ADVERTORIAL FEATURE | ANSALDO NUCLEARE
consolidation: the current status of the EAGLES-300 lfr project
From pre-licensing to design As EAGLES-300 advances through active pre-licensing and its first full design gate
review, its technical basis continues to mature. Core configuration, safety methodology and fuel strategy are now being refined in coordination with European regulators. The EU’s March SMR Strategy gives this progress added strategic weight.
Right: The EAGLES-300 model
A notable step was the first joint gate review, held in Mol (Belgium) from 15 to 17 December 2025, bringing together technical teams from all the partners. The review examined system requirements, core configuration, fuel qualification approaches, safety strategies and cost assessments. Participants reported that activities were progressing in line with the programme roadmap. The meeting also ensured alignment with the ongoing engagement of national regulators under the IAEA extra budgetary project supporting the pre licensing initiative. EAGLES-300 is conceived as a 300 MWe lead-cooled
Below top: Ansaldo Nucleare CEO Daniela Gentile (right), and IAEA DG Rafael Mariano Grossi (left), at the EAGLES-300 pre-licensing signing.
Below bottom: The EAGLES-300 pre-licensing signing in Vienna on 15 September 2025.
THE PRE-LICENSING INITIATIVE for the EAGLES-300 lead-cooled fast reactor, launched during the IAEA General Conference in 2025, has entered operational phase. On 16 January 2026 the first Steering Committee meeting of the pre-licensing project convened in Vienna. The session brought together IAEA, representatives from Belgium’s FANC, Romania’s CNCAN and Italy’s ISIN, and members of the EAGLES Consortium - Ansaldo Nucleare, ENEA, SCK CEN and Raten. The goal was to evaluate ongoing activities, address open technical points and endorse an updated work plan. The meeting followed a workshop on safety analysis and methodological alignment, confirming that the pre-licensing review is progressing through substantive technical exchanges rather than remaining at a high-level framework stage. A second meeting took place in Vienna from 9 to 13 of March. These interactions are intended to reduce
uncertainties ahead of future licensing phases in the participating countries. IAEA’s Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative continues to provide the structure for this effort, while regulators engage early ok key safety topics relevant to heavy-liquid-metal systems. The goal remains to maximize the common basis for future national reviews for a technology that, by design, is meant for multi-country deployment. In October 2025, the European Industrial Alliance on
SMRs reaffirmed EAGLES 300 as one of the eight leading SMR initiatives in Europe. The selection, originally made in 2024, was reiterated after reviewing progress in the project’s technical, organisational and programmatic milestones. The Alliance noted that the initiative continues to meet the criteria associated with Europe’s objective of deploying new SMR technologies. Consortium wide design activities have also advanced.
84 | April 2026 |
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fast reactor designed for low-pressure operation, passive heat-removal mechanisms and high outlet temperatures suitable for both electricity production and industrial uses. Its core will rely on mixed-oxide fuel incorporating recycled materials, in line with Europe’s long-term objectives for improved resource utilisation and waste minimisation. These characteristics aim to combine the thermal-hydraulic stability of heavy-liquid-metal systems with the efficiency benefits of a fast neutron spectrum. As a European project, EAGLES-300 is embedded in a wider infrastructure that includes LEANDREA technology demonstrator in Belgium and ALFRED performance demonstrator in Romania, respectively intended to support technological and performance validation ahead of the commercial model. These facilities represent two decades of European research into heavy-liquid-metal systems and are being integrated into the staged roadmap toward EAGLES-300’s market deployment in 2039. Project development coincides with broader policy developments at the EU level, including the Commission’s SMR Strategy launched in March 2026. The EAGLES Consortium has publicly supported the strategy’s emphasis on standardisation, coordinated licensing frameworks and industrial development across Member States. These priorities match the structure of the ongoing pre-licensing work, which is built around cross-border cooperation and early alignment between regulators and developers. Overall, the evolution of the pre-licensing process and the design reviews demonstrates steady, methodical progress. These activities reflect the incremental steps required to prepare a lead-cooled fast reactor for future deployment. For a technology that depends heavily on coordinated regulatory expectations and rigorous validation of heavy-liquid-metal systems, structured assessments are essential indicators of the project maturity. The next phases will focus on deeper safety-case development, integration of experimental data from supporting facilities, and continued alignment with national regulatory frameworks across the participating countries. ■
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