Nuclear Energy

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Waste-transfer-milestone-at-Scottish-plant

The retrieval has been completed of more than 2100 tonnes of solid intermediate-level radioactive waste from five above-ground concrete bunkers at the Hunterston A Magnox nuclear power plant in Scotland. The project began 20 years ago.

Hunterston A - a twin Magnox reactor site - is 30 miles south west of Glasgow and was Scotland's first civil nuclear generating station. The plant, opened in 1964, ceased operations in 1989 after generating a total of 73 TWh of electricity.

Intermediate-level waste (ILW) was transported from the plant via underground tunnels and stored in one of five above-ground concrete bunkers that were constructed on site between the 1960s and 1980s. This waste consists of contaminated metallic components, debris removed from used fuel elements and 30,000 fuel element graphite sleeves.

Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) - which is responsible for safely decommissioning the first generation nuclear and research sites across the UK - said the Hunterston A site holds the largest inventory of solid ILW across all its sites.

NRS noted that ILW becomes a site's highest radiological hazard once all the used fuel has been removed. Defueling of Hunterston A was completed in 1995. NRS said this waste is often located in hard-to-reach areas, making the task of retrieving it "a complicated business requiring, in some cases, many years of engineering work before it can begin in earnest".

The Solid Active Waste Bunker Retrieval (SAWBR) project was established to retrieve the ILW from the bunkers at Hunterston A.

The initial breakthrough of the first bunker was conducted manually in 2014 using core drills and wire saws to remove an 800mm-deep concrete slab. Then a remotely-operated vehicle broke through the remaining 400mm depth to create the first full opening.

Remotely operated vehicles were used to recover the waste to a purpose-built facility constructed on the side elevation of the bunker. The waste was then loaded into three-metre-cube-size stainless steel boxes. The filled boxes were then transported to the site's ILW store pending future encapsulation at the solid intermediate level waste encapsulation (SILWE) facility before being returned to the ILW store for long-term storage.

NRS has now announced that the final box of solid ILW has been sealed.

"This is a fantastic achievement which has safely and compliantly reduced one of the most significant hazards on site," said Hunterston A Site Director Mark Blackley. "Over 85% of the ILW inventory has now been retrieved. This is a tremendous testament to everyone who has been involved in or who has supported this project. The remaining 15% of ILW inventory are residual sludges from the spent fuel storage ponds and acids. These are in the process of being recovered and treated."

Stuart Blair, Waste Operations Manager at Hunterston A, added: "The process to empty the bunkers has not been without its challenges. The team has overcome many technical challenges throughout, employing operational experience and innovation to progress the waste recoveries safely and efficiently.

"This represents a major milestone for the entire site with all colleagues across functions and departments playing a key role in supporting this achievement. Most of the team that has completed this work has been involved since day one of retrievals which makes the achievement especially satisfying. With safe and sustainable decommissioning, the process takes decades to complete, so I am also mindful of former colleagues who have contributed significantly over the course of the 20 years since the recovery concept was born."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Sixth-Zaporizhzhia-unit-being-switched-to-cold-shu

International Atomic Energy Agency staff at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant report that they have been told unit 4 is being transferred to cold shutdown - which would make it the sixth and last unit to do so.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has been urging the Russian operators of the occupied plant to put all its units into cold shutdown, as part of efforts to minimise risks to nuclear safety and security.

The plant, which has been under Russian military control since early March 2022, stopped generating electricity in September 2022 but has kept one of its units in 'hot shutdown' to provide heating for the plant and the nearby town of Energodar, as well as for process steam for liquid waste treatment at the site.

Earlier this year four diesel steam generators were installed to handle the waste requirements, and the decision to move the unit into cold shutdown follows the official end of the winter heating season at Energodar. The advantage of cold shutdown is, the IAEA says, "there is an additional response margin of several days before the cooling of the nuclear fuel in the reactor might be challenged" and it also requires less cooling water.

Grossi said: "Switching to cold shutdown is a positive step for nuclear safety and security, although one that is currently overshadowed by the great military dangers facing the plant."

The director general was speaking as the IAEA's Board of Governors held an extraordinary meeting following the drone attacks on and around the plant over the past few days, which he said was the first time it had been directly targeted since November 2022.

Grossi, who is to address the United Nations Security Council on Monday, said the events of the past weeks had breached the five principles for nuclear safety and security agreed by the UN Security Council last May. These included that there should be no attack on, or from, a nuclear power plant.

He told the meeting: "As I have repeatedly stated - including at the Security Council and the IAEA Board of Governors - no one can conceivably benefit or gain any military or political advantage from attacks against nuclear facilities. Attacking a nuclear power plant is an absolute no-go ... Sunday’s attack fortunately did not compromise nuclear safety in a serious way, but it would be irresponsible for us to assume future attacks will not. Rolling the dice is not the way to do it in nuclear safety."

He added: "I urge you to make this your highest priority and to support me and the IAEA in doing everything in your power to stop this devastating war becoming unconscionably more dangerous through further attacks on the Zaporizhzhia NPP or any other nuclear power plant."

In his update, Grossi said that the IAEA experts stationed at the Zaporizhzhia plant visited the main control rooms of all six units, the off-site radiation monitoring laboratory and the radioactive waste storage facility but were not granted access to parts of unit 2's turbine hall or some parts of the waste facility.

"In these extremely challenging circumstances, the presence of IAEA experts ... is more important than ever. Their impartial and technical work enables us to inform the world about events there in an independent and timely manner. In order to carry out these crucial tasks, they need prompt and unrestricted access to all areas that are important for nuclear safety and security," Grossi said.

He said that the IAEA teams stationed at the Khmelnitsky, Rivne and South Ukraine nuclear power plants and the Chernobyl site report that nuclear safety and security is being maintained "despite multiple air raid alarms that occurred over the past week".

The Russian operators of the plant said that representatives of Russia's nuclear regulator Rostechnadzor visited tZaporizhzhia unit 4 "and checked its readiness for cooling down". They also reported that "work is under way ... to prepare for extending the operating life of power units and certifying personnel".

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Further-Japanese-research-reactor-free-of-HEU

All remaining highly enriched uranium (HEU) from the Japan Atomic Energy Agency's (JAEA's) Japan Materials Testing Reactor Critical Assembly has now been returned to the USA. Japan and the USA have been cooperating for many years to repatriate HEU from Japanese research reactors to the USA.

The Japan Materials Testing Reactor Critical Assembly (JMTRC) was built in 1965 in advance of operation of the adjacent Japan Materials Testing Reactor (JMTR). It was used to perform various critical experiments to collect data on characteristics of the JMTR core and in-core irradiation facilities.

The majority of the facility's HEU was repatriated to the USA between 2003 and 2009 following its decommissioning in 1996.

In December 2023, the US Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and JAEA transported the remaining HEU from the JMTRC to the USA.

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, provided US technical support for the project and received the HEU upon its arrival in the USA. The HEU will be downblended to low-enriched uranium and/or dispositioned, permanently reducing the risk it could be used to produce an improvised nuclear device.

