CEA, Institut Curie and Thales Partner to Build World-First FLASH Radiotherapy Platform
CEA (ENS Corporate Member), Institut Curie and Thales have recently announced a partnership to design and install a unique Very High Energy Electron (VHEE) FLASH radiotherapy irradiator at Institut Curie’s Orsay site, as part of the FRATHEA project (Flash RAdiation THerapy Electron Acceleration), launched last year.
FLASH radiotherapy, first discovered at Institut Curie in 2014, delivers ultra-intense radiation doses of around 10 Gray in under 100 milliseconds, destroying tumour cells while sparing healthy tissue. However, existing FLASH techniques using low-energy electron or proton beams face a key limitation: they cannot reach deep-seated tumours.
To overcome this barrier, the FRATHEA project combines the FLASH effect with VHEE beams in the 100-250 MeV energy range, compared to 10 MeV in conventional radiotherapy. These VHEE beams offer advantageous physical and biological properties for treating deep tumours located near vital organs, including lung, pancreatic and brain cancers, as well as paediatric tumours.
Funded by France 2030 and the Île-de-France Region for a total of €37 million over four years, the project follows a structured two-year action plan: 2026 will focus on R&D and technical specification of the irradiator, while 2026-2027 will cover its industrial development and the fitting of the bunker that will house the prototype. Installation, technical validation and regulatory approval are planned for 2027, with the first clinical trials scheduled to open by 2029.
“This partnership illustrates our commitment to accelerating technological innovation in oncology, while guaranteeing the highest standards of safety and performance for patients,”
said Anne-Isabelle Etienvre, Director General of CEA.
Read the full CEA Press Release (in French).
While radiotherapy and radiopharmaceuticals rely on different technological approaches, both reflect the broader evolution of nuclear-based applications in modern healthcare.
They illustrate how advances in nuclear science and innovation are opening new perspectives for more targeted, personalised and effective cancer treatments.
In this context, the ENS High Scientific Council’s recent Briefing and Position Papers also highlighted the importance of strengthening Europe’s medical nuclear ecosystem, from research and infrastructure to regulation, supply chains and long-term innovation capacity, to ensure patients can benefit from the next generation of nuclear medicine technologies.
