EDF takes stake in Otrera and bets on sodium reactors
French start-up Otrera has reached a new milestone in its development with an additional €17 million fundraising round. Beyond the amount itself, it is above all the composition of the investor group that is drawing attention: EDF is taking a stake for the first time in a French advanced reactor company.
Otrera announced that it had secured an additional €17 million, bringing total funding raised to €21 million. The funding round includes EDF, the investment funds Exergon and Normandie Participations, as well as several major players in the French nuclear industry: Groupe ADF, Ingérop, Fortil, Onet, REEL and Groupe Snef.
The start-up is developing a sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor (SFR), a Generation IV technology directly derived from the CEA’s historic work on fast breeder reactors. According to the company, this fundraising round will support the launch of the Detailed Preliminary Design phase, including deeper design studies, the strengthening of engineering and safety teams, and industrial preparation for the programme.
EDF joins the capital structure
The most widely discussed aspect remains EDF’s entry into the company’s capital. Until now, the French utility had mainly focused its SMR efforts around the Nuward project. In comments reported by Le Figaro, EDF stated that “Otrera is an innovative company capable of bringing interesting technological building blocks to support the closure of the nuclear fuel cycle.”
The move was also highlighted by Otrera CEO Frédéric Varaine, who stressed the historical significance of EDF’s investment in a LinkedIn post: “welcome to the new investors joining the adventure, with a special mention for EDF, whose entry into our capital obviously carries particular significance for anyone familiar with the industrial history of this sector.”
In another passage, he recalled that “in our industry, announcements matter less than the long term, technical robustness and the ability to turn a vision into industrial reality.”
Sodium reactors return to the French nuclear debate
Otrera’s technological choice is part of France’s long-standing history with sodium-cooled fast neutron reactors. France is indeed one of the few countries with a major industrial and scientific legacy in this field, through the Rapsodie, Phénix and later Superphénix programmes.
SFRs operate on a different principle from today’s pressurized water reactors. Using fast neutrons and liquid sodium as coolant, they theoretically allow more efficient use of fissile materials.
An industrial foothold in Normandy
Otrera is also working with the CEA on industrial deployment and technology development issues. The company had already announced its establishment in Normandy, near Cherbourg, in a region historically linked to the French nuclear industry.
This territorial strategy is part of a broader movement of French nuclear reindustrialization. Several French advanced reactor start-ups are seeking to establish themselves in industrial regions that already possess nuclear expertise, qualified supply chains and a strong technical culture. ■