The removal of all the HEU from the JMTRC was welcomed by US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida when they met in Washington, DC, on 10 April. During the meeting, they confirmed further advance cooperation in strengthening global nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear security.

The removal of the JMTRC HEU fulfills a commitment made by NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby and MEXT former Deputy Minister Yanagi Takashi in November 2021 and was completed more than two years ahead of schedule through the financial support of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

"This most recent removal highlights the shared commitment of the United States and Japan to minimise highly enriched uranium and the close partnership between our countries,” said Corey Hinderstein, Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Non-proliferation. "The Defense Threat Reduction Agency helped our teams achieve this milestone years earlier than would have otherwise been possible."

In May 2022, NNSA announced that more than 30 kilograms of HEU had been removed from three Japanese research sites and sent to the USA for downblending or disposal. In an operation taking four years to complete, all the HEU was removed from the University of Tokyo's Yayoi research reactor and JAEA's Deuterium Critical Assembly and Japan Research Reactor 4. The shipment of the HEU to the USA was completed in March of that year.

Since then, all HEU has been removed from the Kyoto University Critical Assembly and there has been a commitment to convert the Kindai University Teaching and Research Reactor - Japan's last remaining HEU-fueled research reactor - to high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) and to remove its remaining HEU to the USA.

NNSA's Office of Material Management and Minimization works with partner countries and international institutions around the world to eliminate the need for, presence of, or production of weapons-usable nuclear material. To date, the office has worked jointly with domestic and international partners and successfully converted or verified as shut down 109 research reactors and medical isotope production facilities and removed or confirmed the disposition of over 7340 kilograms of weapons-usable nuclear material - enough for approximately 328 nuclear weapons.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Japan-and-USA-form-strategic-partnership-for-fusio

The new partnership brings together the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to work to accelerate the demonstration and commercialisation of fusion energy. The announcement was made during a visit by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the USA.

Announced by US Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk (pictured above left), and Japan's Minister of Education, Sports, Science and Technology Masahito Moriyama (pictured above, right), the partnership intends to focus on advancing the US Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy and Strategy for International Partnerships in a New Era of Fusion Development, as well as the Japan Fusion Energy Innovation Strategy.

It will leverage a long history of Japan-US collaborative activities in the area of fusion covered by the Coordinating Committee on Fusion Energy (CCFE), which was established in 1979 and is currently implemented under a 2013 intergovernmental agreement. The two countries are also both participants in the ITER multinational fusion project.

The partnership is expected to further develop complementarity between US and Japanese resources and facilities in fusion, including those in universities, national laboratories and private companies in the respective countries. It will focus on six pillars:

• Address the scientific and technical challenges of delivering commercially viable fusion energy for various fusion systems
• Explore opportunities for shared access and/or development of facilities required for fusion research and development
• Promote the international harmonisation of regulatory frameworks and codes and standards, including leveraging of rule-making efforts by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission as well as ongoing discussions under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Agile Nations Fusion Energy Working Group
• Identify and support the development of resilient global supply chains that facilitate commercial fusion deployment
• Support public engagement with communities to facilitate a social licence for deploying fusion energy and to support an equitable clean-energy transition
• Promote skills development to ensure the people and talent growth necessary for the robust, inclusive and diverse workforce required by the fusion sector in the next decade and beyond.

Joint statement

In a joint statement issued during the official visit, Kishida and US President Joe Biden said Japan and the USA, through the strategic partnership, "are further leading the way in developing and deploying next generation clean energy technology, including fusion energy development".

They reaffirmed their commitment to accelerating the global transition to zero-emissions energy, and outlined steps they are taking towards this goal, including the launch of a new high-level dialogue on how the two countries implement their respective domestic measures and maximise their synergies and impacts.

According to a White House factsheet on the official visit, as well as the fusion initiative, the two nations "acknowledge the need to expand and modernise power grids and energy infrastructure" to support clean energy and "look to expand the use of market-based power purchase agreements by companies and industries to assist access to clean energy, including from both large nuclear reactors and advanced and small modular reactors (A/SMRs), as they attempt to meet their own decarbonisation goals and drive innovation in power intensive industries such as Artificial Intelligence, quantum computing, and data centres".

"The United States applauds the prime minister’s plan to restart nuclear reactors to meet its 2030 decarbonisation goals," the factsheet notes. "Our two countries acknowledge the transformational opportunities presented through our continued cooperation on A/SMRs, and affirm our continued partnership on joint efforts both bilaterally and multilaterally to deploy A/SMRs this decade.

"Our two countries plan to launch the Fukushima Daiichi Decommissioning partnership with Tokyo Electric Power Company and US national laboratories to deepen research cooperation for the steady implementation of decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, especially for fuel debris retrieval. Recognising the important role of nuclear energy to both accelerate the energy transition and enhance energy security, the United States and Japan also resolve to promote public-private investment in enriched uranium production capacity free from Russian material."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Steady-Energy-taps-TVO-nuclear-expertise

Steady Energy - Finnish developer of the LDR-50 small modular reactor - has signed a collaboration agreement with TVO Nuclear Services related to the development of a nuclear heating plant, initially focusing on the planning of the nuclear facility's operation and safety.

TVO Nuclear Services (TVONS) is a consulting company wholly owned by Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO), owner of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant.

The agreement gives Steady Energy access to TVO's expertise in the planning and implementation of nuclear power plant projects as well as the operation, maintenance and service life management of the plants.

Steady Energy - which last year was spun out from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland - aims to construct the first of several district heating plants based on its LDR-50 small modular reactor (SMR) technology in Finland by 2030.

"Steady Energy is working on a very interesting project, and we are glad to be involved by offering our expertise in its various areas," said TVONS Managing Director Ari Leppänen. "This allows us to participate in the clean transition also through small modular reactor projects."

"The collaboration agreement with TVONS is a significant opportunity for Steady Energy," said Steady Energy CEO Tommi Nyman. "It will further strengthen our ability to develop and, in time, to construct a small nuclear power plant that is completely based on Finnish design. The agreement also sends a strong message that Steady Energy's project is important for the development of the entire Finnish nuclear energy industry."

The LDR-50 district heating SMR - with a thermal output of 50 MW - has been under development at VTT since 2020. Designed to operate at around 150°C and below 10 bar (145 psi), Steady Energy says its "operating conditions are less demanding compared with those of traditional reactors, simplifying the technical solutions needed to meet the high safety standards of the nuclear industry".

The LDR-50 reactor module is made of two nested pressure vessels, with their intermediate space partially filled with water. When heat removal through the primary heat exchangers is compromised, water in the intermediate space begins to boil, forming an efficient passive heat transfer route into the reactor pool, the company said. The system does not rely on electricity or any mechanical moving parts, which could fail and prevent the cooling function.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/CEZ-highlights-increased-capacity-of-existing-unit

The modernisation of existing nuclear power units in the Czech Republic has added extra capacity equivalent to the output of a large coal-fired power plant, operator ČEZ has said.

The company said that the latest development was Dukovany's third unit achieving a thermal output of 1475 MWt - equivalent to 511 MWe - a 2.3% increase achieved without any increase in fuel consumption or emissions.

