Cadarache
Reactor Data
Research Reactors
Research and test reactors, critical assemblies and prototypes at this site, as listed in the IAEA Research Reactor Database: type, thermal power, first criticality, shutdown date, current status and what each is used for.
16 reactors: 1 operational, 4 under decommissioning, 5 decommissioned, 3 cancelled, 2 permanent shutdown, 1 under construction.
| Reactor | Type | Thermal Power | First Criticality | Shutdown | Status | Used For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabri | Pool | 25 MWt | 1963-01-01 | Operational | materials testing | |
| Minerve | Pool | 100 Wt | 1959-09-29 | Under decommissioning | materials testing, activation analysis, teaching, training | |
| Marius | Crit Assembly | 400 Wt | 1960-01-01 | Decommissioned | ||
| Peggy | Crit Assembly | 1 kWt | 1961-06-01 | Decommissioned | ||
| Pile Azur | Crit Assembly | 100 Wt | 1962-04-09 | Cancelled | teaching, training | |
| Rapsodie | Fast, Power | 40 MWt | 1963-01-01 | Under decommissioning | ||
| Pegase | Tank | 30 MWt | 1963-04-01 | 1974-01-01 | Permanent shutdown | |
| PAT Land Prototype | Pwr Propulsion | 1964-08-14 | Cancelled | |||
| Cesar | Crit Assembly | 1 kWt | 1964-12-01 | 1977-08-01 | Decommissioned | |
| Harmonie | Tank | 1 kWt | 1965-08-01 | Decommissioned | materials testing | |
| Éole | Tank In Pool | 1 kWt | 1965-12-02 | Under decommissioning | ||
| Masurca | Crit Fast | 5 kWt | 1966-12-14 | Under decommissioning | teaching, training | |
| RNG New Generation Reactor | Bwr-prototype | 12 MWt | 1975-11-24 | 2005-10-01 | Permanent shutdown | |
| Scarabee | Pool | 1 MWt | 1982-01-01 | Decommissioned | materials testing | |
| RES | Pwr | 1 MWt | Cancelled | isotope production, materials testing | ||
| REACTOR JULES HOROWITZ | Tank In Pool | 1 MWt | Under construction | isotope production, materials testing, transmutation |
Source: IAEA Research Reactor Database (RRDB), as of 2026-10-13.
Fuel Cycle Facilities
Fuel cycle plants at this site, as listed in the IAEA Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities Database: what each plant does, its scale and design capacity, the years it operated, its current status and who operates it.
2 facilities: 1 in operation, 1 decommissioned.
| Facility | Type | Scale | Design Capacity | Operated | Status | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STAR | Spent Fuel Reprocessing - aqueous route | Laboratory | 1994– | In Operation | Commissariat a L'energie Atomique (CEA) | |
| ATPu | MOX fuel fabrication (Mox Powder, Pellet, Pin, FA) | Commercial | 40 t HM/year | 1961–2003 | Decommissioned | Commissariat a L'energie Atomique (CEA) |
Source: IAEA Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities Database (NFCFDB), as of 2026-10-13.
Working Here
Per Diem Rates FY 2026
Per diem covers lodging and meals & incidental expenses (M&IE) for government and contractor travel near this facility. Rates are from the U.S. State Department foreign per diem tables for FY 2026.
$220
Lodging/Night
$132
M&IE/Day
$352
Total/Day
France: rate for locations the State Department does not list separately
U.S. Department of State foreign per diem, for U.S. government and contractor travel.
Photos
Photos of this facility from the NukeWorker photo gallery. Click the header or any photo to browse the full album.
Facility Map
Interactive satellite map showing the facility's geographic location. Marker color indicates current status: green for online, red for offline, orange for reduced power. Click the header to open in Google Maps satellite view.
43.6854, 5.75584
Location & Contact
Physical address, phone number, and website for this facility. Use the directions link to get driving directions via Google Maps.
Plant Facts
About This Site
Written by NukeWorker from public records: facts that do not change. Operator, status and capacity come from the live data elsewhere on this page. Sources: Wikipedia: Cadarache.
Cadarache is a French nuclear research center near Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, in the north of the Bouches-du-Rhône department, about 40 km from Aix-en-Provence and 60 km northeast of Marseille. It hosts research reactors and fuel cycle installations.
Read more
Research at the site began in 1959. On 31 March 1994, a sodium explosion occurred during the dismantling of the Rapsodie experimental fast reactor. The site was selected in 2005 as the location of the international ITER fusion project, and construction of ITER began in 2007. The Aix-Durance fault, which was linked to the 1909 Lambesc earthquake, lies nearby.