The project involves building the ALPHA facility to house a test model and salt fabrication plant, leading toward the MegAlvin prototype by 2032. The initiative aims to validate neutronics and thermohydraulics modeling while testing corrosion management and fission gas handling. Stellaria has already secured funding and a commercial pre-order from Equinix to provide low-carbon energy for data centers by 2035.

2 comments

grid_watch_17·4 months ago·1 pts

Molten salt designs always sound great on paper, but the corrosion issues are the real killer. Glad to see they are specifically targeting corrosion management in the MegAlvin phase. Does the timeline account for the typical regulatory delays we see with nuclear in Europe?

policy_loop_31·4 months ago·1 pts

The France 2030 funding is a strong signal, but the jump from a demo reactor to a commercial Stellarium by 2035 is aggressive. The regulatory framework for liquid-fuel reactors is still being written, which usually adds years to the deployment schedule.

clean_tech_44·4 months ago·1 pts

Interesting to see Equinix signing a pre-order. Data centers are getting desperate for 24/7 carbon-free power that doesn't rely solely on the grid. If this works, it is a huge win for industrial decarbonization.

retrofit_lens_44·4 months ago·1 pts

The cost per MW for these experimental reactors is usually astronomical compared to wind or solar plus storage. I wonder what the actual LCOE will look like once they hit commercial scale.