Frequently Asked Questions
What does FANCO mean by a customer-centric approach?
FANCO begins with what power buyers need: reliable power, practical project structures, and a clear path through development and deployment. EAGL-1 and BRIDGE POWER are being developed around first-build economics, factory fabrication, phased project delivery, and ownership structures that can work in regulated, contracted, and selected behind-the-meter markets.
How does FANCO work with utilities and commercial power customers?
EAGL-1 and the FANCO Deployment System are designed to support a range of market structures, including rate-based utility ownership, long-term power purchase agreements, and select industrial behind-the-meter deployments — always in coordination with and supportive of the broader grid.
When and where will the first EAGL-1 reactor or FANCO Energy Park be deployed?
FANCO is evaluating multiple potential deployment opportunities and is advancing commercial, site, engineering, financing, and regulatory work in parallel. FANCO will announce a first project when the applicable customer, site, commercial, and disclosure requirements permit.
How many FANCO Energy Parks do you have planned?
We’re focused on finalizing our first project. That said, EAGL-1 and the FANCO Deployment System are designed to be both modular and replicable, so we look forward to a future with multiple projects.
What kind of reactor is EAGL-1?
EAGL-1 is a 240 MWe liquid-metal fast-spectrum small modular reactor that uses lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) as its primary coolant. FANCO selected LBE because it operates at low pressure, has a high boiling point, is nonflammable, and has strong heat-transfer characteristics. Those properties support a simpler plant architecture and are central to FANCO’s approach to safety, manufacturability, and project economics.
How is FANCO designed to improve project economics?
EAGL-1 is being developed around a low-pressure primary system, simplified plant architecture, extensive factory fabrication, repeatable modules, and the use of established industrial materials and supply chains where practical. FANCO’s objective is to reduce system complexity and shift work from bespoke onsite construction into controlled manufacturing environments. Actual project cost will depend on final design, licensing, site conditions, financing, supply-chain execution, and construction.
How is safety incorporated into the EAGL-1 design?
EAGL-1’s safety approach combines inherent physical characteristics with engineered systems. The reactor’s low-pressure primary system, LBE’s high boiling point and nonflammable behavior, and the thermal characteristics of the system support passive responses under a range of conditions. These features work alongside engineered monitoring, shutdown, and decay-heat-removal systems. The final safety case will be established through detailed analysis, testing, quality assurance, and NRC licensing review.
What type of fuel does EAGL-1 use?
EAGL-1’s initial commercial configuration is being developed around uranium-oxide (UO2) fuel enriched to HALEU levels. UO2 is a well-established fuel form, while HALEU supply, qualification, fabrication, and licensing remain active industry and FANCO workstreams. EAGL-1’s fast-spectrum architecture is also being designed to preserve future options for other qualified fuel types, including MOX, recycled uranium, and transuranic-bearing fuels. Those future configurations would require separate testing, qualification, safety analysis, safeguards, facilities, and regulatory approval.
How will FANCO deal with waste?
Initial EAGL-1 deployments are not dependent on fuel recycling and would manage used fuel under the applicable U.S. regulatory framework. Over the longer term, fast-spectrum reactors can support fuel-recycling strategies that recover additional energy from used nuclear material and may reduce the volume and long-term radiotoxicity of material requiring disposal. Any FANCO recycling approach would require dedicated facilities, safeguards, fuel qualification, safety analysis, and regulatory approvals. FANCO will describe specific waste and recycling performance metrics only when the applicable fuel-cycle configuration and supporting technical basis are defined.
Where is FANCO in the NRC licensing process?
As of February 2026, FANCO is in pre-application engagement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and has submitted a Regulatory Engagement Plan outlining planned interactions on major licensing topics. Pre-application engagement is intended to identify and address key technical and regulatory issues before a license application is submitted.
In parallel, BRIDGE POWER is intended to allow a project to pursue conventional generation while EAGL-1 engineering and licensing advance. Nuclear operation would remain subject to all required NRC reviews, licenses, construction, commissioning, and operating authorization.
Does EAGL-1 require a dedicated prototype reactor before commercial deployment?
FANCO’s development program uses analysis, component and materials testing, relevant historical reactor data, and planned qualification activities to support the EAGL-1 safety and licensing case. Research and test reactors can provide valuable irradiation and experimental data, but they are not necessarily full prototypes of a commercial power reactor. The testing required for EAGL-1 will be defined by the final design, qualification program, and NRC licensing process.