Ansaldo Nucleare And Westinghouse Cooperate To Deploy LFR

Ansaldo Nucleare and Westinghouse Electric Company (both ENS Corporate Members) signed a new cooperation agreement to develop the next-generation nuclear power plant based on Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR) technology.

The two companies will advance a common design to maximize synergies, combine experience in design, testing and licensing, and align respective partner and supply chain organizations.

The LFR technology combines the use of liquid lead as a coolant, high-temperature operation, and fast neutron spectrum with engineering solutions promoting design simplicity and robustness. The objective is step change performance improvement relative to traditional nuclear technology, including enhanced economics, market versatility beyond electricity and improved sustainability.

Read the full Westinghouse Press Release.

The agreement between Ansaldo Nucleare and Westinghouse builds upon development activities already underway in several countries, where more than ten state-of-the-art, lead-based test facilities are being installed.

Ansaldo Nucleare is currently involved in the construction of the ATHENA Experimental Facility in Romania, expected to be the largest facility in Europe for research on LFR technology, while Westinghouse has been recently awarded £10m for the UK Government‘s Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) Feasibility and Development project.