Nuclear Energy

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Industria-and-Rolls-Royce-SMR-plans-hit-ministeria

Poland's Industria says that it now has all the necessary ministerial opinions required to move on to the next stage of its plans for the construction of small modular reactor plants using Rolls-Royce SMR's technology.

The Polish Minister of Climate and Environment needed to get opinions from a range of government departments - the Minister of State Assets, the Internal Security Agency and Poland's chief Geologist - that the investment would have a "positive impact".

Now it has received all the required opinions, the ministry is able to move ahead to the next step which would be to issue a Decision In Principle to deploy Rolls-Royce SMRs, a 470 MWe design based on a small pressurised water reactor.

Last year, state-owned Industria - part of Industrial Development Agency JSC (IDA) - selected Rolls-Royce SMR technology to fulfil the zero-emission energy goals of the Central Hydrogen Cluster in Poland and as part of their plans to produce 50,000 tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen every year.

Industria submitted its application for a Decision in Principle in December to Polish Climate and Environment Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska, and has now welcomed the receipt of the last required opinion, from Poland's Internal Security Agency.

Szczepan Ruman, President of the Management Board of Industria, said: "The positive opinion from the Internal Security Agency is a very important document for us, not only because it is the last opinion we have been waiting for and the Minister of Climate and Environment has complete documentation to decide on issuing the Decision in Principle. The positive opinion from the Internal Security Agency is important for us primarily because in this opinion, the agency - responsible for the internal security of the state, as well as for supervising the energy sector - confirms that our planned investment has a positive impact on the security of the Republic of Poland."

He added that with the Central Hydrogen Cluster he hoped "it will be possible to build a significant order portfolio from several entities for SMR units using Rolls-Royce technology, giving the Polish side a strong position in negotiations on the delivery terms of individual units, as well as, above all, in terms of the participation of the Polish industry in a supply chain for RR SMRs and thus the creation of attractive jobs in Poland."

Alan Woods, Rolls-Royce SMR’s Director of Strategy and Business Development, said: "We are delighted the Polish Government has concluded that the deployment of our unique 'factory-built' nuclear power plants would have a positive impact for the country, and we look forward to a Decision in Principle to deploy Rolls-Royce SMRs in Poland."

In July last year, Industria signed a letter of intent with the Kostrzyn-Słubicka Special Economic Zone SA (KSSSE) regarding cooperation on the location of a modular power plant based on Rolls-Royce SMR technology in the areas covered by the KSSSE.

Last month, Industria also signed a letter of intent with Chiltern Vital Group. With its partners - including Western Gateway, SGSC, University of Bristol, Vital Energi and Rolls-Royce SMR - Chiltern Vital Group intends to create a world-first net-zero and nuclear technologies campus at a site next to the former Berkeley Magnox nuclear power plant in Gloucestershire, southwest England. This will be the first step towards a 'net-zero super cluster' investment zone, encouraging the roll out of Rolls-Royce SMRs alongside an array of net-zero technologies.

The main provisions of the agreement include cooperation in: training and development of skills of Polish students and specialists; exchange of know-how to accelerate the licensing process of components dedicated to the nuclear industry; joint development of related technologies to create large low-carbon regional technology parks; and creating private financing models to ensure the viability of small modular reactor projects.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Panel-highlights-need-for-nuclear-in-tomorrow-s-po

Massive growth is expected in the global demand for electricity, which will require an expansion of both generation and the transmission system, speakers at a side event at the World Energy Congress 2024 agreed. Nuclear power will play an important role, they said, in ensuring the resilience of the future electricity system.

The session - Building low-carbon resilient electricity system - was co-organised by World Nuclear Association, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) on the sidelines of the World Energy Congress, held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on 22-25 April.

Asked about the biggest challenges to the global electricity system, World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León said that many developed countries have "very robust and reliable energy systems" that have been built over the years but when adding new generation - particularly intermittent renewable generation - "we have forgotten to ensure the resiliency of the system". "We are finding ourselves close to breaking point where any most-needed capacity ... is really going to require major investment into the grid itself," she said.

Neil Wilmshurst, Senior Vice President, Energy System Resilience and Chief Nuclear Operator at EPRI, said that in the developed world the challenge is integrating renewables, reliability, and resilience in the context of increasing demand. He noted that conservative estimates put future electricity demand at twice or three times the current demand. "If you look at the amount of hydrogen people say could be in demand in the US, it would take the entire current generation capacity of the US to produce it. That is the kind of magnitude of generation we're talking about. Then you throw on top of that the coming load from data centres." Meanwhile, electricity demand in developing countries is also rapidly expanding. A major challenge, he said, will be simultaneously increasing electricity supply in the developed world whilst electrifying the developing world.

Iva Brkic, Secretary of UNECE's Sustainable Energy Division, noted a recent International Energy Agency report which estimated that there was a need to add or refurbish a total of more than 80 million kilometres of grids by 2040, the equivalent of the existing global grid. "We need to double it in the next 14 years to meet our targets," she said. "So where are those resources going to come from? Where are the critical raw materials that we need to identify, to secure the supply chains, to really build that infrastructure? Now we add another layer to this - keeping the resiliency but also the reliability of that grid."

Brkic said the effects of climate change are already being experienced around the world. "How can we ensure that the system that we are now redesigning and building and modernising can withstand those impacts of climate change - the heatwaves, the droughts. This is something that we need to pay attention to.

"At the UNECE, we like to think also about the aspects of balancing between delivering on energy security, affordability and environmental sustainability. And when we think now about modernising the electricity system, it's also about balancing those aspects and creating the resiliency while actually cleaning the energy system."

The electricity sector is still one of the highest emitters of CO2, with many countries relying heavily on fossil fuels for electricity production, said Wassim Ballout, and energy analyst at EDF's Corporate Strategy Division. "One of the biggest challenges will be to satisfy this significant demand growth with decarbonised production. Not only decarbonising the existing production but also to cope with the significant increase ... the challenge would be to invest in all low-cost, low-emission technologies and to have a technological neutral approach and have good incentives to do that."

Bilbao y León said people tend to think of the energy systems of the future as being a version of what currently exists. However, she said the technology is going to be very different. "Very importantly I think that we are going to see a lot of coupling of systems … electricity is obviously going to be very important as we try to electrify a lot of energy, but clearly there are going to be additional energy vectors … all these technologies are going to make this system more complex … we can have different energy products depending on what is needed at different times to ensure the reliability and the resiliency and the flexibility of the system."

Ballout spoke about scenarios that EDF have been developing for more than 15 years, mainly for internal use. This year the company has made its scenario for net-zero publicly available. "It's fundamentally different from the other scenarios we're developing because we start with the constraints and the end. We start with net neutrality in 2050 and we go backwards. So we try to find the most economically efficient pathway to achieve this neutrality. And when I say economically efficient, I think of welfare maximisation, the minimisation of the cost and the optimisation of the resilience of the system.

"And that's how we come to a mix that shows we have to multiply by six our renewable capacity in Europe [by 2050] - we've been talking about 15 Western European countries. We will have between 120 and 150 gigawatts of nuclear capacity. We will enhance significantly the production of biofuels and CCS. We see this path will take us to a significant increase of flexibility needs … it's a very important part of the resilience of the system."

Wilmshurst said it was clear that nuclear and renewables will have a role together in the future electricity system. "If we have an idealistic view that renewables can expand and expand and expand, the transmission grid needs to expand and expand, get more complicated, and when it gets more complicated the potential for it be less reliable increases."

However, he noted that financing is a hurdle for nuclear deployment in most countries. "A great part of nuclear being perceived as expensive is the financing cost. So why is the financing cost so high? Because you have to build the nuclear plant - it takes a long time, it's complicated - but that huge capital investment upfront alone then gives you the facility that runs for many decades to recoup the investment."

"If we get deployment plans together with a clear picture ... all of a sudden, the deployment experience increases, deployment risk goes down, the confidence in the financial markets that the projects can be delivered on time increases. Finance starts flowing. If we don't make a decision to move, we don't start doing things, we don't learn as well. There's hesitancy in the markets to invest."

Ballout said nuclear and hydro play a very important role because outages of plants can be scheduled during periods where the demand is lower. "But that's why we say we have to continue financing and investing in hydro and nuclear. The nuclear fleet is capable of ramping up when suddenly you don't have sun or wind. It's possible technologically and technically speaking and at the same time it is possible to ramp down in order to leave room for renewables to produce and that's really the very important message for us."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Poland-making-good-progress-on-nuclear-energy,-say

An International Atomic Energy Agency review mission has praised steps taken to develop the necessary infrastructure for a safe and sustainable nuclear power programme in Poland. Meanwhile, Bechtel marks the start of site field work for the country's first nuclear power plant.