The units at the Dukovany nuclear power plant started up between 1985 and 1987 and are VVER-440 reactors, originally rated at 440 MWe. The installed capacity of each of them was increased after a nine-year modernisation programme to 500 MWe in 2009. The units at the Temelin nuclear power plant were also upgraded from 981 MWe to 1086 MWe.

Preparation for the latest capacity increase started in full in 2020 as part of a programme which also included the switch from an 11-month to a 16-month fuel cycle. Preparations included modernisation of some technological and safety systems, with the temperature of the water at the outlet of the reactor increased from 298.4°C to 300.4°C.

ČEZ says it expects the annual production of Dukovany to increase in 2025 by about 300,000 MWh after all the units are modified.

Daniel Beneš, Chairman and CEO of ČEZ Group, said the modernisation of their nuclear power plants had increased capacity by as much as building "a large coal-fired power plant or a smaller nuclear unit". He added that "of course, the absolute priority is safety, we would never take such a step without confirming the safety parameters".

Bohdan Zronek, director of the nuclear energy division, said: "Seemingly small changes in parameters will bring us hundreds of thousands of megawatts of electricity per year. Preparation for increased performance required confirmation of safety analyses, but no large-scale investment was required. The entire project fulfills the task of safely operating all our nuclear units for at least 60 years."

Roman Havlín, director of the Dukovany power plant, said the aim was to increase the outputs of the first and second units later this year and complete the project next year.

Four VVER-440 units are currently in operation at the Dukovany site. Two VVER-1000 units are in operation at Temelín, which came into operation in 2000 and 2002. The Czech Republic uses nuclear power for 34% of its electricity. Its current new nuclear plans include up to four new units, as well as a possible roll-out of small modular reactors.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Digital-control-system-installation-begins-at-Chin

Installation of the digital control system has begun at the ACP100 small modular reactor demonstration project at the Changjiang site on China's island province of Hainan, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has announced.

The first cabinet of the digital control system system - the 'nerve centre' of nuclear power plant operation - was moved into place at 9.58am on 10 April, and installation and debugging work has now started, CNNC said.

The digital control system (DCS) system for the ACP100 - referred to as the Linglong One - adopts two domestically-developed platforms: the Dragon Scale platform (safety level) and Dragon Fin platform (non-safety level). The Dragon Scale platform can realise reactor safety control under various working conditions and ensure the safe operation of the nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, the Dragon Fin platform is responsible for operation and management and is an important guarantee for the efficient and economical operation of the nuclear power plant. Between them, the two platforms control hundreds of systems within the nuclear power plants, nearly 10,000 equipment operations and various operating conditions.

The first Dragon Fin platform cabinet that has now been put in place is a plant-wide non-safety control system specially developed by CNNC for large nuclear facilities, such as nuclear power plants. The company said this platform inherits and develops the nuclear power instrumentation and control experience and key technologies accumulated by CNNC over the years, integrating the latest advanced technologies such as data collection, process control, large-scale networking and information management to meet the requirements of high reliability and safety of nuclear facilities.

"The smooth introduction of the first DCS cabinet in Linglong One, the world's first land-based commercial small modular reactor, marks the transition of DCS to the on-site installation stage, laying the foundation for subsequent work such as the availability of the main control room," CNNC said.

CNNC announced in July 2019 the launch of a project to construct an ACP100 reactor at Changjiang. The site is already home to two operating CNP600 pressurised water reactors (PWRs), while the construction of the two Hualong One units began in March and December 2021. Both those units are due to enter commercial operation by the end of 2026.

First concrete for the ACP100 was poured on 13 July 2021, with a planned total construction period of 58 months. Equipment installation work commenced in December 2022 and the main internal structure of the reactor building was completed in March 2023.

Under development since 2010, the 125 MWe ACP100 integrated PWR's preliminary design was completed in 2014. In 2016, the design became the first SMR to pass a safety review by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Once completed, the Changjiang ACP100 reactor will be capable of producing 1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to meet the needs of 526,000 households. The reactor is designed for electricity production, heating, steam production or seawater desalination.

The project at Changjiang involves a joint venture of three main companies: CNNC subsidiary China National Nuclear Power as owner and operator; the Nuclear Power Institute of China as the reactor designer; and China Nuclear Power Engineering Group being responsible for plant construction.

Bucharest planning NuScale SMR plant at coal site and two new large-scale units at Cernavodă.

An International Atomic Energy Agency mission has concluded that the selection of Doicesti in central Romania as the site for deployment of small modular reactors complied with the agency’s safety standards.

State-owned nuclear power company Nuclearelectrica said the IAEA site and external events design (Seed) follow-up mission assessed the site selection process against the agency’s safety standards.

Nuclearelectrica is now planning to move to the next phase of the site evaluation before applying for a site licence.

Nuclearelectrica said in 2021 it will partner with US company NuScale Power to build SMR reactors by 2029 as part of its efforts to boost low-emission power sources.

It has chosen a former coal plant site at Doicesti for the deployment of a 462-MW Voygr-6 SMR plant and expects to make a preliminary investment decision next year.

IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi visited Romania this week where he discussed progress of the SMR project and the refurbishment and long-term operation of the Cernavodă-1 nuclear plant.

He also met Romania’s prime minister Ion-Marcel Ciolacu to discuss the country’s nuclear sector and the agency’s Rays of Hope cancer initiative.

“The IAEA has long supported Romania’s nuclear activities, and our collaboration will deepen as the country seeks to advance Cernavodă 3 & 4 and a leading SMR project,” Grossi said on the social media platform X.

Cernavodă-1, a 650-MW Candu 6 unit, began commercial operation in 1996. A second unit at the site, the identical Cernavodă-2, began commercial operation in 2007.

Cernavodă is Romania’s only commercial nuclear station and supplies about 19% of the country’s electricity production.

Nuclearelectrica is planning to build two more units at the site, plans Grossi said the IAEA supported. The first new unit could be online by 2030.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Partnership-aims-to-drive-forward%C2%A0HTMR-100-SMR-in

Koya Capital has signed a partnership agreement to work with Stratek Global to secure financing and construction of a ZAR9 billion (USD480 million) first-of-a-kind reactor in South Africa.

The reactor is the Pretoria-developed HTMR-100 which produces 100 MW of heat and 35 MW of electricity and which is derived from the South African Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) programme, which was to have been a small-scale high-temperature reactor using graphite-coated spherical uranium oxycarbide tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel, with helium as the coolant, able to supply process heat as well as generating electricity. South Africa had been working on the PBMR project since 1993, however, in 2010 the government formally announced its decision no longer to invest in the project, which was then placed under 'care and maintenance' to protect its intellectual property and assets.

Chairman and CEO of Stratek Global, Kelvin Kemm, a former chairman of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, told World Nuclear News last year that thanks to the experience and legacy of the PBMR programme - which was at the start of the pilot plant stage when it was paused - the aim was to have a first HTMR-100 plant built within five years.

