Nuclear Energy

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/CERN-s-decision-to-end-cooperation-with-Russian-sc

CERN, the European Council for Nuclear Research, is to cut cooperation with Russian scientists later this year, a decision the country's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called "politically motivated and absolutely unacceptable".

CERN was established in 1953, with cooperation with the Soviet Union first formalised in 1967. In 1993 a Cooperation Agreement was signed with the Russian Federation, which led on to the 2019 International Cooperation Agreement, which is in force until 30 November 2024 and constitutes the framework for cooperation between the parties.

Following a March 2022 United Nations General Assembly Resolution, entitled "Aggression Against Ukraine”, it suspended the Observer status of the Russian Federation until further notice and "the effective suspension of all exchanges of funds, materials and personnel in both directions with the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, and suspended the participation of CERN scientists in all scientific committees of institutions located in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, and vice versa".

The decision to end the cooperation agreement was taken in December 2023 when CERN's Council passed a resolution "to terminate the International Cooperation Agreement between CERN and the Russian Federation, together with all related protocols and addenda, with effect from 30 November 2024; To terminate ... all other agreements and experiment memoranda of understanding allowing the participation of the Russian Federation and its national institutes in the CERN scientific programme, with effect from 30 November 2024; AFFIRMS That these measures concern the relationship between CERN and Russian and Belarusian institutes and do not affect the relationship with scientists of Russian nationality affiliated with other institutes". The cooperation agreement with Belarus will come to an end on 27 June, before the Russian one ends.

Russian scientists are continuing to work at CERN at the moment - earlier this week Pavel Logachev, director of the Institute of Nuclear Physics at the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told the TASS news agency that six of their researchers would continue their work at CERN until the end of the agreement.

And a spokesperson for the Institute of Nuclear Physics at the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences told TASS: "The decision will negatively affect scientific research carried out both by CERN and Russian institutions. A process is currently under way to hand things over to our colleagues from various CERN member states, which is expected to be completed by November 2024."

When asked about the situation on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry's Zakharova called the CERN decision a "political" one that was "unacceptable", saying it runs "completely counter to the spirit of scientific cooperation ... foreign researchers and companies willing to boost cooperation with our country are the victims of this aggressive campaign".

CERN, which is based in Geneva, says its mission is to help "uncover what the universe is made of and how it works. We do this by providing a unique range of particle accelerator facilities to researchers, to advance the boundaries of human knowledge". Among its achievements have been the Large Hadron Collider, which started up in 2009, the Higgs boson was discovered in 2012 and it was also the birthplace of the World Wide Web. CERN has 23 Member States, 10 Associate Member States and includes 17,000 people from all over the world, with more than 110 nationalities represented.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Upgraded-Kalinin-1-to-get-new-control-room-simulat

First concrete has been poured for the new full-scale control room simulator building for Kalinin nuclear power plant's first unit - it used to share a simulator with the second unit, but a modernisation programme means it now needs it own training facility.

When complete - which is due to be by the end of 2025 - the nuclear power plant, which is in the Tver region about 300 kilometres northwest of Moscow, will have four separate full-scale simulators - one for each of its four VVER-1000 reactors. Kalinin NPP Deputy Chief Engineer for Personnel Training Evgeniy Kolesnichenko said this made it one of a kind.

The nuclear power plant's chief engineer, Ruslan Alyev, said that the training facilities allow staff to simulate various operating modes and situations, and that, until recently Kalinin units 1 and 2 did not have significant differences so could share one simulator. But after a modernisation programme including equipment on the control panel "it became clear that a separate simulator was needed".

Kalinin 1 received a 10-year licence extension to 2025 in 2014, and has since undergone large-scale upgrade work with the aim of its service life being extended to 2044.

The Kalinin nuclear power plant consists of four units. Units 1 and 2 are V-338 model VVER-1000s which began commercial operation in 1985 and 1987, respectively. Kalinin 3 and 4 are both 950 MWe V-320 model VVER-1000 reactors, which were completed in 2004 and 2012.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Constellation-issues-first-US-nuclear-green-bond

Constellation Energy has issued the first corporate green bond in the USA that can be used to finance nuclear energy projects. The company will use proceeds from the USD900 million, 30-year term, offering for investments such as maintenance, uprates and life extensions of its nuclear power plants.

A green bond is a financial instrument that is issued specifically to finance projects or activities that deliver positive environmental or climate impacts, Constellation noted. It allows investors to actively support investments that promote sustainability and help address environmental challenges.

The nuclear green bond offering was based on a new green financing framework that Constellation developed to enable the company to issue green financial instruments. Proceeds from the issuance can be used to finance green projects such as nuclear power uprates, technologies to produce clean hydrogen, energy storage systems, wind repowering and carbon-free energy solutions for Constellation's commercial customers.