The 11-day IAEA mission to Poland - a Phase 2 Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review - took place from 15 to 25 April at the invitation of the Polish government and used the IAEA's Milestones Approach to review the status of 19 nuclear infrastructure issues. The aim is the check the readiness of a country to invite bids or negotiate a contract for their first nuclear power plant.

The 10-person team "identified good practices that would benefit other countries developing nuclear power in the areas of contracting approach, strategic approach to funding, early authorisation of technical support organisations to support the nuclear regulator, engagement with the electrical grid operator, stakeholder involvement and industrial involvement".

Mission team leader Mehmet Ceyhan, Technical Lead of the IAEA Nuclear Infrastructure Development Section, said: "The Polish Nuclear Power Programme (PNPP) was initiated with clear objectives and is progressing towards the construction stage in a structured way. We observed strong and dedicated teams in each of the key organisations that will help to achieve the government’s objectives for the PNPP."

Among the areas highlighted for further action was "the need to further review its legal and regulatory framework, and finalise the preparatory work required for the contracting and construction stages".

Miłosz Motyka, Undersecretary of State for the Ministry of Climate and Environment of Poland, said: "Poland's cooperation with the IAEA is a long-term collaboration, and the review mission is extremely valuable and beneficial for the implementation and execution of the Polish nuclear power programme."

The collaboration with the IAEA also involved a September 2023 Integrated Regulatory Review Service mission to the country which found Poland's nuclear regulatory framework met IAEA safety standards.

Field work getting under way

Meanwhile, a symbolic kick-off ceremony was held by US-firm Bechtel at its Warsaw office to mark the start of geological surveys for Poland's first nuclear power plant at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Pomeranian municipality of Choczewo.

Bechtel is a member of the US consortium responsible for the implementation of the nuclear power plant project which is set to feature three Westinghouse AP1000 units. The field work is due to start in May on an area covering about 30 hectares with approximately 220 research points being constructed with depths of 20 to 210 metres. Bechtel has awarded the contract for the geological work to PSD Poland, with the work expected to be completed in November.

The findings will be crucial for the earthworks design for the plant and will also inform the Location Report which Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) will need to submit to obtain a construction permit from Poland's National Atomic Energy Agency, the PPA.

The event was attended by the US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski, who called it "another important step forward as Poland and the United States work together to create a civil nuclear industry in Poland, and it shows that the United States is delivering on our shared commitment to Poland’s energy security and supporting Poland’s energy transition".

Leszek Hołda, Bechtel Poland Country Manager, said: "The commencement of the initial fieldwork for the construction of this plant is a significant moment for the Polish economy, the companies that will participate in the supply chain, and the local community."

Leszek Juchniewicz, a member of the board of directors and acting president of PEJ, said this was an important time for the enterprise and showed that "the project to build Poland's first nuclear power plant is gaining momentum".

Project background

PEJ - a special-purpose vehicle 100% owned by the State Treasury - is responsible for the construction project of the first nuclear power plant in Poland.

In November 2022, the then Polish government selected the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor technology. An agreement setting a plan for the delivery of the plant was signed in May last year by Westinghouse, Bechtel and PEJ. The Ministry of Climate and Environment in July issued a decision-in-principle for PEJ to construct the plant. The aim is for Poland's first AP1000 reactor to enter commercial operation in 2033.

Under an engineering services agreement signed in September last year, in cooperation with PEJ, Westinghouse and Bechtel will finalise a site-specific design for a plant featuring three AP1000 reactors. The design/engineering documentation includes the main components of the power plant: the nuclear island, the turbine island and the associated installations and auxiliary equipment, as well as administrative buildings and infrastructure related to the safety of the facility. The contract also involves supporting the investment process and bringing it in line with current legal regulations in cooperation with the PAA and the Office of Technical Inspection.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Decadal-overhaul-begins-at-Bruce-B-vacuum-building

Work has started on a three-week, CAD190 million (USD138 million) overhaul of a crucial part of the safety systems at Bruce B in Canada. Inspections and maintenance to the vacuum building must be carried out once every decade, but can only take place when all four of the plant's operating units are offline.

The Vacuum Building Outage (VBO) which began on 24 April is the culmination of extensive planning, resourcing and co-ordination and is being carried out in cooperation with Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and electricity transmission and distribution service provider Hydro One.

Vacuum buildings are unique to multi-unit Candu generating stations. Designed to quickly and safely lower pressure inside the reactor building in the case of an accident by releasing steam and hot gases from the reactor building into the vacuum building, the vacuum building provides an additional protective barrier to prevent the release of radioactivity to the environment.

"Bringing all of the station's operating units off-line at once is a large undertaking and our team has been planning for years to ensure it is completed safely," said Bruce B Vice President Adrian London. "The Vacuum Building Outage removes about 15 per cent of the capacity available to the Independent Electricity System Operator grid, so the people of Ontario are counting on us to bring our units back online successfully to continue to provide clean, reliable power."

Bruce Power said it works closely with the IESO to ensure the timing of the outages can be accommodated to meet the needs of the electricity grid. VBOs are scheduled during periods of the year when demand is expected to be low - usually in the spring or autumn.

Bruce A's vacuum building underwent a similar outage in 2022.

OPG planning up to four units at Darlington nuclear site.

Canada’s nuclear regulator has said the existing environmental assessment for new nuclear at the Darlington station in Ontario is applicable to the General Electric Hitachi BWRX‑300 reactor technology chosen by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) for the site.

OPG is planning to build up to four new nuclear reactors at the existing Darlington nuclear site in the municipality of Clarington.

In October 2022, OPG applied to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for a licence to construct. Before it could consider OPG’s application, the commission was required to determine whether the chosen technology was fundamentally different from the technologies assessed in the environmental assessment, and whether a new assessment was needed.

“It is important to note that this decision does not authorise the construction of a BWRX‑300 reactor,” CNSC said. “The commission will hold a future public hearing to consider OPG’s application for a licence to construct one BWRX‑300 reactor at the Darlington nuclear site.”

In March, OPG said the early works phase of site preparation had been completed at the Darlington SMR site, where the first grid-scale SMR could go online by 2028.

The work at the Darlington, already home to four large-scale Candu 850 heavy water reactor units owned and operated by OPG, involved civil works including site grading, construction of temporary roads and construction laydown areas, installation of stormwater features, and establishment of onsite power water and IT infrastructure.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Romanian-President-leads-visit-to-Doosan-SMR-produ

Romania plans a small modular reactor power plant, using NuScale technology, with South Korea's Doosan Enerbility set to manufacture and supply the core equipment, including the upper reactor module.

Romania's SMR project is aiming for 462 MWe installed capacity, using six 77 MWe NuScale modules. The SMR project, at Doicesti where a thermal power plant will be replaced, is expected to create nearly 200 permanent jobs, 1500 construction jobs and 2300 manufacturing and component assembly jobs, as well as facility operation and maintenance jobs over the 60-year life of the facility.

During the visit to the manufacturing facilities in Changwon, the delegation of senior Romanian politicians and industry figures toured the forging shop and reviewed specific facilities for SMR production and discussed the project schedule. Doosan signed a business collaboration agreement with NuScale for the supply of NuScale Power Modules and other equipment in 2019. Together with other Korean financial investors it has also made an equity investment of nearly USD104 million in NuScale Power.

President Klaus Iohannis said after the visit: "Romania wants to develop its supply chains in the clean energy industry and hence lead in supporting the regional decarbonisation efforts. International cooperation and partnering with well-established actors is key to achieving this objective and securing Romania’s energy and economic future".

Also on the visit was Cosmin Ghita, CEO of Romania's nuclear power company Nuclearelectrica, who said: "The Romanian SMR Project will benefit from the highest level of nuclear safety and technological robustness. Doosan Enerbility, with their internationally acknowledged experience in nuclear equipment manufacturing and advancements in SMR technologies, will significantly contribute to ensuring that, by the end of the 2030s, Romania will become a benchmark in advanced nuclear technology implementation and efficient long-term clean energy projects."

Melania Amuza, CEO of the SMR project company RoPower, a joint venture between Nuclearelectrica and Nova Power and Gas, said: "The sustainable development of the Doicesti SMR project includes strong supply chain links ... we look forward to building together a flagship SMR project for Romania."

Doosan Enerbility CEO and Chairman Geewon Park, said: "Leveraging a strong cooperative relationship with NuScale Power, Doosan Enerbility is consistently improving its production capabilities through innovation and technological advancements for SMRs. We are actively preparing for the deployment of Romania's first SMR project, with the goal of supporting the reliable provision of clean energy in Romania."

NuScale Power and RoPower have been conducting a Front End Engineering and Design Phase 1 study to analyse the preferred SMR site - which got International Atomic Energy Agency approval earlier this month - and received USD275 million funding last May from the USA and "multinational public-private partners" to support procurement of "long lead materials, Phase 2 Front End Engineering and Design work, provision of project management expertise, site characterisation and regulatory analyses, and the development of site-specific schedule and budget estimates for project execution".

Integral molten salt reactor targeted at data centre operators and heavy industry.

Canada-based Generation IV nuclear power plant developer Terrestrial Energy and Schneider Electric, a French multinational supplier of digital control systems for energy management, have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop commercial opportunities and advance the deployment of integral molten salt reactor (IMSR) plants.

The two companies said the collaboration offers solutions to the major energy challenges faced by data centre operators and many heavy industries operating industrial processes such as hydrogen, ammonia, aluminium and steel production.

These high-energy users need low-cost, reliable and emissions-free baseload supply that offers an alternative to intermittent renewable power with storage or carbon emitting fossil fuel power plants.

Terrestrial Energy said its IMSR plant could be used to provide dedicated power for large data centres and cogeneration for heavy industrial facilities.

The companies plan to use digital twin technology – essentially a digital representation of a physical object – across the full IMSR project lifecycle and during operations. This will result in a reduction of project time to market, cost reductions and more efficient operations.

Simon Irish, Terrestrial Energy’s chief executive officer, said the IMSR’s use of next-generation molten salt technology delivers the “transformative improvements” in the commercial performance of nuclear energy needed to meet demand for zero-carbon energy.

In April 2023, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission concluded that there were no fundamental barriers to licensing the IMSR plant for commercial use. This was the first regulatory review of a commercial nuclear plant using molten salt reactor technology and the first advanced, high-temperature fission technology to complete a review of this type.

In December 2023, Terrestrial Energy signed an MOU with Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation to evaluate advancements in nuclear energy technologies.

It has also signed a contract with Springfields Fuels, a subsidiary of Westinghouse, for the design and construction of an IMSR fuel pilot plant in the UK.

Energy industry group calls for ‘common European market’ for nuclear power plants.

Climate awareness and the energy crisis have consolidated support for nuclear power in Finland with 61% of respondents in favour and only 9% against, according to a survey by Verian for Finnish Energy industry group.

The 61% approval rating is the second highest outside the “energy crisis winter “of 2023, Finnish Energy said

“The results show that concerns about electricity prices have decreased with Olkiluoto-3 online, and more electricity generation being built,” Finnish Energy said.

“Strong support for nuclear power is important at a time when more clean electricity capacity is needed to reduce emissions from industry and transport and attract new industrial investment.”

Last year, Finnish Energy said the operation of Olkiluoto-3 and a national desire to end energy imports from Russia had strengthened support for nuclear power.

Jari Kostama, director of energy production at Finnish Energy, said the role of nuclear energy has been more widely recognised in Brussels, as reflected in interest in new solutions such as small modular reactors and support for nuclear as a technology that can help meet climate targets.

“There is still work to be done,” Kostama said. “A common European market for nuclear power plants would enable the benefits of serial production, and this requires a technology-neutral climate and energy policy from the EU, as well as cooperation between nuclear safety authorities in harmonising requirements.”

In 1983, when the first survey was carried out, less than 30% of respondents said they supported nuclear with around 38% against.

Finland has five commercial nuclear reactors – two at Loviisa, owned and operated by Fortum, and three at Teollisuuden Voima Oyj’s (TVO) Olkiluoto. In 2022, before Olkiluoto-3 began operating, the four plants provided about a 35% share of electricity production.

Last year TVO began an environmental impact assessment for the possible extension of operating licences and power uprates at the Olkiluoto-1 and -2.

European Nuclear Society president says plants essential for rollout of advanced technologies.

An ambitious deployment of Generation III reactors in Europe coupled with the expected development and demonstration of small and advanced reactor technologies will require “substantial efforts” in research, development, and innovation and associated infrastructures, including research reactors, said Stefano Monti, president of the European Nuclear Society (ENS).

Monti told the RRFM 2024 research reactor conference in Warsaw on 22 April that research reactors “have been, are and will be” instrumental in the testing and qualification of fuels and materials used in reactors operating today, but also those of the future.

Research reactors are also essential for long-term operation efforts of current nuclear fleet operators in Europe and elsewhere because they allow for the testing of samples under irradiation and verify that structural materials are still acceptable for use, Monti said.

He said new “evolutionary and advanced” reactor systems to be deployed in coming years will introduce very specific research needs such as more demanding conditions, new materials and fuels and in some cases the need for tests under fast spectrum conditions.

All these needs can be met by research reactors, Monti said, but he added that “contrary to those needs, investment [in research reactors] has been declining in recent years, a number of them have been even permanently shut down due to aging”.

“We urgently need to reverse this trend and to ensure that governments, institutions, and financial bodies have a key role in this effort,” Monti warned.

He underlined the important role research reactors play and will need to play for education and training purposes to prepare the next generation of nuclear scientists, engineers and technicians.

Research Reactors Have Key Role For Newcomer Countries

Monti said research reactor deployment and operation can support commercial nuclear power programmes for newcomer countries.

“Starting from a research reactor programme can serve as a stepping stone towards future nuclear power deployment.”

Monti praised the role research reactors play in radioisotope production. Radioisotopes provide “crucial means” for ensuring each year the diagnosis and treatment through nuclear medicine for more than 10 million patients in Europe alone, he said.

Last month, the ENS High Scientific Council said in a position paper that substantial efforts are needed in research, development, and innovation if nuclear power is to fulfil its vital role.

Monti said at the time that Europe is lagging behind the rest of the world in key areas of nuclear research and will need at least a decade to catch up with the likes of Russia, China and India.

According to International Atomic Energy Agency data, Europe has 39 research reactors in operation of various types and sizes, a figure that includes seven in Belarus, Ukraine, and Turkey. Another 55 are either being decommissioned, or are in extended or permanent shutdown.

Only two are under construction – Pallas in the Netherlands and Jules Horowitz in France. The Myrrha fast reactor in Belgium is in the planning stages.

In Europe, four reactors are responsible for most medical radioisotope production: the HFR in the Netherlands, BR2 in Belgium, LVR15 in the Czech Republic and the Maria reactor in Poland.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/IAEA-assesses-operation-of-Japanese-reactor-for-60

Japanese utility Kansai Electric Power Company is implementing timely measures for the safe long-term operation of unit 3 at its Mihama nuclear power plant, a team of International Atomic Energy Agency experts has concluded. The team also provided recommendations and suggestions to further improve the safe operation of the unit beyond 40 years.

Under revised regulations which came into force in July 2013, Japanese reactors have a nominal operating period of 40 years. Extensions can be granted once only and limited to a maximum of 20 years, contingent on exacting safety requirements.

In November 2016, Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) approved an extension to the operating period for Kansai's Mihama unit 3, a 780 MWe pressurised water reactor that entered commercial operation in 1976. The NRA's decision cleared the unit to operate until 2036. Mihama 3 was the third Japanese unit to be granted a licence extension enabling it to operate beyond 40 years under the revised regulations, following Kansai's Takahama 1 and 2 which received NRA approval in June 2016.

Mihama 3 was restarted in June 2021 after having been idle since May 2011 following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant two months earlier. It became the first Japanese power reactor to operate beyond 40 years.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has now completed a ten-day Safety Aspects of Long-Term Operation (SALTO) mission to Mihama 3, carried out at Kansai's request.

A SALTO peer review is a comprehensive safety review addressing strategy and key elements for the safe long-term operation of nuclear power plants. SALTO missions complement IAEA Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) missions which are designed as a review of programmes and activities essential to operational safety. SALTO peer reviews can be carried out at any time during the lifetime of a nuclear power plant, although according to the IAEA the most suitable time lies within the last ten years of the plant's originally foreseen operating period. SALTO and OSART reviews are carried out at the request of the IAEA member country in which the review is to take place.

The team reviewed Mahama 3's preparedness, organisation and programmes for safe LTO. The mission was conducted by an 11-person team comprising experts from the Czech Republic, France, Sweden, the UK and the USA, as well as three observers from Finland and South Korea, and two IAEA staff members.

The team identified good performances, including that the plant has developed and effectively implemented a comprehensive methodology for identification and management of design obsolescence. The plant has also participated in benchmarking efforts related to ageing management of the steel containment and containment pressure testing and uses these benchmarking efforts to enhance the ageing management activities of the civil structures. In addition, it has put in place an effective mentoring programme using retired staff as mentors for new and current staff to develop their competencies and skills.