The new partnership follows what Stephen Edkins, head of CleanTech at tech consultancy Koya Capital, told Biznews was a period of due diligence which has convinced them of the potential of the technology and they will now work to ensure Stratek Global's project is investor-ready, and to recommend the project to its investors, with a "strong commitment to break ground before the end of the year".

Edkins added: "This collaboration transcends mere reactor construction, it is about establishing a benchmark in clean, dependable energy for Africa and the wider world, and we are thus excited to work alongside Stratek Global in this innovative endeavour. There is a growing realisation that nuclear energy is the best way to address the substantial demand for clean base-load power in Africa and around the world."

Stratek stresses the low cooling-water needs - which vastly increases the numbers of potential sites in Africa and elsewhere - and the reactor's ability to power, for example, a remote mine and community without requiring long-distance power distribution network lines. Differences between the PBMR and the HTMR-100 include the gas outlet temperature being reduced from 940°C to 750°C, and, while the PBMR used a direct helium cycle through the reactor and into the turbines, the HTMR-100 instead takes the heat into a water heat exchanger or steam generator, which produces steam for conventional steam turbines or process heat. This means all the equipment downstream of the heat exchanger can be purchased off-the-shelf, reducing design time and costs.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Anfield-applies-to-restart-Shootaring-Canyon-mill

Anfield Energy Inc has submitted its production reactivation plan for the Shootaring Canyon uranium mill to the State of Utah's Department of Environmental Quality. The Vancouver-based company said it is targeting the mill restart for 2026 - it has been on standby since 1982.

The plan outlines an increase in mill throughput capacity to 1000 tonnes of ore per day from 750 tonnes per day and an increase in annual uranium production capacity to 3 million pounds (1154 tU) from 1 million pounds (385 tU). The Shootaring mill is one of only three licensed, permitted and constructed conventional uranium mills in the USA.

"The plan addresses the updating the mill's radioactive materials licence from its current standby status to operational status and the increasing of both throughput capacity and the tripling of licensed production capacity," the company said. "Following approval of the reactivation plan and mill refurbishment, Anfield will be able to both recommence uranium production and start vanadium production in 2026 - joining a select group of North American and US uranium producers meeting the resurgence in uranium demand."

Anfield acquired the Shootaring Canyon mill in 2015. The conventional acid-leach facility had been owned by Uranium One since 2007, but the Canadian-based and Russian-owned company's mining operations are focused on in-situ leach production methods. The mill - built in 1980 - commenced operations in 1982 and operated for about six months, before operations ceased due to the depressed price of uranium. During its period of operation, it produced and sold 27,825 pounds of U3O8. Surface stockpiles at the facility include an estimate of 370,000 pounds of U3O8 at an average grade of 0.147%. Anfield agreed in August 2014 to acquire the mill plus a portfolio of uranium assets from Uranium One in a deal worth USD5 million.

Anfield said early-stage refurbishment of Shootaring will take place during the review of the restart application, preparing the company to complete refurbishment as soon as the restart application is approved.

"We at Anfield are very proud of achieving the important milestone of submitting the production restart application for Shootaring," said Anfield CEO Corey Dias. "This is an achievement which has taken close to 18 months of engineering and design input to complete and caps a decade of methodical and strategic progression in asset development.

"Since acquiring the Shootaring Canyon mill in 2015, we have maintained the facility, waiting for the right market conditions to return the mill to production status. With uranium reaching highs of greater than USD100 per pound earlier this year, and a global environment in which demand is expected to continue outstripping supply, we believe this is the ideal time to advance our uranium assets to production."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Romania-s-SMR-site-selection-process-gets-IAEA-app

An International Atomic Energy Agency follow-up mission has concluded that the selection of Doicesti as the site for deployment of small modular reactors complied with the agency's safety standards.

The IAEA Site and External Events Design (SEED) follow-up mission's conclusion was announced by Romania's nuclear power company Nuclearelectrica and RoPower Nuclear, the small modular reactor (SMR) project company.

The mission was requested by Nuclearelectrica to independently assess the process against the IAEA's safety standards, before moving on to the next phase of the site evaluation ahead of applying for a site licence at Doicesti, where a thermal power plant will be replaced.

Paolo Contri, mission leader and Head of the External Events Safety Section in the IAEA's Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, welcomed the steps taken to conduct "an objective, feasible and safety-oriented site selection process" and the request for a follow-up mission to the 2022 one was the "best evidence" of a "commitment to safety and to ... minimise the risk that safety issues discovered at a later stage may challenge the smooth and safe project implementation. The experience under development in Romania can be of great value for the nuclear community".

Nuclearelectrica CEO Cosmin Ghita said: "Nuclear projects, regardless of the technology, have one essential thing in common: nuclear safety, and we are keen on developing an exemplary project by using a high-level nuclear safety technology, rigorous site selection, complete and safe site-specific external events consideration. In addition to Romanian experts, we very much appreciate international objective, independent expertise to make sure that all safety-related issues are considered and addressed from the early stages of the project."

Melania Amuza, CEO of RoPower Nuclear, thanked the IAEA and Nuclearelectrica for reviewing the site selection process and said: "We believe we have a solid project, and the current IAEA evaluation gives us even more confidence ... We are also certain that current evaluations, recommendations, and studies will contribute and act as a catalyst for current and future SMR projects."

Romania's SMR project is aiming for 462 MW installed capacity, using NuScale technology with six modules, each with an installed capacity of 77 MW. The SMR project is estimated 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.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Licensing-and-testing-progress-for-innovative-thor

Days after announcing the start of accelerated irradiation testing and qualification of its patented ANEEL thorium and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel at Idaho National Laboratory, Clean Core Thorium Energy announced it has completed the first phase of the Canadian nuclear regulator's pre-licensing review process.

ANEEL has been developed for use in pressurised heavy water reactors and Candu reactors (its name is taken from Advanced Nuclear Energy for Enriched Life). The company says it can offer significantly improved performance with existing proven heavy water reactor systems by leveraging thorium's "inherently superior" nuclear, thermal and physical properties while retaining the same external dimensions and configuration design as in currently used natural uranium fuel bundles. It can be used to replace current fuel bundles, without any significant modifications to the reactor, to reduce life-cycle operating costs and waste volumes, increase safety and accident tolerance, and result in additional proliferation resistance, the company claims.

ANEEL is the first thorium-based fuel for Candu reactors to successfully complete the first phase of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) pre-licensing process for new fuel designs, Clean Core said.

The Vendor Design Review (VDR) process has included submissions across nine focus areas, building a licensing basis and safety case for the fuel. The pre-licensing process has provided an opportunity for Clean Core to demonstrate understanding and compliance with Canadian licensing requirements and seek detailed feedback ahead of a formal licence application, the company said.

The regulator concluded that the company "generally understands and has correctly interpreted the high-level intent of the CNSC's regulatory requirements as applicable to fuel design and qualification", Clean Core said. The executive summary of the assessment report will be made publicly available by the CNSC in the near future.

"The work performed through the VDR and our engagements with the CNSC highlights Clean Core's regulatory and commercial readiness. This is a critical step forward for our ANEEL fuel technology and in advancing nuclear power generation across Canada and globally,” Clean Core CEO and founder Mehul Shah said.

