As of April 28, 2025, Nicolas ZWEIBAUM joins HEXANA as Deputy Chief Technical Officer. He will support Paul GAUTHÉ, Chief Technical Officer and co-Founder, in the technical and industrial development of HEXANA’s energy solution. Nicolas’ arrival marks a turning point in the growth of the company, which now has over 60 employees.
An engineering graduate of École Polytechnique (X 2007) and a PhD in nuclear engineering from UC Berkeley, Nicolas Zweibaum has over ten years’ experience in the development of advanced energy technologies. He joined the US-based new nuclear start-up Kairos Power at its inception in 2017, as its first employee. There, he helped set up the experimental infrastructure and led the design of key systems: primary and secondary circuits, passive cooling systems, fuel handling and cooling, and energy conversion.
He was involved in obtaining several construction permits for nuclear demonstrators in the USA, and in conducting industrial-scale test campaigns on non-nuclear prototypes. His background gives him in-depth knowledge of qualification and industrialization processes, as well as relations with safety authorities.
He also worked in the solar sector for two years at SunPower, optimizing the performance and reliability of new-generation photovoltaic panels.
“Nicolas’ arrival is a tremendous boost for HEXANA: his skills add to those of the existing team to design a reactor that is manufacturable, operable, safe and competitive. Nicolas will oversee industrialization and future industrial set-ups to enhance the project’s long-term viability. His start-up experience across the Atlantic is also invaluable and inspiring for an ambitious young start-up like HEXANA.”
— Paul GAUTHÉ, CTO and co-Founder of HEXANA