The team also provided recommendations and suggestions, including that the plant should further develop and implement its LTO programme and should fully develop and complete the ageing management review process for mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation and control components and civil structures. It also said the plant should improve its so-called equipment qualification programme, designed to confirm the resistance of components to harsh conditions.

"The team observed that Kansai is implementing measures for safe LTO in a timely manner and the staff at the plant are professional, open and receptive to proposals for improvement," said team leader and IAEA Nuclear Safety Officer Martin Marchena. "Some ageing management and LTO activities already meet IAEA safety standards. We encourage the plant to address the review findings and implement all remaining activities for safe LTO as planned."

The team provided a draft report to the plant management and to the NRA at the end of the mission. The plant management and the NRA will have an opportunity to make factual comments on the draft. A final report will be submitted to the plant management, the NRA and the Japanese government after comments are addressed.

"Kansai is wholly committed to improving upon the topics recommended and suggested through the SALTO review," said Kazutaka Tsuru, the general manager of the Mihama plant. "As a pioneer in Japan's nuclear power generation sector, we also intend to roll out the improvements to domestic nuclear power stations and contribute to maintaining and developing the country's nuclear power generation. Harnessing the knowledge obtained from the review, we hope to make efforts to achieve higher standards with the support of IAEA members."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/NRC-proposes-technology-neutral-approach-for-new-r

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is seeking public comment on a proposed rulemaking that would streamline the environmental reviews for future new nuclear reactors by presenting generic environmental impacts for those designs that fit within certain site and plant parameters.

The proposed Advanced Nuclear Reactor Generic Environmental Impact Statement (ANR GEIS) rulemaking, if finalised, would see new reactor licence applications supplement applicable generic environmental findings with evaluation of project-specific issues, the NRC said.

In the memorandum instructing NRC staff to issue the GEIS for public comment, dated 17 April, Secretary of the Commission Carrie Safford said the ANR GEIS must be reviewed every ten years. She also directed NRC staff, amongst other things, to remove the definition of 'advanced nuclear reactor' from the rulemaking package and related guidance documents and to revise them "to change the limited applicability of this GEIS from solely 'advanced nuclear reactors' to any new nuclear reactor application, provided the application meets the values and the assumptions of the plant parameter envelopes and the site parameter envelopes used to develop the GEIS".

Safford directed NRC staff to remove references to fusion reactors in the proposed rule, as near-term fusion systems are to be regulated under the 10 CFR Part 30 byproduct material framework.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/X-energy-awarded-federal-tax-credit-for-TRISO-fuel

A USD148.5 million federal tax credit has been awarded to X-energy for the construction of the first-of-a-kind facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The TX-1 fuel fabrication plant will be constructed by the company's TRISO-X subsidiary and is designed to produce up to 714,000 TRISO fuel pebbles per year.

The tax credit is funded by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and is part of the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Tax Credit (48C) programme which is jointly administered by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Department of the Treasury, and the Internal Revenue Service.

Tri-structural isotropic - or TRISO - particle fuel is highly robust fuel in which "kernels" of enriched uranium oxycarbide are surrounded by layers of carbon and silicon carbide which can withstand very high temperatures without melting. TRISO-X manufactures its own proprietary version of TRISO fuel, and has operated a pilot nuclear fuel fabrication facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory since 2016.

"This award is not just an investment in our technology and innovations, it's a massive step forward for building the supply chain to advance the next generation of nuclear energy," said X-energy CEO Clay Sell. "Strengthening energy security here and around the world requires expanding secure, domestic manufacturing capabilities across the energy sector."

TX-1 will be built on land that was formerly part of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, on a campus acquired by TRISO-X from the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board in 2022. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is currently reviewing TRISO-X's application for a 40-year licence to possess and use special nuclear material to manufacture advanced nuclear fuel at the Oak Ridge facility. The NRC review of the application, submitted in 2022, is currently about 45% complete, according to information from the regulator.

In written testimony to a US House of Representatives subcommittee earlier this year, X-energy Vice President of Global Business Development Benjamin Reinke said TX-1 will be the company's first commercial scale fuel facility. It will support the initial deployment of the Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor at materials science company Dow's Seadrift facility in Texas, which is expected to be the first grid-scale advanced nuclear reactor deployed to serve an industrial site in North America. Both the initial reactor deployment and the TX-1 facility are supported by the DOE's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.

According to that filing, TX-1 is expected to begin licensed operations in 2026. Four Xe-100 high-temperature gas reactors are envisaged in operation at Seadrift by the end of the decade.

The TX-1 project is expected to create some 400 permanent jobs and 475 construction jobs, X-energy said.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/UK-s-NNL-and-Japan-s-JAEA-sign-HTGR-fuel-agreement

The UK's National Nuclear Laboratory and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency have signed a collaboration agreement on coated particle fuel, for use in high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs).

The coated particle fuel (CPF) - which is extra robust because each kernel of uranium is coated in four protective layers - is already being produced by the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) at its laboratory in Preston, in northwest England. But the aim of the collaboration is to learn from the experience in Japan where the fuel has been manufactured for use in the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor.

The collaboration memorandum was signed by JAEA President Koguchi Masanori and NNL CEO Paul Howarth. It focuses on the development of fuel manufacturing technology for an HTGR demonstration reactor and licence arrangements defining the intellectual property rights, with JAEA saying it will "collaborate with NNL to establish HTGR fuel manufacturing technology, utilising the unrivalled experience from Japan, to establish a manufacturing route for fuel for HTGR demonstration reactors in both the UK and Japan".

Emma Vernon, NNL's vice president for Government and New Build, said: "This agreement will further strengthen the relationship between the two laboratories and demonstrates the importance of international collaboration to innovate together to progress advanced nuclear technologies. The collaboration will bring together the skills that JAEA have developed in coated particle fuel over decades, along with the world class facilities that we have developed here in the UK to deliver sovereign fuel. This is critical technology to enable the UK to achieve net zero."

In December 2022, the UK government announced funding of GBP60 million (USD75 million) for research into HTGRs, a type of advanced modular reactor (AMR), aimed at helping to get a demonstration project up and running by the end of the decade.

Phase A of the AMR R&D programme led to six successful bidders for pre-FEED (front end engineering design) studies for reactor demonstration and fuel demonstration. Phase B is described as "an open, competition-based programme designed to produce up to two HTGR FEED mature enough to enter regulatory review, carry out associated research and development activities, and produce robust delivery plans for a potential Phase C". Phase B will conclude in February 2025. Phase C will see the licensing, construction and operation of an HTGR in the early 2030s.

In July last year, the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced that a team comprising NNL and JAEA was selected as one of the project entities to implement the Phase B reactor project. They received funding of GBP31 million. In parallel, the department also announced that Phase B would also push the development of an advanced fuel required for AMRs, through the Coated Particle Fuel - Step 1 Programme. NNL, working with JAEA, has been selected by the department to deliver this fuels programme which will build expertise, knowledge and collaboration on coated particle fuel fabrication and scale-up activities.

JAEA and NNL have been cooperating for more than two decades on areas including the nuclear fuel cycle and radioactive waste management as well as advanced reactors. The latest agreement follows a memorandum of cooperation in the field of HTGRs and a memorandum for collaboration on the next stage of the UK HTGR Demonstration Reactor programme, signed in September 2023.

The governments of the UK and Japan expect HTGRs to contribute to decarbonisation through the supply of hydrogen and high-temperature steam to the processing, steelmaking and chemical industries, considered difficult to decarbonise, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. JAEA is collaborating with NNL to demonstrate Japanese HTGR technology outside of Japan and to promote its "social implementation" with the aim of returning the decarbonisation technology to Japan.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Industry-needs-to-translate-ambitions-into-reality

The industry must seize the opportunities arising from a global change in the perception of nuclear energy, a panel session agreed during a side event at the World Energy Congress 2024. However, wide-scale collaboration is needed to ensure the industry can meet the expected growth in demand for nuclear power technology.

The sessions - Alliance for nuclear: Accelerating to reach net-zero by 2050 - was organised by EDF and World Energy Council France on the sidelines of the World Energy Congress, being held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

"We are seeing a very important sea-change in the way nuclear energy is being perceived at a global level," said World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León. "Countries that perhaps a few years ago were not considering nuclear energy, they definitely are taking a second look at it. Why? Well, firstly, because many of these countries actually got their calculators out and realised that there's just simply no other way to meet their Paris Agreement goals in a way that is cost-effective and, very importantly, equitable. So that's put nuclear energy back on the map and, of course, issues such as energy security and energy independence are also very important."

