The futur aircarft carrier will be equipped with nuclear propulsion

On Tuesday, October 27, the President of the Republic, during a visit to the Framatome site in Le Creusot, revealed that the next French aircraft carrier would be equipped with nuclear propulsion.

For the TechnicAtome teams, this decision marks the culmination of a year-and-a-half of engineering work that led to the design of a next-generation nuclear power plant. The concept has been proven and will also incorporate a number of enhancements to meet the increased requirements of an aircraft carrier that will be much heavier than the current Charles de Gaulle.

According to Loïc Rocard, Chairman and CEO of TechnicAtome, “The decision to use nuclear propulsion for the future aircraft carrier marks a new chapter in TechnicAtome’s fifty-year history and continues the remarkable journey of French nuclear propulsion. This decision will help ensure the long-term preservation of our company’s rare expertise over the course of several decades, bringing us together with Naval Group, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, the CEA, and the Directorate General of Armaments.”

The construction of the reactor
Project management for nuclear propulsion programs is entrusted to the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) for the reactor rooms. TechnicAtome is responsible for the design and construction of the nuclear propulsion reactor rooms, their support systems (tools, training), and their fuel (nuclear cores).

Naval Group is responsible for manufacturing the main components (reactor vessel, steam generator) and for their assembly. The reactor buildings will be assembled in the workshop before being integrated into the aircraft carrier at the Chantier de l’Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire.