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Calogena wins €40 million EU grant for first commercial SMR

French startup Calogena has secured €40 million from the EU Innovation Fund to build its first commercial small modular reactor for district heating in Pierrelatte.

Rendering of a compact small modular nuclear reactor facility supplying low-carbon heat to a French town's district heating network.
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French nuclear startup Calogena has secured a €40 million grant from the European Commission's Innovation Fund to build its first commercial reactor. According to the company, it is the first time European funding has gone to a small modular reactor (SMR) earmarked for the direct construction of a commercial facility.

The money will pay for a reactor in Pierrelatte, which is meant to become Calogena's first commercial reference project. The town is due to receive locally produced, low-carbon heat. "Having developed our technology and brought it to industrial scale, we are now entering the construction phase," said Executive Chairman Julien Dereux.

A reactor built for heat, not electricity

Founded in 2021 as a subsidiary of Paris-based industrial group Groupe Gorgé, Calogena is developing a 30-thermal-megawatt, water-cooled SMR aimed at district heating networks. The design is based on pool-type research reactor technology and runs at 100°C and 6 bar, which the company says makes it simpler and safer to operate than conventional power reactors.

The footprint is small: about 3,000 square metres of land and less than 1,000 square metres of buildings. Refuelling needs one lorry delivery every two years, and each module can heat roughly 20,000 households. The grant follows more than €50 million already obtained under the France 2030 industrial programme.

What comes next

Calogena is also pursuing projects elsewhere in Europe. It is in contention to supply more than fifteen reactors in Finland, where it opened a subsidiary in 2025, and in June it signed a cooperation agreement with district heating leader Veolia to explore deployments in Central and Eastern Europe.

The company targets first deployments from 2030, with the Pierrelatte reactor scheduled to go live in 2032. It points to a European district heating market projected to reach around 1,000 TWh by 2050, and argues that its technology offers a price-stable route to greater energy sovereignty.

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Tags:calogenasmrnucleardistrict heatingeu innovation fundfrance

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