She added that "in many countries, the average person has become very pragmatic" and recognises "nuclear as an opportunity to have abundant, affordable, 24/7 energy. So, we've seen this in many countries in Europe, in North America, Southeast Asia, Africa, that they are looking at nuclear as a real option now".

Wei Huang, Director of the Division of Energy Planning, Information and Knowledge Management at the International Atomic Energy Agency, said there was "very good momentum" created by pledges made during COP28, which not only talked about tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency by 2030, but also tripling nuclear capacity.

"I think that the message is very clear … there has been a sea-change in the global prospective of nuclear, so that is very good message to the world," he said. "However, each stakeholder needs to do their part to transfer their expectation and ambition into reality."

Bilbao y León said the nuclear industry was working with governments "to actually deliver on all these very big ambitions ... we have a number of countries that are putting together energy policies that recognise the very important role of nuclear. Now the next step is to translate those energy policies into industrial policies".

"Europe has this common problem to solve, the trilemma," said Stefano Monti, European Nuclear Society president. "We want stable energy prices. We want to have a large amount of clean energy. We want decarbonisation. We want to have security of energy supply. But still we don't have a common solution … there are 12 countries who signed the nuclear alliance. There are other countries that are observers. And there are others that think they can make this energy transition also relying only on renewables."

Domenico Rossetti di Valdalbero, for the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, noted that the nuclear alliance, which comprises almost half of the EU member states, is calling for greater European support for nuclear. "This nuclear alliance is making a lot of efforts and moving the lines, the traditional lines in Brussels over, for example, the next Multiannual Financial Framework, and what the role of the European Investment Bank is in funding and financing nuclear. I'm sure that this will be a part of the results for the next election in June."

In response to being asked what should be done in Europe to enable an expansion of nuclear energy, EDF CEO Luc Remont said: "We certainly have challenges to be back at the level of construction that we need for the future, but we can rely on very serious competences that have been built over the decades to serve the number of countries who are already operating in nuclear … where we have been likely behind over the last two decades is that we have not built new reactors at the right pace. And that's what makes a difference, for example, between Europe and China.

"So, we need to scale this. We will be back at scale if we are going steadily into a pace where we need to serve the countries that will decide to go into new build. We will need to sustain that for many, many years and not go through cycles of heavy construction, then nothing, which is what is destroying potentially our supply chain. And I'm sure this applies to all the regions of the world."

Monti called for more European investment in nuclear R&D. "We have to restart thinking that in order to have the right system at the right moment, we have to invest in R&D. Fast reactors mean advanced fuels need to be developed, tested, qualified and licensed. It means new innovative materials to be used in the fast reactor. You have to test and qualify the material under a fast spectrum. In all the Western countries, we don't have a material test reactor with a fast spectrum." That's something that is needed "and very soon if we really want to compete with the rest of the world".

He said another priority was the workforce. "If we have good people, we can do everything. And that for Europe ... means really creating a European energy market and European cooperation in nuclear. We really need to join our efforts and our capabilities if we want to deliver and be competitive in the international market."

Remont ended the session by saying "having dynamism and innovation and the number of start-ups in the nuclear industry is great news. Yes, nuclear has been considered for some time as a dinosaur … but having so much diversity of ideas that are touching the process, the way you build it, the scale, the business model, that's great news for our industry. And I hope that many of these projects will find their way because I think this is the best way for us, as an industry, to be moving faster than expected."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Fuel-cycle-players-explore-opportunities-and-chall

Meeting pledges to triple nuclear capacity by 2050 will mean opportunities for all stages of the nuclear supply chain. These opportunities - and associated challenges - were widely discussed at the World Nuclear Fuel Cycle 2024 conference which took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The momentum for increasing political support for nuclear energy continues to build, against a backdrop of volatile geopolitics and the ongoing energy security crisis, World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León told delegates as she launched the conference, which took place last week. Nuclear energy was formally specified as one of the solutions to climate change in a COP agreement for the first time in December 2023, and a multinational ministerial declaration has committed to a tripling of nuclear energy capacity by 2050. The industry is pivoting to deliver these objectives, she said.

Tripling nuclear by 2050 is going to be a challenge, said World Nuclear Association Chairman Bohdan Zronek, who is chief nuclear officer of Czech nuclear power plant operator ČEZ. "We are going to need to ramp up every aspect of the nuclear value chain to meet that challenge," he added.

Alongside extending the operating lives of many existing reactors to 60 or even 80 years, this will still require the construction of about 1000GWe of new nuclear in the next 26 years. "Essentially, what we are saying is that we need to build 40 GWe of new nuclear capacity every year for the next 26 years. Doing a 'back of the envelope' calculation, this would be about twenty 1000 MWe large reactors, and seventy 300MWe SMRs, every year," he added.

"There are opportunities for growth at all levels of the value chain, starting of course for the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle," Zronek said. "We can start from the mining, then conversion, enrichment and continuing with the fuel fabrication. To meet the expectations we are going to need to expand our capabilities in these areas of the nuclear fuel cycle. This also includes making the most of innovation, and investing in new technologies and products … that are going to accelerate growth and will allow us to operate our units more effectively and safely."

Just how players in the front end of the fuel cycle are responding to this challenge was the focus for the first panel session of the conference.

Kazakhstan has some 13% of the world's uranium reserves and is responsible for the production of about 40% of the uranium, and Dastan Kosherbayev, chief commercial officer of Kazatomprom, said in his keynote speech that the joint ventures and strategic partnerships the company has established with entities from around the globe enhance Kazakhstan's stature and influence within the international uranium market place. These alliances are also part of a strategic approach to position Kazakhstan as a dependable and key supplier to the nuclear energy sector worldwide, committed to playing a pivotal role in the sustainability and reliability of the global nuclear industry, he said.

After many years dominated by low prices, the nuclear fuel industry has now entered into a "distinct and promising phase marked by a pricing environment that is much more conducive to incentivise new production", he said. Rising prices act as "a vital catalyst" to encourage the emergence of new producers in the market, and the participation and success of these newcomers are imperative for the continued growth and long-term sustainability of nuclear, he said: "Without active involvement and the subsequent expansion of new operations, the industry is at a tangible risk of encountering supply shortages."

The challenge is complex, and there is still a "shadow of uncertainty", with the current geopolitical climate a "potent reminder of the imperative need for collaborative, international initiatives aimed at striking a careful balance between the pursuit of energy security and the maintenance of geopolitical stability".

"It is imperative that we bring together our diverse array of resources, the depth of our collective expertise, and our unwavering determination to overcome the impending challenges that lie before us. The future sustainability and success of our industry hinges on our capacity to act with both decisiveness and a spirit of cooperation," Kosherbayev said.

Sustainable supplies

Chaired by Adrienne Hanly, technical lead, uranium resources and production at the International Atomic Energy Agency, the first panel focused on uranium production and market dynamics, with Cameco Vice President Marketing David Doerksen, Global Fuel Solutions Principal Clark Beyer and Orano Mining Senior Advisor Christian Polak.

Today's uranium market environment is very different from the speculative short-term supply-demand pressure that has been seen in recent years, Doerksen said, with near, mid and long-term interest in nuclear driven by global factors that are likely to be around for a long time to come. This growth of durable demand is translating to a growth in uranium requirements with utilities increasing looking to cover long-term demand, he said. The challenge is ensuring that there will be sufficient uranium production: by the early to mid-2030s, all sources of current uranium supply will not be adequate to meet requirements, he said.

"There is not an issue that there is not enough uranium [resources] - there is ample uranium," he said. "The challenge is that uranium is going to be still in the ground" and will require time - and investment - to get it into the fuel cycle.

For the last two decades uranium trade has been able mostly to flow openly around the globe. But with some countries now turning away from Russian uranium supplies with others "actively supporting" Russian supply, Beyer asked if the world is now facing a return to a bifurcated uranium market. Two years on from the start of the war in Ukraine, the possibility of sanctions against Russian uranium remains an open question, he said, with - as yet - no formal decisions from either the US or EU on the matter. However, US utilities are looking to insulate themselves from the risk of possible sanctions. This could be of particular significance for the enrichment and conversion markets in the long term.

The main challenges and opportunities around a bifurcated market are likely to centre on building capacity, he said. This is also a great opportunity for emerging uranium developers that are now coming back into play, he said.

Orano has uranium assets worldwide, but Polak focused on the company's assets in Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan. The KATCO joint venture with Kazatomprom has produced more than 50,000 tU since 2006, and production is expected to begin at the South Tortkuduk mining site - the third developed by KATCO at the Muyunkun deposit - this year. In Mongolia, the Zuuvch Ovoo joint venture is targeting production in 2028 following on from a successful in-situ leach pilot test in 2021-2022, while feasibility studies are taking place this year at its Nurlikum joint venture with Navoiyuran in Uzbekistan.

