ARCHEOS: a heat-generating reactor for industry
ARCHEOS is a light-water SMR that embodies the future of industrial nuclear power: safe, modular and low-carbon. ARCHEOS is a 100 MWth reactor designed to supply industrial steam up to 200 degrees.
The ARCHEOS solution offers major advantages in terms of ease of siting and acceptability: a footprint reduced to just 1 hectare, no need for water and no discharge, as well as a high level of intrinsic safety, with no severe-accident scenario requiring an exclusion zone.
The advantages of the ARCHEOS solution
- Intrinsically safe and reliable
- Easily deployable on industrial sites
- Commissioning in the early 2030s
- No development required
- Competitive and stable price
- Technology known and proven in France for decades by EDF
A solution resting on 4 pillars
ARCHEOS relies on a mature technology proven for decades.
Technological maturity
ARCHEOS is a “heat-generating” reactor — a small light-water SMR with a thermal capacity of 100 MWt. The reactor uses an already-mastered technology, derived from pressurized water reactors, with conventional low-enriched fuel — available and industrially proven.
Intrinsic safety
The components of ARCHEOS make it a very safe solution: light-water architecture, low pressure, reduced power and no meltdown scenario. Operating at low pressure makes this type of reactor very safe.
Competitive energy
Installed as close as possible to the industrial site, ARCHEOS maximizes thermal efficiency and reduces losses associated with energy transport. This makes it a competitive solution to replace fossil installations. Moreover, this solution offers optimized modularity and industrialization through a modular, standardized architecture, factory-built and assembled on site, which reduces the costs and lead times of traditional construction sites.
A very limited environmental impact
A one-hectare footprint, no water consumption and no discharge related to the energy-conversion cycle.
ARCHEOS ensures the complete life cycle of an installation
ARCHEOS technology ensures an integrated solution, designed to last. The entire life cycle of an installation is taken care of, from design to operation, including maintenance, decommissioning and the recovery of equipment. This comprehensive approach guarantees performance, safety and traceability over the long term.
First ARCHEOS reactors operational from 2030: rapid commissioning to accelerate the energy transition
With availability at the beginning of the 2030s, ARCHEOS constitutes a rapid solution to meet the immediate need for industrial decarbonization. The project is part of a realistic plan with an ambition to install 10 ARCHEOS reactors in France by 2040.
SMRs, a new generation of nuclear reactors
SMRs offer an industrial and standardized approach to nuclear construction, breaking away from large nuclear power plants, ensuring better cost control and reduced uncertainties, while providing low-carbon electricity or heat for a variety of uses.
A diversity of uses
SMRs supply not only power grids, but also factories, urban networks, hydrogen production or industrial steam as needed. Thanks to their modular design, it is possible to respond quickly to local decarbonization needs.
Technological maturity
SMRs can provide low-carbon electricity or heat with proven technologies such as the pressurized water reactor, used for decades.
A high-potential market
The SMR market could reach USD 70 to 120 billion per year by 2050, covering electricity production and industrial heat in many countries, thus meeting global decarbonization objectives.