Phénix and Superphénix

Phénix, at Marcoule, operated from 1973 to 2009 and proved that a fast reactor can breed fuel: it produced more plutonium than it consumed. Superphénix, at Creys-Malville, was the largest fast reactor ever built, 1,240 MWe, but sodium leaks, political opposition and a low load factor led to its closure in 1998.

France planned ASTRID as a successor and canceled it in 2019. Today French sodium expertise feeds the European fast reactor project and Natrium, in the United States.