France's Calogena wins €40M EU funding for SMR deployment

· Energy · France · European Union

French small modular reactor developer Calogena has been awarded EUR40 million (USD44.6 million) through the European Commission's Innovation Fund. The money is to support the potential construction of its first commercial nuclear reactor in Pierrelatte, in southern France. The award gives the SMR developer public backing as it moves toward a first commercial unit. Small modular reactors are attracting growing interest from governments and utilities as a way to add firm, low-carbon power, and the European Commission's Innovation Fund is one of the bloc's main vehicles for financing early-stage clean technology projects. Calogena's funding is a concrete step in Europe's effort to build a domestic SMR supply chain rather than relying solely on large conventional reactors.

Why it matters：Public money for a first-of-a-kind SMR project is a test of whether Europe can turn small modular reactor designs into commercial hardware, with implications for developers, utilities and the nuclear supply chain.

Key points

  • Calogena received EUR40 million (USD44.6 million) from the European Commission's Innovation Fund.
  • The funding supports a potential first commercial reactor in Pierrelatte, southern France.
  • Calogena is a French small modular reactor developer.

Sources (original reporting)

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