Crédit Agricole CIB - the corporate and investment banking arm of France's Crédit Agricole Group - served as Green Structuring agent in Constellation's nuclear green bond offering.

Independent environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) and corporate governance research, ratings and analytics firm Sustainalytics has verified the environmental benefits of Constellation's framework and its alignment with the Green Bond Principles, 2021 issued by the International Capital Markets Association and Green Loan Principles, 2023 by the Loan Market Association. These voluntary guidelines for issuing or borrowing green financing instruments support a green label for Constellation's bond issuance.

Baltimore-based Constellation operates 14 nuclear power plants in the USA with a combined generating capacity of more than 19,000 MWe. These are: Braidwood, Byron, Calvert Cliffs, Clinton, Dresden, FitzPatrick, LaSalle, Limerick, Nine Mile Point, Peach Bottom, Quad Cities, R E Ginna, Salem and South Texas Project.

"Elected officials on both sides of the aisle, climate and sustainability advocates and the general public are increasingly recognising the value nuclear energy delivers, not only for its unmatched 24/7 reliability, but for its positive environmental impact as a clean energy resource," Constellation Executive Vice President and CFO Dan Eggers said. "The strong market response shows the investment community agrees nuclear energy is a unique clean-energy technology that is going to play a critical role for decades to come and is a safe, long-term investment.

"With the nation's first-ever corporate nuclear green bond issuance as part of our long-term financing mix, Constellation and the market have again confirmed: Nuclear investments are long-term sustainability investments."

Since becoming the first nuclear operator in the world to successfully issue green bonds in 2021, Canada's Bruce Power has now cumulatively issued CAD1.7 billion (USD1.2 billion) in Green Bonds through three offerings.

Also in Canada, Ontario Power Generation updated its Green Bond Framework in July 2022 to include eligible nuclear projects. It subsequently issued a CAD300 million green bond to finance the refurbishment of its Darlington nuclear power plant.

In November 2023, France's EDF launched a senior green bond issue dedicated to the financing of its existing nuclear fleet, for a nominal amount of EUR1 billion (USD1.1 billion).

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Iraq-meets-with-IAEA-to-discuss-nuclear-energy-pla

Iraq's plans for small modular reactors and nuclear medicine, as well as its decommissioning progress, were among topics discussed during a visit by International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani and senior government leaders met Grossi in Baghdad for discussions about the country's plans and the agency's support for "peaceful, safe and secure use of nuclear technology in Iraq".

Grossi said: "The IAEA has committed to support the foundations of what should be an entirely peaceful programme here in Iraq. We are living in a world where there is an intense growing interest in nuclear technology… This time we are going to get it right, in strict adherence to the non-proliferation norms and international conventions, which are indispensable."

Iraq is looking at options such as small modular reactors for energy security and water desalinisation projects and has become a contracting party to the Convention on Nuclear Safety, which seeks to ensure countries operating land-based civil nuclear power maintain a high level of safety by establishing fundamental safety principles.

There was also discussion about collaboration on nuclear medicine, oncology and radiotherapy, with Grossi saying that through its Rays of Hope programme, which aims to boost availability of nuclear medicine-based treatments, the agency would "give more support, more equipment, more training, more capacity" for Iraq to improve cancer outcomes.

Iraq originally joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1969 but, under Saddam Hussein's leadership, was found in 1990 at the time of the first Gulf War, to be clearly in violation of it. In response, the UN Security Council asked the IAEA to remove, destroy or render harmless Iraq's nuclear weapons capability, which it did by 1998. But a variety of the country's nuclear facilities were destroyed by military actions between 1981 and 2003 with facilities also damaged or looted.

During the trip Grossi visited the Al Tuwaitha site which was once at the centre of Iraq's nuclear programme and which is now proposed to become the site of a new low-level radioactive waste repository, designed with IAEA assistance under the European Union's Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation project.

There is currently an IAEA mission to Iraq seeking to help with the development of a national integrated strategy for radioactive waste management, with Grossi saying: "It's crucial that we bring to a successful and satisfactory phase, the work of decommissioning, the work of remediation of the remnants from the past."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/EU,-US-council-underlines-joint-strategic-efforts

The USA and the European Union have reiterated their intent to strengthen their strategic relationship to ensure energy security, align policies, and deepen cooperation on technologies and innovation, all with the aim of accelerating the global transition to climate neutrality.

High-level representatives met in Washington DC on 15 March for the 11th US-EU Energy Council, the lead transatlantic forum for coordinating strategic energy issues at political and technical levels. The meeting was chaired by US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, US Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk, European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, and European External Action Service Acting Deputy Secretary General Bélen Martinez Carbonell.

