Emerald Horizon (SMRX) has announced the start of its ADES Test Loop programme together with industrial partner VDL Groep. According to the company, the Test Loop will represent the first integrated system test for ADES, bringing together components that have so far largely been developed and validated individually. The project is designed to validate the interaction of key fluid-thermodynamic components and systems, including the pump, molten-salt circulation, piping, heat exchanger, measurement and instrumentation, and control systems.
The Test Loop builds on several years of component-level development and testing across the ADES architecture. Emerald reports previous work covering neutron and proton generation, small-scale accelerator testing and nuclear measurement technology, alongside software-based simulation and digital-twin capabilities for nuclear physics and multiphysics modelling. The focus is therefore progressively shifting from individual components towards their interaction within an integrated system as ADES advances towards prototype development.
According to Emerald, four previous generations of the Loop have already been tested in hardware in Graz, with the upcoming Test Loop representing one of the final development steps before a further loop is developed for the ADES prototype targeted for 2029 (current Test Loop expected to run for c. 12-18 months; eNuW).
VDL partnership moves into project execution. Importantly, the Test Loop kick-off will include the signing of a project-specific agreement with VDL Groep under the long-term framework agreement signed by both companies in November 2025. While the framework covers the co-development and production of ADES and CALstore (thermal storage) technologies and components, each individual project requires a separate project agreement. The agreement will be signed alongside the official Test Loop kick-off at SMRX's main R&D laboratory in Graz on 8 September.
VDL will contribute its systems-engineering, manufacturing and supply-chain expertise to the Test Loop, incorporating the findings from its feasibility work into the final design. Importantly, the system is already being designed with subsequent industrial serial production and scalability in mind, supporting the development path towards the targeted ADES prototype.
In our view, the combination of the first integrated ADES system test and the transition of the VDL partnership into project-specific execution represents a key technical and industrialisation milestone for ADES, the main source of SMRX's long-term value potential. Successful execution should progressively reduce development and industrialisation risk on the path towards the targeted 2029 prototype and serial production from 2031 onwards.
We leave our estimates and € 1,300 PT unchanged. While the announcement does not warrant changes to our ADES deployment assumptions at this stage, successful execution would provide further support for the development roadmap underlying our valuation.
ISIN: AT0000A3UZE1