ITER provides Ansaldo Nucleare the opportunity to develop its operations in France

Provence is the launch pad for the company’s French expansion plans and nuclear fusion ambitions

A subsidiary of the Italian power engineering company Ansaldo Energia, Ansaldo Nucleare has been involved in the construction of the Provence-based ITER nuclear fusion experiment since 2010. In 2019, the company opened French offices in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, a town beside the ITER site that is part of the Aix-Marseille metropolitan area. Ansaldo Nucleare is playing a strategic role in the assembly of the ITER tokamak, which is the central component where nuclear fusion occurs, and, as a result, the company is developing a range of partnerships with French and European small and medium-sized businesses. As the economic development and attractiveness agency for the Aix-Marseille territory, Provence Promotion played a pivotal role in the company’s set-up, development, and recruitment activities.

Based on new and potential future partnerships with French and European industrial companies, the Italian company Ansaldo Nucleare is strengthening its presence in the European market and laying the groundwork for further expansion in France. Buoyed by ten years of experience with French safety standards and nuclear regulations, in 2019, Ansaldo Nucleare opened an office in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, a town 45 kilometers northeast of Aix-en-Provence. With a staff of 30 people, the team is responsible for, among other things, overseeing the implementation of four unique contracts related to the construction of ITER, which cover areas from facility design and waste management studies to major works as a primary contractor.

The French nuclear market, an important source of growth

“The assembly phase at ITER prompted us to open a branch office in Provence. Over the next five years, our French subsidiary is expected to grow and play a more significant role alongside our Italian and English teams, which now total more than 400 employees dedicated to nuclear power. We are targeting large-scale projects in the sector,” explains Stéphane Perinelle, the Head of Strategy and Development for Ansaldo’s nuclear activities in France. Among the new markets in the company’s sights are the advent of Smaller Modular Reactors (SMRs) and the construction of next generation reactors.

Provence Promotion, a gateway to new partnerships

This past January, Ansaldo Nucleare France was given an "Invest in Provence" award by Provence Promotion at a ceremony held at the thecamp innovation campus in Aix-en-Provence. It was a chance for the company to look back on the key stages of support it received when setting up operations in the Aix-Marseille metro area.

"Provence Promotion team helped us get established, recruit employees, create contacts with institutional partners such as the Pôle Emploi employment agency and the Forma’Sud training center, and make connections with potential industrial partners. This Invest in Provence award shows that the territory supports our ambitions, and it gives us added visibility. Provence Promotion will also assist us in the next phase of our development on the French market,” says Stéphane Perinelle.

Ansaldo already has a long-standing working relationship with the French nuclear sector. The company collaborated with the French nuclear giant Areva (formerly Framatome) from 1998 to 2018 on the Superphénix nuclear power station prototype at Creys-Malville near the Swiss border.