"Transatlantic energy cooperation is vital to advancing diverse and resilient energy systems, bolstering energy security, promoting stability and transparency in global energy markets, and accelerating just energy transitions consistent with our mutual commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions at home and globally by 2050," the Council said in a joint statement issued after the meeting.

It recognised the work of the EU-US Task Force on Energy Security, and pledged to continue working to build on efforts to ensure energy security in Europe and beyond and contribute to decarbonisation globally. It welcomed the outcome of the first global stocktake under the Paris Agreement - issued at COP28 in Dubai last December - and called on all Paris Agreement Parties to come forward in their next nationally determined contributions with emission reduction targets aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

It also emphasised the need for the world to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a "just, orderly, and equitable manner" to achieve net zero by 2050 "in keeping with the science". The next decade will be critical for this, it said, and "reiterated the urgency of phasing out unabated coal in the energy sector globally, in particular ending the continued investment in new coal-fired power plants".

"Energy systems with diverse and resilient supply chains that do not overly rely on a single supplier for fuels, critical raw materials and minerals, or other inputs are key to reducing dependencies and countering attempts to weaponise energy," it noted.

The council noted the role that nuclear power can play in decarbonising energy systems in countries that have decided, or will decide, to use it, adding that the USA and EU "intend to intensify cooperation to reduce dependency on Russia for nuclear materials and fuel cycle services, and support ongoing efforts by affected EU Member States to diversify nuclear supplies, as appropriate".

It also reiterated its "strong condemnation" of Russia's continued control and its actions "at and around" the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, and reaffirmed its support for the five principles outlined by International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi to the UN Security Council, and for the agency’s work to apply safeguards and assist Ukraine in managing the safety and security of its nuclear facilities.

"Our cooperation gets stronger & covers a broader range of topics. From bolstering #energysecurity & supporting [Ukraine], to securing clean energy supply chains & accelerating the #energytransition," Kadri Simson said on X.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Contract-for-removal-of-Muhleberg-reactor-vessel

A consortium of German companies has been awarded a contract to dismantle and package the reactor pressure vessel, including the vessel head and insulation, at the Mühleberg nuclear power plant in Switzerland.

The so-called UfG consortium - comprising Uniper Nuclear Services GmbH, Framatome GmbH and GNS Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service mbH - will be responsible for the dismantling and packaging of the following components: the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) including calotte and stand frame; RPV lid; control rod drive housing; and the RPV insulation with brackets and plates.

The total amount of material to be removed under the contract - the value of which has not been disclosed - is about 270 tonnes. Work on site will start at the end of 2025.

The UfG concept includes the mechanical pre-dismantling of the RPV in the installation position into the largest possible segments. This is followed by thermal post-dismantling and packaging for storage.

The Mühleberg plant - comprising a single 373 MWe boiling water reactor - began operations in 1972 and was shut down on 20 December 2019. Dismantling operations began on 6 January 2020. However, it has only been considered permanently out of service since 15 September 2020 when its operating licence was replaced by a decommissioning order. Mühleberg is the first nuclear power plant in Switzerland to be decommissioned.

The plant is being dismantled in three decommissioning phases. The first phase lasted until all the plant's 418 fuel elements were removed. This was completed in September last year, 16 months ahead of the original scheduled date, set in 2015. The second phase ends with the lifting or clearing of controlled zones, while the third phase includes work to demonstrate that the system is no longer a source of radiological hazard.

Plant owner BKW submitted its application to the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate in late June 2022 for the second decommissioning phase of Mühleberg.

During that phase, all remaining plant components that have come into contact with radioactivity will be dismantled, treated and cleaned. These include, for example, the reactor pressure vessel, parts of the containment or the fuel element storage pool that is no longer required.

In March 2023, Uniper Nuclear Services - a subsidiary of Germany's Uniper Group - was contracted by BKW to dismantle, disassemble and package the two moisture separator reheaters at Mühleberg.

By the end of 2030, Mühleberg is expected to be free of radioactive material, with conventional dismantling set to begin in 2031. BKW plans to submit an application for conventional dismantling to the authorities by 2027.

The site is expected to be available for other uses from 2034 onwards.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Bannerman-completes-scoping-study-for-extended-ope

The study evaluates two future-phase options for a higher throughput and operating life post ramp-up at the project in Namibia.

Bannerman Energy is currently advancing front end engineering and design, offtake marketing and strategic financing workstreams for its base-case development - Etango-8 - with a throughput of 8 million tonnes (Mtpa) per year. Etango-8 was the subject of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) completed in 2022.

The future options investigated in the new scoping study are: a post ramp-up expansion of throughput capacity to 16 Mtpa, referred to as Etango-XP; and an extension of operating life to 27 years, referred to as Etango-XT.

