A nuclear tech company named newcleo is working to bring its advanced reactor to the United States. The company announced that it submitted a Regulatory Engagement Plan to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This plan acts as a roadmap for how the company and U.S. regulators will work together to get the reactor licensed in the future.

Instead of using water to cool things down like traditional nuclear plants do, the reactor, LFR-AS-200, uses liquid lead.

“This submission to the NRC reflects years of dedicated research and engineering behind the LFR-AS-200,” said Stefano Buono, CEO of newcleo. “Lead-cooled fast reactor technology offers a uniquely safe and efficient path to clean, reliable energy, and we look forward to a constructive dialogue with the NRC as we advance toward licensing.”

Turning Waste into Power

Installation of reactor simulator; Photo: newcleo

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This reactor is built to supply 200 megawatts of steady, low-carbon electricity. It can also provide heavy-duty heat for factories that usually burn a lot of fossil fuels, like steel, cement, and hydrogen plants. It could even be used to power data centers.

But the most interesting part is what it runs on. The reactor uses a special blend called MOX fuel, which is made from recovered or leftover nuclear materials. Because of how the reactor is designed, it can take old nuclear waste and turn it into fresh energy. And that’s why it matters: the process actually reduces the final volume and radioactivity of the nuclear waste left behind.

Tested and Ready

Bringing new nuclear technology to the U.S. requires a lot of proof. To get ready, newcleo has been running an international research program with national laboratories in Italy, France, and Japan.

They built special facilities to test the lead-cooling systems, materials, and components under real-world conditions. All that physical testing gives them hard data to back up their safety calculations. So, when they sit down with U.S. regulators, they have actual evidence to show how the system performs.