Technological innovations are critical in the mining sector, the panellists agreed, with Polak outlining the Surface Access Borehole Resource Extraction - SABRE - mining method which Orano Canada Inc and Denison Mines Corp said in January will be used in the restart of mining operations at the McClean Lake property in Canada. Hanly asked the panellists how mining companies could - or should - invest in R&D to support technological advances to help unlock future resources, as well as investing in exploration.

Technological advances are critical in the mining sector, Doerksen agreed, noting that Cameco develops works collaboratively with Canadian institutions as well as carrying out its own development activities. Beyer noted that expenditure on exploration is very closely related to spot price. With higher prices there is a greater economic incentive for exploration, he said - but challenges still exist in getting the uranium out of the ground.

Price considerations have not stopped Orano from continuing exploration over the last ten years, Polak said. Cameco too remains "very interested" in exploration, Doerksen said. Meeting the challenge of tripling nuclear capacity by 2050 "is not out of the realms of possibility as far as production goes", he said, but front end fuel-cycle activities will need to accelerate as nuclear new build accelerates over the coming decades.

WNFC 2024, co-organised by the Nuclear Energy Institute and World Nuclear Association, took place from 16-18 April.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Design-work-for-Argentina-s-radioisotope-productio

Argentina's National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) and nuclear construction specialists INVAP have held a workshop focused on the design of the facility which will form part of the complex alongside the new RA-10 multipurpose reactor.

The RA-10 - a 30 MWt open-pool research reactor - is being constructed at the Ezeiza Atomic Centre in Buenos Aires province to replace the RA-3 reactor on the same site. This 10 MWt pool-type reactor began operations in 1967. The RA-10, due to be ready for operation in 2026, will be used for the production of medical radioisotopes, as well as irradiation tests of advanced nuclear fuel and materials, and neutron beam research.

When it is up and running, RA-10 will have the capacity to cover 20% of world demand for the radioisotope molybdenum-99, from which technetium is obtained, CNEA says, adding it will also be possible to produce other radioisotopes that are not made in the country, such as lutetium, used to treat prostate cancer and other pathologies.

The new facility will allow the targets that are irradiated in the RA-10 reactor to be processed on an industrial scale and obtain sustained production of both radioisotopes and, in export terms, will put the country on a similar level to the Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Russia and Australia.

According to a report on the workshop published by CNEA and INVAP the aim is to conclude the conceptual engineering review in July.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/IAEA-puts-case-to-G20-for-nuclear-energy-s-net-zer

Better access to financing mechanisms and other policy shifts required for the large-scale expansion of nuclear energy were outlined when the International Atomic Energy Agency made its first-of-a-kind contribution to the G20 policy-making process.

The G20 includes the world's largest economies, with its member states meeting annually to discuss economic, political and social initiatives with the aim of bolstering international economic cooperation. Its members take it in turns to hold the presidency, with Brazil currently holding it.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an invited participant to the Energy Transitions Working Group, which is one of 15 working groups in the policy-making process - the Sherpa Track - ahead of the next G20 leaders' summit, in Rio de Janeiro in November, when Brazil's priorities are "the fight against hunger, poverty and inequality, the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) and the reform of global governance".

In the past the IAEA has presented to the G20 on the use of nuclear technologies in tackling plastic pollution but had not done so on issues related to nuclear power until this year. In this case it has given an overview of nuclear power "in the clean energy mix, underscoring the need to speed up nuclear investments to meet net zero goals, especially in emerging markets and developing economies". The agency aims to continue to contribute to the working group.

Fourteen of the G20 countries operate nuclear power plants, and six of them joined the pledge to triple nuclear capacity by 2050 made at the UN's COP28 climate change summit in Dubai last year.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said: "The global clean energy transition requires nuclear energy - that is absolutely clear. In the past months the world has embraced that fact in several milestones, including by nuclear’s inclusion in the first Global Stocktake at COP28; in the pledge by more than 20 countries to triple nuclear capacity, and also in our landmark Nuclear Energy Summit last month. Through the leadership of the Brazilian Presidency of the G20, the IAEA is helping to further build on this momentum."

In a 17-page document, Nuclear Energy for Net Zero: Accelerating Investment in the Clean Energy Transitions, the IAEA "calls for a combination of a supportive policy environment and improved access to finance to scale up investments in nuclear energy, particularly in developing economies. Investments in nuclear power will need to more than double from current levels to more than USD100 billion annually if the world is to reach net zero".

The IAEA says it plans to release another report, Climate Change and Nuclear Power 2024: Financing Nuclear Energy in Low Carbon Transitions, in October in the run-up to the G20 Summit and COP29.

Thiago Barral, Secretary of Planning and Energy Transition of the Ministry of Mines of Brazil, said the IAEA's work "tells a very important story around the scientific consensus on the role of nuclear energy to reach net zero, highlighting the acknowledgement of the role of nuclear in climate agreements and the recognition by the IPCC and climate experts that nuclear is needed to achieve net zero".

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/First-drum-of-uranium-from-Honeymoon

Boss Energy Limited's Honeymoon in-situ leach project in South Australia has produced its first drum of uranium in more than a decade, a major milestone in a commissioning process that will see production ramp up to 2.45 million pounds U3O8 (942 tU) per year. The company also expects first production soon at its Alta Mesa joint venture project in Texas, USA.

Honeymoon first began operations in 2011 but was put on care-and-maintenance in 2013 by its then-owner Uranium One before being acquired by Boss in 2015. Boss's board approved a final investment decision to restart operations in June 2022, and major construction activities including wellfield development and the construction of a gypsum repository, water treatment and reverse osmosis plants were completed by October 2023, when wellfield pre-conditioning began. By the end of February, commissioning of the first ion exchange (IX) circuit in the processing plant had begun and operations were running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"Processing the first drum of uranium is a major milestone," Boss Managing Director Duncan Craib said. "As well as marking the start of production and cashflow, it shows conclusively that our mining and processing strategy is highly effective. This is pivotal because it paves the way for strong organic production growth by unlocking the value of our large resource and leveraging the infrastructure we have in place. We have also made extensive provision in the Honeymoon plant for increased throughput."

Honeymoon is already exceeding feasibility study forecasts, with uranium-rich lixiviant from the wellfields and recoveries of loaded resin in the IX column producing concentrated high-grade eluate in excess of study estimates, the company said. Now the first drum of uranium has been successfully processed, Boss said it will accelerate plans to increase the production rate and mine life at Honeymoon. The current mine plan utilises 36 million pounds of the project's total 71.6 million pounds JORC-compliant resource, half of which is already covered by the existing mining licence. The company's Uranium Mineral Export Permission is for 3.3 million pounds U3O8 per year.

Alta Mesa progress

Boss also said that first production expected at Alta Mesa is expected "within weeks". The company completed its acquisition of a 30% stake in the project from enCore Energy Corp - which manages the joint venture - for USD60 million in February. Uranium production was curtailed at the project in 2013 due to low uranium prices.

The Alta Mesa central processing plant has a capacity of 1.5 million pounds of U3O8 per year. Boss said its share of production from Alta Mesa will be 500,000 pounds U3O8 per year, once the project reaches steady state operations, and the project has "significant potential for further resource growth and drying capacity to expand the 1.5Mlb capacity plant after the resumption of production".

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/IAEA-finds-improved-safety-at-Dutch-research-react

The operator of the Hoger Onderwijs research reactor in the Netherlands has enhanced safety since a previous review mission in September 2021, a follow-up International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission has concluded.

The previous Integrated Safety Assessment for Research Reactors (INSARR) found that the Reactor Institute Delft (RID) at the Delft University of Technology had prioritised safety during implementation of significant refurbishment and modernisation of the facility. The team also found areas requiring further enhancements, including the organisational structure and safety procedures and documentation.

An INSARR mission is conducted at the request of an IAEA Member State. It is a peer review service that assesses and evaluates the safety of research reactors based on IAEA safety standards. The follow-up INSARR mission to the Hoger Onderwijs reactor was requested by the Dutch regulatory body, the Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection.

A team has now completed the follow-up INSARR mission. While it concluded that safety had since been enhanced through the implementation of the previous recommendations, the team found there is the need to address recommendations related to operational radiation protection and commissioning, following major modifications to the research reactor.

Earlier this month, the 3 MWt pool-type research reactor ended a six-month shutdown for the installation of a cold neutron source, which uses very low energy neutrons to study materials with large dimensions. It has since resumed operation to complete the commissioning of the cold neutron source.