Etango-XP would see mine and plant throughput expanded to 16 Mtpa from its fifth operational year. Key outcomes for this scenario include a life-of-mine output of 95.2 million pounds U3O8 (36,618 tU) over 16 years, up from 52.6 million pounds over 15 years under the Etango-8 DFS; and an annual average output (post plant expansion) of 6.7 million pounds U3O8 (up from 3.5 million pounds for Etango 8). The cost for the expansion phase would be USD325M, with a life-of-mine average all-in-sustaining cash cost of USD42.5 per pound U3O8 (USD38.1 per pound for Etango 8).

Etango-XT would involve a life extension with mine and plant throughput maintained at 8 Mtpa. For this scenario, a life-of-mine output of 95.2 million pounds over 27 years is envisaged (the Etango-8 DFS envisaged 52.6 million pounds over 15 years), with an annual average output of 3.5 million pounds U3O8 (Etango-8: 3.5 million pounds), with no expansion phase capital expenditure and a life-of-mine average all-in-sustaining cash cost of USD45.3 per pound U3O8.

All Etango-8 cost estimates, including pre-production capex of USD320 million, remain materially unchanged.

Bannerman's core focus is still the development of Etango at an initial 8 Mtpa throughput scale, CEO Gavin Chamberlain said. The scoping study was done to demonstrate "the ready technical and financial viability" of expanding or extending the base case Etango operation following construction and ramp-up, he added. "As evidenced by the announced outcomes, the Scoping Study has categorically demonstrated this further growth optionality. In short, the long-term scalability of the world-class Etango resource remains highly robust under the base case Etango-8 approach to initial project development."

Bannerman Executive Chairman Brandon Munro said the scoping study "emphatically evidences … the significant underlying value residing in Etango’s huge in-ground leverage to, and scalability with, higher uranium price outlooks".

Position paper says substantial efforts needed if reactors are to fulfil vital role.

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 if nuclear power is to fulfil its vital role as a low-carbon energy source that can ensure energy security and stable electricity prices, the president of the Brussels-based European Nuclear Society told NucNet.

Stefano Monti said the most urgent issue is securing a competent workforce, which is not only about PhDs and post-doctorate level or highly educated researchers, but also nuclear managers, nuclear safety experts and nuclear authorities, technicians and welders.

He said another critical aspect is a well-organised and competitive supply chain, particularly in Europe, where the supply chain has been affected by the limited number of nuclear projects in recent decades.

“Europe has partially lost this capability and this is one of the major reasons why recent nuclear realisations have suffered delays and extra costs,” Monti said.

Asked about funding for nuclear research and other nuclear projects, Monti said the world has never been as rich as today and a number of private funds are potentially available, but a pre-condition is to “establish a level playing field for funding and financing nuclear power projects”.

He said: “Governments have a key role in that. It is not by chance that one of the main topics addressed by the Nuclear Energy Summit is just opportunities and challenges to create this enabling condition.”

The Nuclear Energy Summit will see world leaders will gather in Brussels on Thursday (21 March) to highlight the role of nuclear energy in addressing global challenges such as global warming and energy security while also addressing hurdles that lie in the way of reactor deployment.

Co-chaired by International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Rafael Grossi and Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo, the summit will be the highest-level meeting to date exclusively focused on the topic of nuclear energy, which the IAEA said is attracting growing interest from many countries because it can both help to cut the consumption of fossil fuels while meeting rising demand for low-carbon dispatchable electricity.

Monti said a number of technology-oriented areas need to be strengthened including advanced nuclear fuels and fuel cycles, AI applications to nuclear power, test and qualification of innovative materials.

He said Europe has excellent skills in materials testing, but there is a dramatic lack of research and material test facilities.

“On that, like on the other topics that I have mentioned, we are lagging behind the rest of the world. We will need at least one decade to bring our capabilities at the same level as Russia, China and India.

‘We Need To Scale Up Public And Private Investment’

“If we want to keep the pace with emerging countries, both private industries and public bodies have to scale-up investments, focusing on what is really relevant to enable European industry to be competitive in the international market.”

Moti’s comments came as ENS’s High Scientific Council said in a position paper that substantial efforts are needed in research, development, and innovation (R&D&I) if nuclear power is to fulfil its vital role.

The council, which advises ENS on nuclear-related developments, said the main areas requiring “intense” research, development and innovation include support for new-built projects, improving the operation of the current fleet, advancing innovative nuclear energy technologies and securing an abundant supply of fuels and advanced fuels.

Other challenges include integrating nuclear facilities with future energy systems, digitalisation and nuclear medicine.

The council called for substantial and targeted funding from both private and public sectors for research projects, recruitment and retention of researchers, and support for education and training of the future workforce.

It also wants to see “open political support” for nuclear energy to encourage the young generation to join the nuclear workforce.