Testing begins

The completion of Phase 1 of the Canadian VDR comes as irradiation testing and qualification of the fuel is about to begin in the Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in the USA. This follows Clean Core's signature in 2022 of a strategic partnership project agreement with INL.

As part of that agreement, INL has received more than 300 ANEEL fuel pellets fabricated by Texas A&M University's Department of Nuclear Engineering under INL's quality assurance requirements. INL has developed the irradiation test plan, performed pre-irradiation characterisation of the fuel pellets, designed and fabricated the experiment hardware and test trains, assembled the test trains, and finally inserted the experiment into the ATR.

The CCTE-ANEEL-1A irradiation experiment is to begin this month and achieve burnup targets of up to 60 GWd per tonne. As each planned burn-up target is achieved, the test capsules containing irradiated ANEEL pellets will be sent to INL's Materials and Fuels Complex for destructive and non-destructive post-irradiation examination.

"Irradiating homogeneously blended thorium and uranium oxide in ATR is a first-of-a kind experiment for INL and the US DOE,", said Michael Worrall, a nuclear engineer at INL and Principal Investigator for the CCTE-ANEEL-1A experiment. "We are excited to see the potential of the ANEEL fuel technology and what the future of this technology holds."

The ATR is a pressurised water test reactor which operates at very low pressures and temperatures compared to a large commercial nuclear power plant to produce large-volume, high-flux thermal neutron irradiation in a prototype environment. The one-of-a-kind reactor can be used to study the effects of intense neutron and gamma radiation on reactor materials and fuels.

US company supplying three reactors for first nuclear power station.

The deployment of six Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power units will produce more than $30bn (€27bn) of gross domestic product impact while their subsequent operation would generate $9.5bn in GDP annually, a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers has found.

According to the study, commissioned by Westinghouse, the six plants would support 16,300 jobs annually.

The AP1000 project could also help the EU reach its target of achieving net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050, with the six units capable of powering at least 13 million homes, the study said. In addition, the project could advance the Poland nuclear supply chain and assist in the development of human capital through Westinghouse technology and training.

In November 2022, Warsaw chose Westinghouse to supply its AP1000 pressurised water reactor technology for the country’s first nuclear power station, a three-unit facility at Lubiatowo-Kopalino in Pomerania, northern Poland.

In late 2023, Westinghouse formed a consortium with US partner Bechtel for the project. Geological studies at the new-build site are set to start this spring.

Poland wants to have between 6 GW and 9 GW of commercial nuclear power at up to two sites in the early 2040s under its current nuclear power programme adopted in 2020.

PricewaterhouseCoopers produced the report, The Economic Impact of a Westinghouse AP1000 Reactor Project in Poland, for Westinghouse and its owners, Brookfield and Cameco.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Second-CGN-Hualong-One-starts-up

Unit 4 of the Fangchenggang nuclear power plant in China's Guangxi Autonomous Region has attained a sustained chain reaction for the first time, China General Nuclear (CGN) announced. The unit is the second of two demonstration CGN-designed Hualong One (HPR1000) reactors at the site.

China's National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) granted CGN an operating licence for Fangchenggang 4 on 27 February, allowing the loading of fuel into the reactor's core to begin. The fuel loading process was completed on 2 March.

The NNSA subsequently conducted an inspection of Fangchenggang 4 from 26-29 March to assess its readiness for criticality. The regulator announced on 1 April that the start up of the reactor could commence.

CGN said the 1180 MWe (gross) pressurised water reactor reached criticality for the first time at 7.08pm on 3 April, "marking that the unit officially entered the power operation state".

First concrete was poured for the nuclear island of Fangchenggang unit 3 - 39% owned by Guangxi Investment Group and 61% by CGN - in December 2015, while that for unit 4 was poured a year later. Unit 3 was originally expected to start up in 2019, with unit 4 scheduled to start up in 2020. Both their start-ups were subsequently postponed until 2022.

In January 2022, CGN announced that the start-up of Fangchenggang 3 and 4 had been put back again due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unit 3 achieved first criticality - a sustained chain reaction - on 27 December 2022 and was synchronised with the grid on 10 January 2023. It entered commercial operation on 25 March.

Hot functional testing of unit 4 began on 25 September last year. These tests involve increasing the temperature of the reactor coolant system and carrying out comprehensive tests to ensure that coolant circuits and safety systems are operating as they should. Carried out before the loading of nuclear fuel, such testing simulates the thermal working conditions of the power plant and verifies that the nuclear island and conventional equipment and systems meet design requirements.

The Fangchenggang plant is planned to house six reactors. The first phase comprises two CPR-1000 units which were put into commercial operation in 2016. Units 5 and 6 are expected to feature Hualong One reactors.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/US-companies-sign-up-with-Oklo-for-microreactor-po

Oil and gas producer Diamondback Energy Inc has signed a letter of intent on a long-term power purchase agreement to use Oklo's Aurora 'powerhouses' for its operations in the Permian Basin. Oklo has also signed a deal to provide up to 500 MWe of power to Equinix to serve its data centres in the USA.

The non-binding letter of intent (LOI) with Texas-based Diamondback outlines a proposed 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) focusing on using Aurora powerhouses to supply "reliable and emission-free electricity" to Diamondback's operations in the Permian Basin, in the south-western USA. According to the terms, Oklo intends to licence, build, and operate powerhouses capable of generating 50 MW of electric power to Diamondback E&P LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Diamondback near Midland, Texas.

The letter of intent outlines options to renew and extend the potential power purchase agreement for an additional 20-year term. Oklo's powerhouse designs are intended to be able to operate for 40 years, and the company's design-build-own-operate business model means potential customers like Diamondback can purchase power without complex ownership issues or other capital requirements, Oklo said.

"By developing and providing a low-cost, high-reliability, and emission-free energy source, Oklo is poised to help meet the growing energy requirements of operators like Diamondback," the company's CEO Jacob DeWitte said.

Oklo has also recently signed a letter of intent to provide up to 500 MWe of power to Equinix. According to a 2 April filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission by AltC Acquisition Corp, the letter of intent was executed on 16 February. Oklo is in the process of merging with AltC as part of its plans to go public, announced in July 2023.

The letter of intent confirms Equinix's interest in purchasing power from powerhouses to serve its data centres in the USA for a 20-year the filing notes, under power purchase agreements which would be renewable for further 20-year terms. Equinix has made a USD25 million prepayment to Oklo, which the filing says is Permitted Equity Financing. Under the letter of intent, Equinix would have a right of first refusal for 100-500 MWe of output from certain powerhouses for up to 36 months.

Oklo, founded in 2013, plans to commercialise its liquid metal fast reactor technology in the Aurora 'powerhouse', a fast neutron reactor using heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core to a supercritical carbon dioxide power conversion system to generate electricity. The company has received a site use permit from the US Department of Energy for a prototype unit to be built at the Idaho National Laboratory.

In August 2023, the US Department of the Air Force, in partnership with the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, selected Oklo to site, design, construct, own and operate a microreactor facility to deliver electricity and steam at the Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, but subsequently rescinded its Notice of Intent to Award pending the completion of further due diligence and a review of the vendor selection process by the Department of Justice. According to an update on the project issued in January, the Department of the Air Force has said it still aims to meet the 2027 timeline for the project.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Newcleo-teams-up-with-CEA-on-reactor-development

UK-headquartered innovative reactor developer Newcleo has signed a partnership agreement with the French Alternative Energies & Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) on the development of Newcleo's lead-cooled fast reactor.

This collaboration covers the following areas in particular: development scenarios for lead-cooled fast reactors in the French nuclear power fleet; fuel qualification; calculation codes; materials; and instrumentation and measurement.

"This partnership is a real catalyst for progress on our Generation IV reactor project," said Ludovic Vandendriesche, managing director of Newcleo's French subsidiary, Newcleo SA. "We are delighted to collaborate with the CEA, a research institute pioneering in technological innovation, and we look forward to this partnership creating a fruitful and enduring collaboration."

Newcleo's aim is to develop, build and operate Generation IV small modular reactors in France, then in Europe and beyond. The company said it "intends to capitalise on France's unique nuclear expertise and contribute to its international influence through partnerships with national public and private organisations".

In January, Newcleo announced a strategic and industrial partnership with French micro-reactor developer Naarea designed "to support all players in their industrial, technological, scientific and regulatory development" of Generation IV fast neutron reactors. The companies said that the partnership will be open to others to join and said it will focus on key areas where there are common interests, such as gaining access to the used nuclear fuel from conventional nuclear reactors that their Gen-IV reactors are designed to use as part of their efforts to close the fuel cycle.

Newcleo was a winner of the 'Innovative nuclear reactors' call for projects under the 'France 2030' investment plan implemented by Bpifrance and financed by the European Union – Next Generation EU as part of France's economic recovery plan (Plan France Relance). The company aims to launch a 30 MWe Lead-cooled Fast Neutron Demonstrator (the LFR-30) as well as a mixed uranium/plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication unit. In June 2022, Newcleo announced it had contracted France's Orano for feasibility studies on the establishment of a MOX production plant. These two projects represent a total investment of EUR3 billion (USD3.3 billion) in France.

Following the construction of the LFR-30 and MOX plant in France, Newcleo is planning to construct a 200 MWe first-of-a-kind commercial unit (the LFR-AS-200) in the UK by 2033. Last week, the Nuclear Industry Association applied to the UK government for a justification decision for Newcleo's LFR-AS-200. Such a decision is one of the required steps for the operation of a new nuclear technology in the country.

Reactor one of four under construction, expected to be fully operational in 2028.

The “full-scale” commissioning phase has begun for Unit 1 of the Akkuyu nuclear power station under construction in southwest Turkey, Russian project developer Rosatom said.

Alexey Likhachev, head of the Russian state-owned nuclear power corporation, this week visited the site near Mersin on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

Likhachev said works on the nuclear island for the VVER-1200 pressurised water reactor unit are going according to schedule.

He said Rosatom is expecting to begin inspecting the primary circuit, conduct hydraulic tests, and load fuel simulators directly into the reactor core by the end of 2024.

In December 2023, the Turkish Nuclear Regulatory Agency issued a commissioning permit for Akkuyu-1.

The $20bn (€18.7bn) Akkuyu nuclear power station will have four Generation III+ VVER-1200 units, with the first expected to come online in 2025 and a further unit starting every year afterwards.

Construction of Akkuyu-1 began in April 2018 and was initially planned for completion in 2023.

Earlier reports have said that Akkuyu will meet 10% of Turkey’s electricity demand when fully operational in 2028.

Turkey wants to generate slightly over 11% of electricity from nuclear energy by 2035, and 29% by 2053 to reach its climate goals, Turkish officials have said.

Source: https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/320021

The Japanese and U.S. governments have decided to cooperate in the research and development of next-generation nuclear power plants such as small modular reactors (SMRs). An agreement is expected to be reached at a summit meeting between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US President Biden on the 10th at the White House. They also agree on industry-academia collaboration toward mass production of floating offshore wind power generation. They also decided to establish a ministerial dialogue to cooperate in the area of ​​clean energy. This was announced by multiple government officials on the 8th. The Prime Minister departed from Haneda Airport on a government plane for the United States.

This is the first time in nine years that a Japanese prime minister has visited the United States as a state guest. The Kishida administration views the close Japan-U.S. relationship as an opportunity to appeal to the international community. Before departing, the prime minister told reporters at his official residence, ``I want to confirm that the Japan-U.S. relationship is rock solid.''

At the first summit meeting between Japan, the United States, and the Philippines on the 11th, Japan and the United States agreed to support research toward the installation of an SMR in the Philippines and the development of nuclear human resources. The Philippines is rich in nickel, which is used as a material for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and we will also strengthen our supply chain. Prior to the summit meeting, there will be discussions at the ministerial level and agreements will be reached.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Nuclear-projects-receive-UK-space-funding-boost

Two projects featuring nuclear energy are among 11 international space projects selected to received funding from the UK Space Agency. Rolls-Royce's collaboration with BWXT receives GBP1.18 million (USD1.5 million) to further its work on fission nuclear systems for space power missions, while an international project led by the University of Leicester receives GBP800,000.

A total of GBP13 million of funding, the second phase of investment awarded through the Agency's GBP20 million International Bilateral Fund (IBF), is being announced today at the 39th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, USA, the UK Space Agency said. This follows a first phase announced last year, which provided funds of up to GBP75,000 each for 32 projects which then entered into a competitive process to receive Phase 2 funding.

The funding to Rolls-Royce Submarines and BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC is for a project to "identify the optimum technologies for a fission nuclear system which balances flexibility to a range of space power missions and maximises performance whilst minimising programme and technical risk."

The second nuclear project to receive Phase 2 funding is a collaboration between the University of Leicester and partners from the UK, USA and Japan who will work together to identify a range of mission opportunities for UK space nuclear power technologies. The collaboration also includes the development of hybrid power systems with existing US conversion technologies.

"We want to draw on the best global talent to push the boundaries of new technology such as AI and space nuclear power, enhance our homegrown space capabilities and catalyse investment into the UK economy," Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency Paul Bate said. "The projects supported by our International Bilateral Fund champion the best of British innovation, while strengthening our ties with the wider space community."

UK-US collaboration

All space missions depend on a power source to support systems for communications, life-support and science experiments. Nuclear power has the potential to dramatically increase the duration of future space missions and their scientific value. Space micro-reactors are a solution to meet these requirements in a sustainable and resilient way, Rolls-Royce said.

This latest investment follows GBP2.9 million awarded to Rolls-Royce from the UK Space Agency under the Lunar Surface Nuclear Power Contract and Phase 1 of the IBF in 2023, which culminated in an initial demonstration of a UK lunar modular nuclear reactor. Rolls-Royce unveiled its Space Micro-Reactor Concept Model to show how nuclear power could be used to support a future Moon base for astronauts last December.

