GIF talks with industry series #7 - EU-SMR-LFR: Enabling Commercial LFR Deployment through RDQ and Non-Electric Energy Applications
About this webinar
Join us for a GIF hosted webinar to explore the development of EU-SMR-LFR through the European international collaboration, by Ansaldo Nucleare, as leader of the EU-SMR-LFR Consortium.
The EU-SMR-LFR initiative is a European programme aimed at developing a commercially deployable lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) and establishing a long-term pathway towards Generation IV nuclear energy systems in Europe. Bringing together industrial organizations, research centres and technology developers, the consortium combines reactor development activities with a comprehensive Research, Development and Qualification (RDQ) strategy designed to reduce technology, licensing and investment risks.
A key pillar of the programme is the development and integration of a broad portfolio of experimental infrastructures supporting the qualification of fuels, materials, components and system technologies operating in lead coolant environments. These facilities will provide the experimental evidence required to validate design methodologies, assess component performance under representative conditions and support safety demonstration activities. At the same time, the resulting qualification framework creates the technical basis for expanding the role of LFR technology beyond electricity generation.
In this perspective, EU-SMR-LFR is also exploring the potential contribution of LFRs to process heat supply, hydrogen production and other non-electric applications supporting industrial decarbonization, energy system integration and security of supply.
The presentation will provide an overview of the EU-SMR-LFR project, focusing on both the RDQ strategy and the opportunities offered by secondary energy applications, highlighting the role of European experimental infrastructures and the roadmap towards future demonstrator and commercial deployment of LFR technology.
A Q&A session will follow the presentation, providing an opportunity to further understand how Ansaldo Nucleare and its partners are working to bring a Gen IV reactor to reality.
About the GIF Talks with Industry webinars
This webinar is the seventh of a series where GIF engages with industry representatives to bridge national and international R&D programs, industry needs and challenges. It is also aimed at and exploring new avenues for fruitful cooperation within the GIF community.
This webinar is hosted by the Lead Fast Reactors provisional System Steering Committee. It is the seventh of a series of webinar aimed at engagement between the GIF community and the nuclear industry involved in the implementation of advanced nuclear reactor systems.
Who should attend?
Policymakers, industry professionals, regulators, researchers, students, the general public.
MEET THE HOST AND SPEAKER(S)
Dr
Marco Caramello
Dr. Marco Caramello is Product Development Manager at Ansaldo Nucleare, where he leads the development of innovative heat and mass transfer components and systems for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Lead‑cooled Fast Reactors (LFRs). He has over ten years of experience in thermal‑hydraulics and advanced nuclear technologies, with a background covering experimental facility design, qualification of new reactor technologies, and high‑impact R&D programs.
Before his current role, Marco worked as Senior Thermal‑Hydraulic Analyst on international projects including MYRRHA, ALFRED, and DEMO, developing system and CFD models and contributing to safety analyses and licensing documentation. He has coordinated multidisciplinary engineering teams, supported tendering and business development activities, and mentored young engineers in the field of reactor thermal‑hydraulics.
Marco earned his PhD in Energetics (cum laude) from Politecnico di Torino and is currently an Executive MBA candidate at LUISS Business School.
Dr
Mariano TARANTINO
Mariano Tarantino graduated in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Pisa in 2004. Ph.D. in Nuclear and Industrial Safety in 2008. Since 2008 he has been an ENEA researcher in the field of liquid metal technologies for nuclear applications, mainly related to Generation IV - LFR. From 2010 to 2018 Scientific Advisor of the Program Agreement between ENEA and the Ministry of Economic Development, where he coordinated all research and development activities on fourth generation nuclear fission systems refrigerated with liquid lead. Currently he is the head of Energy Nuclear Systems Division of the ENEA Nuclear Department, member of the Executive Board of FALCON Consortium devoted to ALFRED DEMO LFR construction, and member of the newcleo R&D steering committee, aiming at supporting the development of LFR-AS-30 and LFR-AS-200. With a background in thermos-fluid dynamics, expert in nuclear technology and lead cooled fast reactors, with an experimental vocation, he coordinates various projects at a national and international level. Among those international efforts Dr Tarantino is the Euratom representative at the Generation IV International Forum provisional Lead Fast Reactors System Steering Committee.
Recording of the webinar
The recording and presentation will be made available here after the webinar.