Maintaining, replacing, and extending aging nuclear research facilities is needed so researchers can produce, test and qualify advanced materials for energy, medical and industrial applications. The council called for the construction of new research and material test reactors to support the design and early deployment of innovative nuclear systems.

Warsaw planning update 2020 energy programme to ‘strengthen position of nuclear’.

There is no alternative to deploying nuclear power for Poland’s future energy mix and to help secure baseload generation against intermittent renewables, Milosz Motyka undersecretary of state in ministry of climate and environment, told a panel discussion on Monday 18 March.

“If not nuclear, then what? Not coal, there is no alternative,” Motyka told the Baltic Nuclear Energy Forum in the city of Gdansk, about 100 km southeast of Poland’s proposed first nuclear station at Lubiatowo-Kopalino on the Baltic coast.

The cost of basing the Polish economy on coal-fired generation will be increasingly higher in the coming years and “it’s not worth it” for the economy and the environment, he said.

Asked about renewable energy sources, Motyka said nuclear will secure the baseload of power generation and the stability of the energy system against the intermittent nature of wind and solar.

“There is no alternative to the stability of the system like nuclear energy,” Motyka said.

He said the government wants to update a 2020 nuclear energy programme by the end of this year – an update that will “strengthen the position of nuclear”, according to Motyka. The update is also expected to include progress on small modular reactors, according to earlier reports.

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.

Financing Remains A Question

Financing, however, remains uncertain, with the government yet to make public a final decision.

Government officials recently said Warsaw is looking at a contracts for difference (CfD) scheme. Earlier options included attracting equity from a co-investor or debt financing.

According to Bogdan Pilch, director of the Polish Chamber of Power Industry and Environmental Protection, equity financing may be a “wrong” option because it is “always the most expensive method” of financing.

Pilch added that another related issue may be the loss of full control over the project, which better remain under the ownership of a single Polish company. Currently, this is project company Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe, owned by the Polish state.

Robert Rudich, energy attaché at the US embassy in Warsaw, said the decision on financing rests with the Polish government.

He said: “A lot of the concepts that were developed to try and bring some degree of US equity as opposed to subsidised debt financing are probably not the most economical way to finance this project.

“I don’t want to give the impression that we are backtracking on anything, because everything that we have put on the table is absolutely on the table,” Rudich said.

He said the US Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank) has sent a letter of interest for “a very large number of billions of dollars” to support Poland’s first nuclear project. “That is probably the lowest-cost debt financing available and it is an immensely powerful tool that we are bringing to this strategic project.”

In 2020, Warsaw signed in 2020 an agreement with the Exim Bank to finance projects supporting climate change in Poland, including potential new reactors. Models of financing by the Exim Bank, the US Development Financial Corporation, and equity capital by Westinghouse and Bechtel formed part of an offer for the first nuclear station presented to Poland by the US ambassador in September 2022.

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.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Work-begins-on-developing-Akkuyu-decommissioning-c

TVEL has entered an agreement "to develop cost plans for the decommissioning" of the four units being built at Turkey's Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which are expected to have a design life of at least 60 years.

Natalya Nikipelova, president of TVEL, which is part of Rosatom, said the contract was concluded "within the framework of cooperation between Rosatom and the Republic of Turkey, aimed at fulfilling obligations under the intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the Akkuyu NPP relating to the decommissioning of nuclear power plant units and waste management".

Akkuyu, in the southern Mersin province, is Turkey's first nuclear power plant. Rosatom is building four VVER-1200 reactors, under a so-called BOO (build-own-operate) model. According to the terms of the Intergovernmental Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey, the commissioning of the first power unit of the nuclear power plant must take place within seven years from receipt of all permits for the construction of the unit.

The licence for the construction of the first unit was issued in 2018, with construction work beginning that year. Nuclear fuel was delivered to the site in April 2023, with the aim of carrying out a physical start-up in 2024. The 4800 MWe plant is expected to meet about 10% of Turkey's electricity needs, when all four units are operational, scheduled to be by the end of 2028.

Rosatom says that it will develop costings and a plan to provide contributions during the plant's operation to contribute to the decommissioning costs at the end of its life.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Extrusion-demo-is-milestone-for-Lightbridge-Fuel-f

The extrusion of samples of an alloy of depleted uranium and zirconium at Idaho National Laboratory is a critical step in the process to qualify Lightbridge Corporation's advanced nuclear fuel technology.

The extrusion process involves pressing a metallic alloy billet through a die, as shown in a video shared by the company. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Lightbridge will analyse the extruded rod to confirm the extrusion process parameters prior to producing future fuel samples using high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which will ultimately be used in the manufacture of Lightbridge Fuel.