The new funding award is part of a larger teaming agreement between Rolls-Royce and BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC which facilitates business collaboration and joint developments of new and novel nuclear applications in terrestrial, space and commercial maritime domains using the core nuclear design and manufacturing strengths of both companies. It will benefit both UK and US space nuclear development programmes for a range of space power missions, the companies said, and further strengthens UK and US collaboration on first-of-a-kind space technology innovation set out under the Atlantic Declaration commitment by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden last year, in which both countries pledged to study "opportunities for co-operation on space nuclear power and propulsion."

"This exciting research by Rolls-Royce to develop space nuclear power is an opportunity to showcase the UK as a spacefaring nation," Anu Ojha, director of Championing Space at the UK Space Agency, said. "Innovative technologies such as this one could pave the way for continuous human presence on the Moon, whilst enhancing the wider UK space sector, creating jobs and generating further investment."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Fourth-Korean-APR-1400-begins-commercial-operation

Unit 2 of the Shin Hanul nuclear power plant in South Korea has entered commercial operation, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) announced. The unit is the second of two APR-1400 reactors at the site, with a further two planned.

Shin Hanul 2 received an operating licence from the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission on 7 September last year, after which it completed a preliminary inspection by the regulator. The loading of 241 fuel assemblies into the reactor's core was carried out between 11 and 18 September. High-temperature functional tests were subsequently conducted.

The 1350 MWe pressurised water reactor reached first criticality - a sustained chain reaction - on 6 December and it was connected to the grid on 21 December.

Following seven months of commissioning tests, which included step-by-step power increase tests and performance tests of the reactor and turbine generator, Shin Hanul 2 was declared to be in commercial operation on 5 April.

Ground breaking for the first two units at the Shin Hanul (formerly Shin Ulchin) site took place in May 2012. First concrete for unit 1 was poured two months later, with that for unit 2 following in June 2013. Shin Hanul 1 achieved first criticality on 22 May 2022 and was connected to the grid on 9 June last year.

"With the commercial operation of Shin Hanul unit 2, Korea's 28th nuclear power unit, the total number of nuclear power units operating in Korea has increased to 26 (including Kori unit 2, which is being prepared for continued operation)," KHNP noted.

Shin Hanul 2 is South Korea's fourth operational APR1400 - after Saeul units 1 and 2 (formerly Shin Kori 3 and 4) and Shin Hanul unit 1. Two further APR1400s are under construction as Saeul units 3 and 4, with two more units planned as Shin Hanul units 3 and 4.

Four APR1400 units have been built at the Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE, which are all now in operation.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/PSEG-to-apply-second-licence-renewals-for-New-Jers

PSEG Nuclear LLC has notified US regulators of its intent to seek subsequent licence renewal for the Salem and Hope Creek nuclear power plants, which together produce nearly half of New Jersey’s electricity and 85% of the state’s carbon-free generation.

It formally informed the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on 28 March that it expects to submit the application in the second quarter of 2027. This would mark the start of a comprehensive NRC review and approval process taking about two years to complete. If approved, the licences for Salem unit 1 and unit 2 would be extended from 2036 and 2040 to 2056 and 2060, respectively, while the single-unit Hope Creek's licence would be extended from its current 2046 expiration to 2066.

The two pressurised water reactors at Salem began commercial operation in 1976 (unit 1) and 1980 (unit 2), and the boiling water reactor at Hope Creek in 1986. The stations obtained their first 20-year operating licence renewals from the NRC in 2011. The units had all been under threat of premature closure before New Jersey passed the Zero Emissions Certificate Law in 2018, enabling the state to recognise and compensate eligible nuclear power plants for their zero-carbon attributes and contribution to fuel diversity.

"For more than five decades, the nuclear generating stations in South Jersey have safely generated reliable, always-on carbon-free energy," said PSEG Nuclear President and Chief Nuclear Officer Charles McFeaters. "Seeking to renew our licences signifies our commitment to continuing to contribute to New Jersey’s clean energy future and serving as a vital economic engine for the local community."

"I'd like to recognise Congressman Bill Pascrell, the author of the federal nuclear production tax credit legislation in Congress, without which we would not be considering these investments in the site," he added.

The nuclear production tax credit, created in the federal Inflation Reduction Act, will provide nuclear generators with nine years of financial support until 2032. The pricing visibility it has provided "drove PSEG's decision to retain and grow our nuclear fleet via prudent capital investments and will keep our state’s carbon-free nuclear fleet viable for the long-term," the company said.

Over USD100 million in nuclear capital investment projects have already been approved and are in progress, including plant upgrades and a transition to a two-year operating cycle at Hope Creek. PSEG Nuclear is also developing detailed plans to implement power uprates for both Salem units and to upgrade and optimise the nuclear fleet’s turbine generator trains.

The units also deliver positive local economic impacts, the company added, directly employing some 1600 people with additional contract workers supporting refuelling outages and major project work each year and fostering an extensive indirect workforce throughout the community.

Salem is 57% owned by PSEG, with Constellation Energy owning the remaining 43%.

Testing to continue with commercial operation scheduled for second quarter.

The Vogtle-4 nuclear power plant in the US state of Georgia, the nation’s newest commercial reactor unit, has reached full power as commercial operation approaches.

Georgia Power, majority owner of the Vogle nuclear station, said on its official social media channels that the “milestone” event marked the maximum energy the unit is licensed to produce in its reactor core – about 1,100 MW of net electric power.*

The company said staff will continue to conduct testing for the unit, including “safely running at various power levels and operating through real-life conditions”.

In March, Vogtle-4 was connected to the national grid and started producing its first electricity at minimal power level. It reached first criticality on 14 February 2024.

Georgia Power said at the time that operators would continue to raise reactor power for generation of electricity while performing tests at various power levels, ultimately raising power to 100%.

Commercial operation for Vogtle-4 is planned for the second quarter of 2024. The plant is the second Westinghouse AP1000 pressurised water reactor unit at the Georgia site. Twin unit Vogtle-3 began commercial operation on 31 July 2023.

Vogtle-3 and -4 are the first nuclear units to be built in the US in more than three decades, but have seen cost overruns and delays. Construction of Vogtle-3 began in March 2013 and of Vogtle-4 in November 2013.

Not including Vogtle-4, the US has 93 operating commercial nuclear reactors at 55 sites in 28 states. They generate about 18% of the country’s electricity. Vogtle-4 is the only unit under construction.

There are two older Westinghouse reactors at Vogtle that began commercial operation in the late 1980s.

• According to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s reactor database, the net reference power of Vogtle-4 is 1,117 MWe and its gross design output is 1,250 MWe.

Source: https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/update-220-iaea-director-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine-0

Drone strikes hit the site of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) on Sunday, in a serious incident that endangered nuclear safety and security, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

For the first time since November 2022, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was directly targeted in military action that also represents a clear violation of the five basic principles for protecting the facility established by Director General Grossi at the United Nations Security Council in May last year.

“This is a major escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers facing the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. Such reckless attacks significantly increase the risk of a major nuclear accident and must cease immediately,” Director General Grossi said.

