Framatome opens €25M French nuclear AM centre
Framatome officially opened the Amiral Bernard-Antoine Morio de l’Isle Additive Manufacturing Centre in Romans-sur-Isère, France, on July 2. Less than a year after laying the first stone, the 6,000 m² facility, backed by a €25 million investment, is now fully operational and is producing critical spare parts for the primary circuits of French nuclear reactors.
The centre leverages MX3D’s Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), a wire-based Directed Energy Deposition (DED) process, to manufacture critical components with complex geometries. These include medium-sized parts such as 1-ton impellers up to massive structures weighing between 20 and 25 tons, intended for the nuclear and French defence sectors.
This strategic production hub is designed to meet the strictest safety requirements across the nuclear energy sector. Framatome states that integrating WAAM reduces raw material waste and energy consumption, while also cutting lead times compared to traditional forging.
“With the Amiral Bernard-Antoine Morio de l’Isle centre fully operational, we have entered a new era for truly large-scale Additive Manufacturing in Nuclear Energy,” said Gijs van der Velden, CEO of MX3D. “We are incredibly proud that MX3D’s WAAM systems are a core driving force inside Europe’s first nuclear facility of this scale. The opening of this facility marks a milestone in strengthening European strategic and sovereign industrial capability. It proves that large-scale metal 3D printing is ready to deliver repeatable quality for the most demanding applications in the nuclear sector and beyond.”
Framatome stated, “This centre stands as an essential lever to contribute to the performance of the nuclear sector, secure our supply chain, and reinforce our industrial sovereignty. Here, innovation takes shape and excellence is printed.”