Lightbridge Fuel is described by the company as a proprietary next-generation nuclear fuel technology for existing light water reactors and pressurised heavy water reactors which it says can significantly enhance reactor safety, economics, and proliferation resistance. The company is also developing Lightbridge Fuel for small modular reactors. Development of the fuel has received US federal support, with the award of two vouchers under the US Department of Energy's Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) programme. GAIN vouchers give advanced nuclear technology innovators access to the research capabilities and expertise available across the department's national laboratory complex.

The work at INL is part of Lightbridge's strategic partnership project and cooperative research and development agreements with Battelle Energy Alliance LLC, the Department of Energy's operating contractor for INL. The collaboration aims to generate irradiation performance data for Lightbridge's delta-phase uranium-zirconium alloy relating to various thermophysical properties, which the company says will support fuel performance modelling and regulatory licensing efforts for its commercial deployment.

"This achievement demonstrates the unique role that national laboratories, particularly INL, play in nuclear innovation and keeping the US as the global leader in nuclear energy," said Jess Gehin, INL associate laboratory director for Nuclear Science and Technology.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/In-Quotes-NexGen-Energy-s-Leigh-Curyer-on-the-Rook

In an interview for the World Nuclear News podcast NexGen Energy CEO and President Leigh Curyer set out the path ahead for what he calls their world-leading project in Canada, and gave his overview of the uranium sector's prospects.

Here is an edited transcript of parts of the World Nuclear News podcast, which you can also listen to via the embedded player below or on any podcast players. Read the source for a podcast player.

NexGen Energy's history

We founded NexGen Energy in 2011 and acquired a number of exploration properties in the Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan. The deposits in the Athabasca Basin are on average 100 times the grade of the current grade of world production so you're looking for very high grade deposits, but they're very difficult to find. We were very fortunate after looking at a 30-year history of exploration in the area and then applying some new geophysical surveys over the land package we targeted a number of zones in that southwestern side of the basin and on our 21st drill hole on the property, but the very first drill hole on this particular target, we hit mineralisation. It wasn't until mid-2014, about six months after that discovery hole, that we we then hit an intercept which at the time was about the fourth best hole in uranium exploration history from a width-times-grade perspective - that hole is no longer in the top 20, the other holes [which have superseded it] are all hosted by the Arrow discovery. At that time we knew we had something incredibly significant. We knew it was one of the world's best deposits, and it certainly has turned into the world's best deposit from a grade, size and also technical environmental setting.

How long will it take to get to production?

Mining does take many years and we have just hit the 10 year anniversary from that discovery. We received our Saskatchewan provincial environmental approval in November and we're confident that we will receive the federal permit in the very near future. The timeline on construction is estimated to be 42 months from that point in time. If we were to receive the federal permit in 2024, you would expect production at the end of 2027, early 2028. So from discovery through to production, you're looking around 14 or 15 years.

Innovative approaches to the licensing and permitting side

Our approach has been, first of all, understanding what is required to be permitted. So even before we submitted our original project description, we put a lot of work into understanding the permitting process in Canada, the level of validation required around the technical, the environmental and the social aspects of environmental approval. And we ran that process provincially in Saskatchewan, in parallel to the federal approval process in Canada. The fact is, the environmental impact study, is primarily the same document, both provincially and federally, and there's licensing as well as the environmental approval which we have run in parallel. We've had that benefit of having a well understood ore body, it's incredibly hard rock, so it's very easy to extract ... we don't have deleterious metals once we get the ore to the surface to then deal with, so it has been innovative in that sense that we've run a few a number of streams in parallel and have received validation around it with the granting of the provincial approval. And we're confident we're about to receive that federally as well.

The uranium market and its impact on NexGen Energy

Over the last year or two it has certainly been quite lively after a long dormant period. A lot of people have asked me how it feels to discover the world's best project in one of the world's worst markets. And from my perspective, and also the team's perspective at NexGen, that was OK with us because it actually allowed us to get on with developing the project to the stage that we have, without being distracted with all the market noise that happens with a rising uranium price. It's been 10 years since discovery and in that time, up until the last two years, the uranium market has been pretty quiet. Our confidence was that this market was always coming, with respect to demand increasing, yet mined supply is the most fragile it's ever been and the costs of producing from those current mines are going up substantially ... this has been building since 2011 and and you just can't turn on mined supply overnight - we've got one of the simplest projects technically on the planet, and yet it's still going to be a 15-year process from discovery through to actual production. We weren't the only ones to recognise it - uranium fund holders such as Yellow Cake in the UK and Sprott Uranium Trust in North America, they saw the Western world's leading producers buying spot pounds on the market because it was cheaper than those mines could produce it themselves - and when do you ever see that in a commodity, let alone an energy commodity, so they recognised the trade and started buying. They have also been correct. I think the fundamentals are now locked in for uranium for longer than they weren't. Our project, which will be the world's largest, at about 25% of the world's mined supply, is just replacing mined supply that is expected to come off between now and when we're in production. 30 million pounds is what our feasibility engineering study has scheduled and that's coming from a very tiny mine. We are moving the ore [equivalent to the volume] of about one double decker bus, one and a half double decker buses a day - that's a reflection of the incredible grade.