At this point, there are no indications of damage to critical nuclear safety or security systems at the site. However, the military strikes were another stark reminder of persistent threats to the ZNPP and other nuclear facilities during the armed conflict, despite the IAEA’s efforts to reduce the risk of a severe accident that could harm people and the environment in Ukraine and beyond.

“As I have repeatedly stated – including at the Security Council and the IAEA Board of Governors – no one can conceivably benefit or get any military or political advantage from attacks against nuclear facilities. Attacking a nuclear power plant is an absolute no go,” he said. “I firmly appeal to military decision makers to abstain from any action violating the basic principles that protect nuclear facilities.”

After receiving information from the ZNPP about the drone attacks, the IAEA experts stationed at the site went to three affected locations. They were able to confirm the physical impact of the drone detonations, including at one of the site’s six reactor buildings where surveillance and communication equipment appeared to have been targeted. While they were at the roof of the reactor, unit 6, Russian troops engaged what appeared to be an approaching drone. This was followed by an explosion near the reactor building.

The IAEA team reported that they observed remnants of drones at this and two other impact locations at the site. At one of them, outside a laboratory, they saw blood stains next to a damaged military logistics vehicle, indicating at least one casualty.

The experts reported hearing explosions and rifle fire on the site throughout the day. Additionally, the IAEA team heard several rounds of outgoing artillery fire from near the plant.

While the team so far has not observed any structural damage to systems, structures, and components important to nuclear safety or security of the plant, they reported observing minor superficial scorching to the top of the reactor dome roof of Unit 6 and scoring of a concrete slab supporting the primary make-up water storage tanks.

“Although the damage at unit 6 has not compromised nuclear safety, this was a serious incident that had the potential to undermine the integrity of the reactor’s containment system,” Director General Grossi said.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/AMG-forms-new-company-to-promote-MOX-technology

Dutch specialty metals company AMG Critical Materials NV has created a new company - named NewMOX SAS - to develop commercial facilities for the production of mixed plutonium-uranium oxide (MOX) fuel using AMG's sintering furnace systems.

Based in Grenoble, France, NewMOX SAS is a subsidiary of ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH in Hanau, Germany, AMG's engineering subsidiary focused on vacuum furnace technology, which includes sintering furnace systems enabling the production of MOX fuel.

AMG said ALD's MOX technology has already been used in Germany, the USA, France, Belgium, the UK and recently ALD has been delivering such furnace systems to China.

Serge Bertrand, head of ALD France, Grenoble - where ALD has centred its nuclear technology activities - has been appointed CEO of NewMOX, while Johannes Fachinger, head of nuclear ALD Hanau, will be its chief technology officer.

According to AMG, globally there are currently about 380 tonnes of civil-use plutonium resulting from the reprocessing of used fuel from commercial nuclear power operations in storage.

"The storage of plutonium is extremely costly due to the risks associated with plutonium," it noted. "The conversion of plutonium into MOX fuel not only eliminates these risks but can be a commercially attractive alternative to storage. As an indicator, the conversion of 380 tons of plutonium into MOX translates at present fuel prices into a commercial value of USD15 to USD20 billion."

"The NewMOX business model is simple," said AMG CEO Heinz Schimmelbusch. "There is a lot of plutonium stored and the operators of these storage facilities are seeking ways to reduce storage costs; there is the proven ALD MOX sinter furnace technology; and there is a large MOX market which will grow with the development of the emerging small modular reactor wave.

"It is the objective of NewMOX to form partnerships for the construction and operation of a commercial plutonium recycling facility producing MOX fuel starting with conceptual engineering and feasibility studies. This will take time, but this is a very valuable destination."

The plutonium (and uranium) in used nuclear fuel can be recovered through reprocessing. The plutonium can then be used in the manufacture of MOX fuel, to substitute for fresh uranium oxide fuel. A single recycle of plutonium in the form of MOX fuel increases the energy derived from the original uranium by some 12%, and if the uranium is also recycled this becomes about 22% (based on light water reactor fuel with a burn-up of 45 GWd/tU).

Today, MOX is widely used in Europe and in Japan. Currently about 40 reactors in Europe (Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and France) are licensed to use MOX, and more than 30 are doing so. In Japan, about ten reactors are licensed to use it. These reactors generally use MOX fuel as about one-third of their core, but some will accept up to 50% MOX assemblies.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Indian-net-zero-will-need-nuclear,-report-finds

India can achieve clean, affordable electricity and become net-zero by 2070 - but will need substantial nuclear power and renewable energy to do this, according to a new in-depth report prepared for the Indian government.

Synchronizing energy transitions towards possible Net-Zero for India: Affordable and clean energy for all was launched by Ajay Kumar Sood, principal scientific adviser to the Government of India, on 3 April. The 224-page report was prepared by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) as part of a project sanctioned in November 2021 by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India. The aims of the project were to carry out a comprehensive study looking at methods for minimising the cost of power at the consumer end and to work out an optimum mix for all sources of power to reach net-zero emissions.

The IIMA project team was led by Amit Garg under the guidance of an expert group constituted by the Office of the PSA which included representatives from the coal, nuclear, solar, wind and biofuels generation sectors. The report was independently reviewed by Tata Consulting Engineers Limited.

At the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged that India would achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. To achieve this, the report notes, India's electricity sector will need to decarbonise "well before" then. The study explores how the country can achieve clean and affordable electricity under four different net-zero (NZ) pathways and maps out its future energy requirements under seven alternative scenarios ranging from low to high economic growth, aligned with India's ambition of achieving "developed country" status by 2047.

Coal is projected to continue for the next two decades as the backbone of Indian energy system, but nuclear power generation forms a substantial portion in all of the NZ pathways. "However, slowly but surely, non-fossil energy (renewable and nuclear) needs to replace the fossil fuel share," the report notes. "Net-Zero is a challenge for India. Multiple transitions have to happen almost simultaneously across energy supply and end-use sectors."

"No NZ is possible without substantial nuclear power generation in 2070," the report concludes. This would require significant investments in research, development, and large-scale deployment of nuclear technologies. But the cost to end users under the NZ1 scenario - which is described as having a "thrust" on nuclear energy and includes a nuclear capacity of 331 GWe by 2070 - is found to be the lowest among all NZ options. "This is an important insight and should guide the policy and technology basket at the national level," it adds. The establishment of a carbon price in India could generate further funds to "fill the investment gap in achieving the nuclear thrust".

Recommendations

Among its recommendations, the report calls for a "level playing field" for all low-carbon technologies with new, innovative finance and/or transition finance mechanisms to avoid preferential treatment for any technology, and life-cycle assessments for all alternative energy systems.

Trade bans and India's lack of indigenous uranium have hampered nuclear energy's momentum in the past until the more recent opening of the civil international uranium trade, the report notes. It recommends that uranium storage facilities are commissioned to allow for resilience.

"Institutional arrangements may be scaled up so that more nuclear power could be commissioned easily and early. This may include public private partnerships. Special economic zones could be set up in areas where nuclear power/hydrogen cogeneration can take place alongside industrial operators with large demand for these commodities."

Synchronizing energy transitions was one-third funded by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.