On Monday 2 June, the University of Caen Normandy announced its project of a new building dedicated to developing skills, research and innovation in nuclear physics. Through this symbolic opportunity, the University reaffirms its role as a leader in nuclear, from Normandy to the European Union.

The embodiment of excellence in training and research in nuclear physics

At the start of this project lies an ambition shared by higher education and research actors as well as local authorities: make Normandy a leader in training and research in nuclear physics.

For the university of Caen Normandy, this project states the obvious: each year, the university trains more than 1,600 students in energy and nuclear within fifteen training including an international joint master’s degree Erasmus Mundus in Nuclear Physics. Currently, 250 researchers are working on projects linked to nuclear at the university, notably in the Corpuscular Physics laboratory (LPC), located on the campus 2. With cutting-edge facilities, such as the Science & Innovation Park EPOPEA or the Large Heavy Ion National Accelerator GANIL, the campus 2 is the place to welcome the future building dedicated to research and training in nuclear physics.

This new facility will offer a unique hub to develop scientific and educative activities linked to nuclear in Normandy. The building should be operational in 2031. This 9,000m2 with a 1,000-person capacity will notably gather:

• A Nuclear technology hall (HT2N) for trainings in nuclear careers
• New facilities dedicated to fundamental and applied research for the LPC
• Common areas, including an exhibition hall, a conference room and student life areas

The facilities will be shared by trainings of the University of Caen (Faculty of Sciences, the University Institute of Technology in Physical Measures and the engineering school ESIX) and of the ENSICAEN. As such, the building will both answer the growing needs in qualified skills in nuclear, and reinforce the educative, technological, and scientific excellence of the Normandy region.

A key project for the socio-economic future of the region and of the French nuclear industry

From a local spark

The project of this new building dedicated to nuclear physics embodies the strong alliance between academic actors and local authorities, as well as professionals of the nuclear industry already active in Normandy. With a total financing of 49 million euros, this future hub for the excellence of nuclear industry is funded by:

• The Normandy Region (22 million euros)
• The European Union (17 million euros)
• The intercommunal structure of Caen-la-mer (7 millions euros)
• The Calvados Department (3 million euros)

This support conveys the quality and solidity of the already existing ecosystem, and recognises how decisive the project is, on the scientific, economic, and industrial levels. The project of a European excellence hub for civil nuclear is already well powered up by Norman authorities.

Since 2022, the university of Caen Normandy is also a partner in the Nuclear in Normandy: New Skills project (the 3NC project), driven by the Normandy Region and winner of the Call for Expression of Interest Skills and Jobs of the Future, as part of the France 2030 programme. This project aims to answer the needs of all careers in nuclear. As such, the University of Caen Normandy will offer more training focused on nuclear, and foster excellence, discussions and professional integration in this field, in accordance with local demand.

To a European dynamic

The University of Caen Normandy also comes out as a challenger on the European scale by taking part in several projects driven by the European Commission:

• Skills4Nuclear: created in 2025 as part of the Euratom Programme, this European initiative aims at developing a common strategy to foster new projects and financing to power up local ecosystems in nuclear skills. In France, the University of Caen Normandy is the only university of the country that takes part in this European network.
• Nuclear Meets Region: at the announcement of the new building dedicated to nuclear physics, the Joint research centre (JRC) of the European Commission introduced a new initiative. Inspired by the success of the Norman nuclear ecosystem, this new project aims at creating regional networks for skills and at building European partnerships between academic, public and industrial actors.

Skills enhancement, educative innovation, synergy between research and industry… With its future hub in nuclear physics, the University of Caen Normandy definitely asserts its role as a leader in an industry with a decisive impact on the energy independence of France and the European Union.