How long will the supply last?

As per the feasibility study, which only takes into account the measured and indicated resources, that's 10.7 years. We have another 80 million pounds in an inferred resource. And now it's inferred just through the drill density is at 50 metre spacing, to get it into the measured and indicated, you need to bring that down to 15 to 25 metres. Now that ore will convert as has the balance of the deposit. And then we also have a number of other mineralisation zones in and around Arrow and particularly under Arrow where we've hit more mineralisation but yet to define it because it's under Arrow and it's deep. We have permitted for an initial 24-year mine life. And that permit timeline reflects our confidence in the deposit just in and around Arrow. We discovered it with the first drill hole within a four and a half kilometre radius. We obviously knew what we were doing, no doubt about that. But did we find the only motherlode in the area? I don't think so. We know we have more mineralisation as well. And so we've just recently kicked off our 2024 exploration programme, where we are looking for new Arrow-type zones within an economic distance of the Arrow deposit. So all of that signifies our approach to getting a 24-year initial mine licence.

The impact of geopolitics

We did experience as a company the demand for our ore going forward, the interest from utilities in the US, Europe, Japan, other parts of Asia increased substantially with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. So I think from an ESG perspective, we're becoming even more preferable with respect to a safe, reliable and socially acceptable source of supply, given the environmental benignness of our mine, but also the location as well.

How much of your proposed production have you already got customers for?

We're currently fully levered to future prices, we have not locked in any pounds of production yet. Once we have visibility on the precise timing of production with the federal approval, we will then start entering into those contracts. But with utilities in the US, Europe, Asia, the Middle East as well ... we've been in dialogue for primarily the last three years and the frequency of those discussions have elevated even in the last three months.

What about the wider outlook for the nuclear sector?

Having been in the sector since 2002 I'm just really pleased that the European Union came out and officially designated nuclear as clean, green and safe relative to any baseload, carbon-emitting form of energy. You saw the UK government really invest heavily in the development of their nuclear programme, the US government have also done it with the Inflation Reduction Act. I think it just reflects that people who are sensible about energy policy have recognised that the merits of nuclear are now based on the scientific fact as opposed to some of the false political ideologies that have been generated around nuclear energy.

What about the picture in Australia?

Having lived in Australia, I think Australia is one of the toughest opinion markets in the world around nuclear energy. We're going to take delivery of nuclear-powered submarines through AUKUS, and I think you are going to see a small modular reactor developed in Australia probably in that 2030 decade, because the realisation around sensible energy policy, if you want carbon-free based low power, it has to be nuclear energy. The last public opinion poll I reviewed had more than half of the population supporting nuclear energy to be developed in Australia ... I think that reflects the scientific appreciation of nuclear as opposed to some of those false ideologies that were generated in the 1960s and 1970s.

What is the latest NexGen Energy news?

During the podcast interview, Curyer said exploration teams were working hard, and said there would be updates in the months ahead. And since the episode was published, NexGen Energy has indeed announced the discovery of new intense uranium mineralisation on its SW2 Property, 3.5 kilometres east of the Arrow Deposit. In a news release Curyer said "this new intercept reflects the high potential of NexGen's extensive land package in the south-western section of the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, and is a testament to the strategic and disciplined approach to identifying new Arrow-type zones of mineralisation. Drilling activity is being fully dedicated to this new discovery area to advance our understanding of scope and scale of mineralisation".

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/GNS-and-EnergySolutions-team-up-for-Asian-market

EnergySolutions of the USA and Germany's GNS Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service mbH have signed a memorandum of understanding on the transport and disposal of large components from the future dismantling of Asian nuclear power plants.

The objective of the cooperation is the disposal of large components from decommissioned Asian nuclear power plants by EnergySolutions in the USA. German radioactive waste specialist GNS enables the transport with its worldwide unique know-how in the packaging and qualification of the components.

"In this way, customers in Asia are offered the opportunity to recycle metals for reuse in the nuclear industry," Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions said. "The partnership will focus primarily on large components, but will also look at ways to recycle other metals to reduce the amount of metal waste for disposal. This disposal route will reduce the actual amount of waste while also reducing the consumption of new resources."

"We are excited for the opportunity to partner with GNS in an effort to enhance our abilities to service the Asian nuclear marketplace," said EnergySolutions President and CEO Ken Robuck. "By partnering with GNS, we will provide our clients the confidence that materials we process for them will meet all regulatory requirements for safe compliant metal management, transportation, and recycling."