The team assessed that RID has strengthened the organisational effectiveness and operational programmes through: completion of an analysis for RID organisational restructuring options and clarification of roles and responsibilities; revision of operational limits and conditions, with clear distinctions between safety limits and safety system settings; development of an asset management database for the reactor operating programmes and technical modifications; and improvement of emergency preparedness by conducting drills.

The findings from the mission indicate the need for continued safety enhancements in areas that are related to: reassessment and development of a specific set of operational limits and conditions associated with the commissioning stages of testing the new installation of the cold neutron source; and revision of the area classification and zoning systems for radiological protection, considering the laboratories located within the reactor site.

"RID has addressed most of the review recommendations made in 2021 and achieved significant safety enhancement," said Kaichao Sun, mission team leader and Nuclear Safety Officer at the IAEA. "Efforts remain needed to ensure the highest level of safety during the ongoing commissioning tests, following the recent major modifications at the Hoger Onderwijs reactor."

"This INSARR follow-up mission effectively improved the safety awareness," said Camiel Kaaijk, Head of the Reactor Development Department. "In particular, the extensive and detailed discussions on the safety assessment gave us new insights on this topic."

The Hoger Onderwijs reactor is mainly used for research in nuclear science and engineering, neutron activation analysis and in the development of new radioisotopes and production methods. The RID was designated as an IAEA Collaborating Centre in 2010 and its stable isotope tracer methods contribute to IAEA activities in forensic sciences.

The reactor began operating in 1963 and since then has gone through several modifications. These included a conversion from highly-enriched uranium to low-enriched uranium fuel in 2005 and the refurbishment of nuclear instrumentation and control systems in 2010. The reactor has gone through periodic national safety reviews in 1999, 2010 and 2021. It was temporarily shut down in 2019 for the modification programme of its systems and components, including cooling circuits and the containment dome.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/China-starts-mass-production-of-carbon-14

The carbon-14 isotope is being produced at the Qinshan nuclear power plant, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has announced.

According to CNNC the development means that the country can fully meet its demand for carbon-14, which is used in medical and scientific research and in fields including agriculture and chemistry as well as in medicine and biology. Radiocarbon dating uses carbon-14 to determine the true age of ancient objects up to 50,000 years old.

Apart from very limited production in experimental reactors, it was previously imported, with CNNC saying it was "expensive and supply could not be guaranteed - the shortage of supply has seriously restricted development of downstream industries". The irradiated carbon-14 target was successfully extracted from the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant's heavy water reactor unit at 13:48 on Saturday 20 April.

Shang Xianhe, general manager of Qinshan Nuclear Power, told reporters: "This is the first time China has achieved mass production of carbon-14 isotopes in a commercial nuclear power reactor. From now on, it is expected that we can produce about 150 curies of carbon-14 isotopes every year, which can fully meet China's market demand."

The carbon-14 targets will be supplied to the market at the end of 2024 after being separated and purified, CNNC said. "This will effectively promote the development of China's isotope application industry chain and further establish and improve industry-university-research cooperation to develop commercial reactors. The research and development system for irradiation-produced isotopes promotes and drives the research and development of high-tech nuclear drugs and nuclear medicine industries by downstream medical enterprises, providing strong support for the development of the domestic isotope application industry."

Qinshan is China's largest nuclear power plant, comprising seven reactors. Construction of Phase I of the plant - a 300 MWe pressurised water reactor (PWR) which was the first indigenously-designed Chinese nuclear power station to be built - began in 1985, with the unit entering commercial operation in 1994. Qinshan Phase II is home to four operating CNP-600 PWRs, built with a high degree of localisation. Units 1 and 2, comprising the first stage of Phase II, began operating in 2002 and 2004, respectively. Units 3 and 4 entered commercial operation in October 2010 and April 2021. Phase III consists of two 750 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors supplied by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd and commissioned in 2002 and 2003.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/First-Westinghouse-fuel%C2%A0at-Bulgaria-s-Kozloduy-nuc

A permit has been issued to begin the transition to Westinghouse fuel after the first of its supply was delivered for use in unit 5 of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, as Bulgaria moves away from past reliance on Russian supplies.

Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev (pictured above) and Acting Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov visited the site, where Westinghouse is also lined up to build two new blocks, unit 7 and unit 8.

Malinov told reporters "we plan to gradually load the first 43 cartridges of fresh nuclear fuel ... in May" and noted that the diversification of suppliers also included French firm Framatome being contracted to provide fuel for unit 6.

In November 2022 Bulgaria's National Assembly voted to accelerate the process of securing an alternative to Russia as supplier of nuclear fuel for the Russian-designed VVER-1000 units at Kozloduy, signing a 10-year contract with Westinghouse to fabricate and deliver VVER-1000 nuclear fuel supplied from Westinghouse's fabrication site in Västerås, Sweden.

The country's Nuclear Regulatory Agency had already issued a licence for the storage of Robust Westinghouse Fuel Assembly (RWFA) fuel, with a permit for its operation issued on Monday afternoon. It said that the phased transition "to the new type of fuel will take four years".

Westinghouse has been providing fuel for Russian VVER nuclear plants in Ukraine over recent years as the country diversified its fuel supply even before the current war.

The Kozloduy nuclear power plant is in the northwest of Bulgaria on the Danube River and provides about 34% of the country's electricity. It features two VVER-1000 units currently in operation, which have both been through refurbishment and life extension programmes to enable extension of operation from 30 to 60 years.

In February the Bulgarian Parliament gave the go-ahead for talks to take place with Hyundai Engineering & Construction, as the sole shortlisted constructor for engineering, construction, delivery and commissioning of the new Westinghouse AP1000 units planned for the Kozloduy site. The aim is for a final investment decision by the middle of 2025 with the first new unit, unit 7, to be operational in 2035 and unit 8 in 2037.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/BWXT-announces-expansion-of-Ontario-manufacturing

BWXT Technologies is investing a total of CAD80 million in its Cambridge manufacturing plant to support small modular reactors, traditional large-scale nuclear and advanced reactors, in Canada and around the world. The plant is the largest commercial nuclear equipment manufacturing facility in North America.

Announcing the plans on 19 April, BWXT President of Commercial Operations John MacQuarrie said the company expects to break ground "shortly" on a CAD50 million project to increase the facility's footprint by 25%. This will increase BWXT's capacity to make large nuclear components by 50%, he added. In addition, the company plans to invest CAD30 million in advanced manufacturing equipment for the facility.

The total CAD80 investment will increase capacity significantly, improve productivity and create more than 200 long-term jobs for skilled workers, engineers and support staff in the area, BWXT said.

"Our expansion comes at a time when we’re supporting our customers in the successful execution of some of the largest clean nuclear energy projects in the world," MacQuarrie said. "At the same time, the global nuclear industry is increasingly being called upon to mitigate the impacts of climate change and increase energy security and independence. By investing significantly in our Cambridge manufacturing facility, BWXT is further positioning our business to serve our customers to produce more safe, clean and reliable electricity in Canada and abroad."

Construction for the BWXT Cambridge Expansion Project is expected to begin in the third quarter of this year, adjacent to the existing plant, for completion by the middle of 2026. Ongoing operations at the current facility will not be affected.

BWXT is currently supporting Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Bruce Power's plant life extension projects at the Darlington and Bruce nuclear sites: a 2016 contract to manufacture 32 steam generators for the Bruce Power Major Component Replacement project was described as the largest and longest-standing contract ever signed by BWXT Canada in the company's 175-year history.

The Government of Ontario has also recently announced its support for the construction of four small modular reactors (SMRs) at OPG's Darlington New Nuclear Project; refurbishing OPG Pickering Nuclear Generating Station; and initiating pre-development work for siting up to 4,800 MWe of new nuclear power generation at Bruce. Last year, BWXT was awarded the engineering contract for reactor pressure vessel for the first BWRX-300 SMR to be built at the Darlington New Nuclear Project. It has also been awarded an engineering contract from TerraPower for the Natrium Demonstration Project, which is to be built in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

Canadian Nuclear Association President and CEO John Gorman said the expansion of BWXT Cambridge was a "concrete example" of "exciting momentum" in Canada's nuclear industry. "Not only is our industry contributing to a low-carbon, energy secure future for the country, but we're also creating high-quality jobs, driving local investment, and building communities," he said.

Sofia aims to end nuclear power dependence on Russia.

The Bulgarian Agency for Nuclear Regulation (ANR) has issued a permit to Unit 5 of the Kozloduy nuclear power station to start using Westinghouse-made nuclear fuel type RWFA as lead assemblies arrive onsite, a statement by the plant management said.

Bulgaria’s caretaker energy minister Vladimir Malinov said that the first delivery of fresh nuclear fuel produced by Westinghouse Electric Sweden is already at Kozloduy, according to BTA reports.

