Paul Gauthe is Co-Founder and CTO at HEXANA, a French nuclear energy startup developing Generation IV sodium-cooled fast neutron reactors for industrial decarbonization. HEXANA raised 25 million euros in January 2025 and is a France 2030 laureate.

Paul graduated from Ecole Centrale de Lyon in 2006 and spent over 15 years at CEA working on sodium-cooled fast reactors including Phenix and ASTRID. He also served as a parliamentary assistant from 2018 to 2020 contributing to the Sustainable Development and Regional Planning Committee.

Paul supervised end-of-life tests on the Phenix reactor in Marcoule starting in 2007 and coordinated core safety studies for the ASTRID project in Cadarache. He represented France in working groups within the Generation IV International Forum.

Before co-founding HEXANA in 2023, Paul was project manager for small reactors and technological monitoring at CEA following the discontinuation of ASTRID in 2019. He brings extensive expertise in fast reactor safety engineering and nuclear technology development.

HEXANA aims to commission its first industrial-scale reactor by 2035, providing high-temperature heat and flexible electricity for heavy industry. The company has grown to over 40 employees and operates from offices in Aix-en-Provence, Paris, and Brussels.