An Italian start-up, Newcleo, working with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and design firm Pininfarina, has unveiled its concepts for a new generation of small, fission power plants that could provide the future power for shipping and other applications. A full-scale representation of the fourth-generation nuclear reactor was placed on display at a prestigious Italian design fair with the companies saying the aim was to redefine the social image of nuclear power.
Newcleo, which was launched in September 2021, with more than €537 million (more than $600 million) of private funding, is working on concepts for small modular lead-cooled fast reactors. The company calls its concepts “the next step in the evolution of fission power plants.”
“We believe the lead-cooled Fast Reactors technology is the most promising. In fact, lead characteristics enable design simplification (which in turn has economic benefits) and a high degree of inherent safety,” says Newcleo.
The fourth-generation small modular reactor, the company says, represents a revolutionary approach to the decarbonization challenge by offering the answer to the perceived problems of traditional nuclear power. The lead cooling system introduces passive safety systems that avoid the risk of nuclear accidents through the physical laws governing reactor operation. In addition, the reactor would be able to eliminate nuclear waste generated by conventional nuclear power plants through a virtuous multi-cycle system that allows it to be burned, generating clean, cheap, and virtually inexhaustible energy.
Newcleo points out that much of the nuclear industry is focused on large-scale applications while it has a concept of an ultracompact and transportable 200 MWe module with improvements in energy density compared to other technologies. In the event of an accident, with Newcleo’s design, the liquid lead inside the reactor would solidify as it cools after coming in contact with the cold water, enclosing the reactor core in a solid casing and containing all radiation due to the shielding properties of lead.
Fincantieri, Italian classification society RINA, and Newcleo have been collaborating since 2023 to study applications for ship propulsion of Newcleo’s technology. When they launched the project, they articulated a vision for placing a closed mini reactor on vessels as a small nuclear battery producing a 30MW electric output. The company said the concept would require infrequent refueling (only once every 10 to 15 years), very limited maintenance, and easy replacement at the end of life, with the whole unit simply being removed and replaced with a new one on the ship, and the spent unit taken away for decommissioning and reprocessing.
Concept for the compact reactor was displayed at an Italian design fair (Newcleo)
Pininfarina oversaw the creative vision of the project. It reports that it infused sustainable design into the technological solutions, and brought for the first time to the nuclear industry a creative vision that mixes technical and aesthetic elements to promote their understanding to a wide audience.
The collaboration presented its vision at the prestigious 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. They put on display a full-scale representation using a vase shape and standing 18 feet, with an outer shell made of fiberglass. A portion of the reactor is open so that visitors can get a sense of how the technology would work.
The unveiling they said is a unique opportunity to show the world an innovative, unprecedented, and futuristic vision of nuclear energy, far from the narratives of the past and capable of inspiring a near future where this inexhaustible source of clean energy. Newcleo also states that it is actively pursuing a targeted acquisition strategy, incorporating key companies with strong capabilities in nuclear engineering, manufacturing, and waste management as it moves toward its goal of commercializing fission reactors.