MILAN (Reuters) – Italian engineering group Maire and Newcleo have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture aimed at building power plants based on the nuclear firm’s technology for advanced modular reactors, the two companies said on Wednesday.
Newcleo will partner with Maire’s unit NEXTCHEM to accelerate the development and the commercialization of its lead-cooled fast reactor powered by reprocessed nuclear waste.
Advanced modular reactors powered by nuclear waste have attracted interest by investors because they promise to reduce the costs and the risks stemming from atomic waste handling.
Under Wednesday’s agreement, Newcleo is due to take a 40% stake in the joint venture. NEXTCHEM will be granted newly issued shares up to 5% of Newcleo’s share capital at pre-money valuation, subject to the achievement of certain milestones, including the announcement of a final investment decision by the first client.
According to Newcleo’s plan, the first operational reactor in France is expected as of end 2031, while the final investment decision for the first commercial power plant is expected around 2029.
The Italian government will draft, by early 2025, rules to allow the use of new nuclear power technologies, the energy minister said last week, signalling a potential reversal of the current ban on nuclear power generation.
(Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
