A new important step towards the ALFRED licensing and the development of EAGLES 300

RATEN and its EAGLES partners, ANSALDO, ENEA and SCK CEN, have signed with the IAEA the Practical Arrangements establishing a framework for non-exclusive cooperation in the field of nuclear reactor safety and its interface with nuclear security.

EAGLES is a consortium created by ANSALDO, ENEA, RATEN and SCK CEN, aiming at the joint development and commercialisation of EAGLES-300, a small lead-cooled modular reactor (LFR SMR).

The Practical Arrangements will support a joint pre-licensing pilot process dedicated to the two complementary precursors of the commercial LFR SMR: LEANDREA, an irradiation facility for the qualification of materials and fuel intended to be built in Belgium, and ALFRED, a technology demonstrator planned to be built in Romania. This IAEA extrabudgetary project will actively involve the Romanian and Belgian regulatory authorities, CNCAN and FANC/Bel V, as well as the Italian regulatory authority as an observer.

This new step comes after the signing of the EAGLES consortium in June 2025 and the launch in July of the 4-ALFRED project, implemented by RATEN, with a two-fold objective: the construction of four large experimental facilities - important components in the demonstration of LFR technology, and carrying out the associated research and development program.