Elected officials who speak with one voice to welcome the small nuclear reactor to Marcoule

Du foncier disponible à Marcoule pour accueillir le petit réacteur. Midi Libre – JEAN MICHEL MART

Les élus réunis en conseil communautaire lundi 24 juin ont voté une motion de soutien du territoire du Gard rhodanien pour accueillir le prototype du réacteur nucléaire modulaire SMR Nuward sur le site du CEA Marcoule.

Will the small nuclear reactor see the light of day on the CEA Marcoule site ? This is the hope nourished by the elected officials of the Rhone Gard meeting in community council Monday June 24 2024. Hence this motion voted unanimously at the start of the public session. The text read by the rapporteur and session chairman Jean-Christian Rey reiterates the desire of the territory's advisors to welcome the SMR Nuward modular nuclear reactor prototype. After the disappointment of having seen the EPR2 slip away that they hoped to see implemented at Tricastin, the elected officials and major players in the nuclear sector such as the CEA, EDF and Orano, but also the institutional partners and industrial companies are now targeting the top series of future Nuward SMRs.

"A strong signal"

"Such an investment would be a strong signal of our country's desire to reindustrialize" declares the text of the motion. The construction of such a tool presents some advantages considered "determining" by the Gard Rhone community council. The second industrial center of the Occitanie region, the Rhone basin has no reason to be ashamed of its know-how in the field of research and innovation. The territory with 44 municipalities offers multiple training opportunities with campuses, BTS, high schools and CFA dedicated to nuclear professions.

Industrial system ecosystem

The Gard Rhodanien also shines through the business networks that irrigate its industrial ecosystem and contribute to its economic attractiveness. The future SMR should not suffer from a lack of space. The CEA Marcoule site has a large amount of land that can be quickly mobilized. It has great expertise in the field of innovative experimental reactors, underlines the president of the Agglo Jean-Christian Rey. The CEA engineers are just as “capable” in the management of risks related to nuclear installations.

Pissas agrees with Rey

The motion was approved unanimously as illustrated by the remarks of the mayor of Tresques Alexandre Pissas: “You can well imagine, he declared to the attention of the deliberative assembly, that I totally agree with the remarks of the president of the Agglo du Gard rhodanien. Marcoule is probably the site that has the most land to accommodate this project that does not affect any other possible program that could have seen the light of day later." Approval of Jean-Christian Rey : "It is important to have unanimity on this type of subject because when we are going to take it to the highest level, it is essential to show that the territory is united and speaks with one voice to apply".