Prime minister Dimitar Glavchev and Malinov have both welcomed the receipt of the first 43 assemblies of the RWFA nuclear fuel for Kozloduy-5, a Russia-designed VVER pressurised water reactor unit.

Kozloduy confirmed in a statement it received the first fuel assemblies on 20 April. The fuel will be loaded into the reactor core during the planned annual outage in early May.

The successful upload will mark the start of the unit’s four-year transition to Westinghouse-made fuel, putting into action efforts to step away from Russian nuclear fuel imports.

After Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Bulgaria accelerated plans to lessen its dependence on Russia for energy.

The country’s contract with Russia’s state-owned Tvel fuel manufacturer was set to expire at the end of 2024 and will not be extended.

Earlier this year, ANR issued a permit for the storage of fuel pellets at Kozloduy. Today’s permit also determines the requirements for changes in the existing instructions for use of fuel at the site and updates the terms for reporting additional information related to the new fuel’s use “in case a need arises”.

Construction Work For Kozloduy-7 And -8 ‘On Schedule’

There are two Russia-designed 1,000-MW VVER units at Kozloduy in northwest Bulgaria in commercial operation since 1988 and 1993. They are Bulgaria’s only commercial nuclear power plants, although Sofia has announced plans for two new Westinghouse AP1000 units at the site.

Delyan Dobrev, a former deputy energy minister and the chairman of the energy committee in Bulgaria’s parliament, was quoted by BTA as saying that work on the proposed new Units 7 and 8 at Kozloduy is progressing according to the schedule set by the National Assembly.

"This project, unlike Belene [abandoned Russia-supplied new-build project], is structured in the most correct way - we are not ordering equipment without having secured financing, without having a contract and without knowing how much this plant will cost," said Dobrev.

He said what lies ahead in the next one year is negotiating the specific parametres in terms of price, structuring the financing for the entire project, and making a final investment decision that will make the construction of the two units “irreversible”.

According to earlier reports, construction of the first unit should start around the end of 2025.

Prime minister Glavchev and US ambassador to Bulgaria Kenneth Merten, who met in Sofia on 19 April, have confirmed “a fruitful cooperation in joint projects of mutual interest” between Sofia and Washington, the Bulgarian government's press service reported.

Collaboration between the two countries contributes to increasing energy security and diversification of sources and routes of supply not only in Bulgaria, but also in the region, said the press communique.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/IAEA-s-Grossi-explains-why-blame-is-not-being-attr

With a third report of a drone attack in two weeks around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant area, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has urged restraint from all sides - and explained why the agency has not pointed the finger of blame for the incidents.

The six-unit nuclear power plant has been under Russian military control since early March 2022 and is on the frontline of Ukrainian and Russian forces. It has had IAEA experts stationed at the site since September 2022 and the United Nations Security Council has backed Grossi's five key safety and security principles, including that no-one should store heavy military equipment at, or fire weapons from, a nuclear power plant, and no-one should fire at a nuclear power plant.

The Russian operators reported to the IAEA team at the plant that an attempted drone attack on the nuclear power plant's training centre had been "neutralised" on Thursday. The IAEA said its experts did not get access to the training centre, which is just outside the nuclear power plant site's perimeter to assess the incident.

Grossi said that the drone attack, if confirmed, would be the third in less than two weeks, saying: "It would be an extremely worrying development. Whoever is behind these incidents, they appear to be ignoring the international community’s repeated calls for maximum military restraint to avert the very real threat of a serious nuclear accident, which could have significant health and environmental consequences and benefit absolutely no one.

"So far, the drone strikes have not compromised nuclear safety at the site. But, as I told the United Nations Security Council a few days ago, these reckless attacks must cease immediately."

Following that address to the United Nations Security Council on Monday, Grossi was asked at a press conference why he did not say who he thought was responsible for the incidents.

He said: "You raise a very important point and it's a point that everybody is talking about, this issue of attribution and pointing a finger and saying 'it's this country or that country'. We are not commentators. We are not political speculators or analysts, we are an international agency of inspectors. And in order to say something like that, we must have proof, indisputable evidence, that an attack, or remnants of ammunition or any other weapon, is coming from a certain place. And in this case it is simply impossible."

He said that the recent attacks had been carried out by drones, which have a diverse range of trajectories and can hover and circle, and can be easily obtained: "Remember this plant is at the front line, it can go to the Russian occupied territory, it can come from different places. It could be manned from one side and belong to another side. So for us, it would be impossible ... to say it is, indisputably something coming from here, or from there. This is why we keep the information as accurate as we can. And we do not trade into speculating."

In response to a question which used the analogy of a yellow card and red card system such as that used in football and asked if he was ready to use them, he replied: "I have the red card, I have the yellow card, I have them ready in my hands. The thing, the most important thing, is that they see that the referee is there on the pitch."

Grossi said that if there was definitive proof "the IAEA would not be in the business of hiding anything ... if we have evidence of something, we do not have a problem in reporting, but we have to be extremely measured in what we do".

He also warned that in a war "there are sometimes operations leading the observer to believe that something is happening in a certain sense, while it is happening in a different sense, intelligence operations, and many other things. And the voice of the IAEA is very important, the credibility of the IAEA ... must be preserved. I am the guardian of this institution and I have to measure the words, so that when we put something on the public domain, it's something that is concrete and proven."

In a statement issued on Thursday, Grossi said that the 18th rotation of IAEA experts at Zaporizhzhia NPP had taken place on Tuesday, reaffirming his view that their presence was helping to reduce the changes of a nuclear accident.

In these extremely difficult and challenging times, I’m very encouraged by the strong support and unanimous appreciation of the IAEA’s important work expressed by the members of the Security Council. Everybody agrees that the IAEA’s role is indispensable as we do everything in our power to keep the plant safe and secure," he said.

I sincerely hope that our calls for maximum military restraint - both at the IAEA Board of Governors and the United Nations Security Council - will be heeded before it is too late. The dangers facing the plant have not gone away ... as we saw on 7 April, the situation can take a sudden and dramatic turn for the worse at any time."

He reported that the IAEA experts at the site had heard several rounds of outgoing artillery fire early in the week "as has been an almost daily occurrence in recent weeks and months". IAEA teams stationed at Ukraine's other nuclear power plants - Khelmitsky, Rivne and South Ukraine - as well as the Chernobyl site report that nuclear safety and security is being maintained despite the effects of the ongoing conflict "including air raid alarms on most days over the past week".

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Sheffield-Forgemasters-regains-ASME-accreditation

The UK's Sheffield Forgemasters has been awarded accreditation by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) as a supplier of heavy forgings and castings to the civil nuclear market. The company originally gained ASME accreditation as a Nuclear Material Organisation in 1992, but that had lapsed, with the lack of nuclear new-build in the following years.

The company's nuclear qualification came after an ASME Section III Division I NCA 3300 (NCA 3800), NCA 4000 and NQA-1 Code survey and audit recommended it for Material Organisation (MO), and welding (NPT) accreditations. ASME MO and NPT status means it can supply castings and forgings (material) for civil nuclear applications and also be qualified to carry out weld construction activities on these materials.

As well as being the sole UK supplier of large, nuclear-grade forgings and castings, Sheffield Forgemasters' MO and NPT status now makes it one of the only UK companies qualified for fabrication of the main components within a civil nuclear power plant.

The company said that, following the accreditation, it "will now continue its work to advance manufacturing technologies for the next generation of small modular reactor (SMR) civil nuclear power plants". It added that its status as the only company in the UK capable of manufacturing reactor vessel components for SMRs, coupled with its ASME status, make it "a crucial capability in delivery of this advanced power-generation technology".

"We undertook the ASME audit in November and have now received confirmation that the audit recommendation has been approved by the committee," Sheffield Forgemasters Group Technical Director Ian Nicholls said. "The accreditation is a huge development with heightened requirements and protocols embracing all our processes, employees and selected sub-suppliers.

"The ASME accreditation, coupled with our development of Electron Beam Welding for large diameter, nuclear-grade vessels, places Sheffield Forgemasters at the pinnacle of development for SMRs and presents significant possibilities for the UK's domestic nuclear new-build programme."

In February, Sheffield Forgemasters announced it had completed weld-assembly of a full-sized SMR nuclear vessel demonstrator assembly using Local Electron-Beam Welding (LEBW). It said the technique took less than 24 hours to complete four, thick, nuclear-grade welds, typically requiring a year of work to complete.

The company has signed memorandums of understanding with a number of SMR developers in the UK, including Rolls-Royce SMR, NuScale, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Holtec Britain and X-energy.