Apr 11, 2025
Construction of the Pallas foundation is currently in progress.
The concrete pouring has commenced to establish the foundation for the reactor building of the Pallas research reactor in Petten, Netherlands.
In June 2022, NRG-Pallas applied for a permit to construct and operate the Pallas reactor from the Dutch regulator, the Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ANVS). ANVS granted a construction license in mid-February 2023. Preparatory work on the foundation began in May 2023, executed by the Belgian construction firm Besix, which was awarded a contract in November 2022.
To create the construction pit, a hole approximately 50 meters by 50 meters and 17.5 meters deep was excavated in multiple phases. Thirty trenches, each 1.5 meters wide, were dug and filled with concrete to establish the "diaphragm walls." These walls are reinforced with 380 bored piles and connected by a ring beam at the top.
As part of the latest phase of work at the bottom of the construction pit, a total of 790 tonnes of steel reinforcement bars have been layered in.
In the final step, a 1.5-meter-thick layer of concrete will be poured across the entire bottom surface of the pit in five stages to form the foundation floor of the Pallas reactor. “In the coming months, the site will continue to evolve: the construction staff office for 250 people will be installed, and initial works on the Pallas reactor and its secondary cooling system building will begin,” stated NRG-Pallas.
Although funding has been allocated for the Pallas reactor's construction over the coming years, the Dutch government has yet to make a final decision. Construction can proceed if the Dutch parliament does not object to the establishment of a new state-owned company. The European Commission has already approved the Dutch government's plan to invest EUR 2 billion (USD 2.2 billion) in the project under EU state aid rules.
Former Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, Ernst Kuipers, directed the Pallas foundation to avoid any irreversible steps while continuing preparations to prevent unnecessary delays.
In January 2023, Pallas initiated a tender process for the construction of the reactor and surrounding buildings under EU public procurement rules. Three pre-qualified candidates were selected to submit bids. In December, Spanish construction firm FCC Construcción was awarded the contract for the Pallas project.
The Pallas research reactor will be built in Petten to replace the existing High Flux Reactor (HFR). The 45 MW HFR began operations in September 1960 and has since transitioned from nuclear materials testing to fundamental research and medical radioisotope production. Operated by NRG on behalf of the European Union's Joint Research Centre, the reactor has historically supplied about 60% of Europe's and 30% of the world's medical radioactive sources.
Pallas will be a "tank-in-pool" type reactor, with a thermal power capacity of approximately 55 MW, designed to deploy its neutron flux more efficiently and effectively than the HFR.
In June 2022, NRG-Pallas applied for a permit to construct and operate the Pallas reactor from the Dutch regulator, the Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ANVS). ANVS granted a construction license in mid-February 2023. Preparatory work on the foundation began in May 2023, executed by the Belgian construction firm Besix, which was awarded a contract in November 2022.
To create the construction pit, a hole approximately 50 meters by 50 meters and 17.5 meters deep was excavated in multiple phases. Thirty trenches, each 1.5 meters wide, were dug and filled with concrete to establish the "diaphragm walls." These walls are reinforced with 380 bored piles and connected by a ring beam at the top.
As part of the latest phase of work at the bottom of the construction pit, a total of 790 tonnes of steel reinforcement bars have been layered in.
In the final step, a 1.5-meter-thick layer of concrete will be poured across the entire bottom surface of the pit in five stages to form the foundation floor of the Pallas reactor. “In the coming months, the site will continue to evolve: the construction staff office for 250 people will be installed, and initial works on the Pallas reactor and its secondary cooling system building will begin,” stated NRG-Pallas.
Although funding has been allocated for the Pallas reactor's construction over the coming years, the Dutch government has yet to make a final decision. Construction can proceed if the Dutch parliament does not object to the establishment of a new state-owned company. The European Commission has already approved the Dutch government's plan to invest EUR 2 billion (USD 2.2 billion) in the project under EU state aid rules.
Former Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, Ernst Kuipers, directed the Pallas foundation to avoid any irreversible steps while continuing preparations to prevent unnecessary delays.
In January 2023, Pallas initiated a tender process for the construction of the reactor and surrounding buildings under EU public procurement rules. Three pre-qualified candidates were selected to submit bids. In December, Spanish construction firm FCC Construcción was awarded the contract for the Pallas project.
The Pallas research reactor will be built in Petten to replace the existing High Flux Reactor (HFR). The 45 MW HFR began operations in September 1960 and has since transitioned from nuclear materials testing to fundamental research and medical radioisotope production. Operated by NRG on behalf of the European Union's Joint Research Centre, the reactor has historically supplied about 60% of Europe's and 30% of the world's medical radioactive sources.
Pallas will be a "tank-in-pool" type reactor, with a thermal power capacity of approximately 55 MW, designed to deploy its neutron flux more efficiently and effectively than the HFR.