GNS Chairman and CEO Daniel Oehr added: "We are thrilled to team with our long-term partners EnergySolutions. After several successful joint projects for the melting of scraps from our European customers, this new cooperation enables us to offer a unique solution for the disposal of large components from the dismantling of nuclear power plants in Asia. It is a perfect fit for our strategy to further expand our business to Asia."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Atucha-II-gets-renewed-operating-licence

Argentina's nuclear regulator has issued a renewed licence to Nucleoeléctrica Argentina for the operation of the second unit of the Atucha nuclear power plant until 26 May 2026.

The Autoridad Regulatoria Nuclear (ARN) says the new licence would take Atucha 2 up to the end of its first 10 years of commercial operation, a decade which has seen a number of licence extensions.

In December 2015 ARN granted a conditional operating licence for Atucha 2 until May 2016, and issued its initial five year licence on 26 May 2016 following the completion of a programme of testing, training and other actions. The first, two year, extension was granted in May 2021 but the unit was shut down from October 2022 for repairs after the discovery that one of the four internal supports of the reactor had detached and moved from its design location.

That led to ARN issuing a second short-term extension to 26 May 2024, so that Nucleoeléctrica Argentina, could "implement corrective improvement actions". After verifying that Nucleoeléctrica had implemented these actions "in compliance with the established safety requirements" the regulator authorised the unit's entry back into service in August 2023, following a 10 month shutdown.

Nucleoeléctrica says that to achieve the renewal, the regulator had "verified that the company carried out all the modifications and improvements to guarantee the safe and reliable operation of the plant", which is located in the city of Lima, Zárate, 115km from Buenos Aires.

The second unit is a 693 MWe pressurised heavy water reactor and was ordered in 1979. It was a Siemens design, a larger version of the first unit at Atucha, and construction started in 1981 by a joint venture of Argentina's National Atomic Energy Commission and Germany's Siemens-Kraftwerk Union. However, work proceeded slowly due to lack of funds and was suspended in 1994 with the plant 81% complete.

In 1994, Nucleoeléctrica Argentina was set up to take over the nuclear power plants from CNEA and oversee construction of Atucha 2. In 2003, plans for completing Atucha 2 were presented to the government. The government announced a strategic plan in August 2006 for the country's nuclear power sector, including completion of Atucha 2. The unit was effectively completed in September 2011. First criticality was achieved early in June 2014, and grid connection was later that month, with full power in February 2015.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/X-energy-opens-first-training-centre-for-SMR-opera

The centre includes a full-scale plant control room simulator, Reactor Protection System prototype, and virtual reality experience as well as offices and classrooms, and will be used to train future operators of X-energy's Xe-100 advanced small modular reactors.

The Plant Support Center (PSC) will train up to 52 operators at one time with a training programme that will use virtual and simulated environments to provide trainees with hands-on experience before entering the field. It will support training for the initial deployment of the Xe-100 at Dow’s Seadrift manufacturing facility in Texas.

The control room simulator is the PSC's centrepiece and replicates a real-world plant control room, X-energy said. The Xe-100's control room boasts automated digital systems and is designed to enhance operator experience and increase cost efficiencies. The technology builds upon years of collaboration with US Department of Energy programmes, including Advanced Reactor Concepts 2015, ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy), and the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP).

The Xe-100 - a high-temperature gas reactor capable of a thermal output of 200 MW or (80 MW electrical) which uses fuel made from robust TRISO fuel particles - is one of two designs selected by the DOE in 2020 to receive USD80 million each of initial cost-shared funding to build an advanced reactor demonstration plant that can be operational within seven years. X-energy announced in March 2023 that the first deployment of the design will be at one of materials science company Dow's sites on the US Gulf Coast. Seadrift - where Dow manufactures more than 4,000,000 pounds (1816 tonnes) of materials per year for use in applications such as food packaging, footwear, wire and cable insulation, solar cell membranes and packaging for pharmaceutical products - was selected to host the first Xe-100 in May.

X-energy CEO Clay Sell said the PSC "will set the stage for the first and subsequent deployments of our innovative advanced small modular reactor technology".

X-energy will use the PSC for the final development of its training programme and reactor operating procedures before it accepts its first trainees. The centre will also be instrumental in validating and enhancing Human Factors Engineering and integrated system testing prior to deployment, the company said. As plants become operational, the facility will use real performance and operating data to enhance training and professional development. X-energy plans to set up further regional centres to support an expanding reactor fleet, becoming hubs for the company's operations, maintenance, and training services business.

"We hope this is the catalyst for advancing the way nuclear operators are going to be trained in the future. From analogue to digital displays, and from historical to real-time data, this is a highly engaging system of tools to propel US nuclear forward," Sell said.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Kazatomprom-action-plan-addresses-supply-chain-ris

Kazatomprom is "fully capable" of maintaining its position as a reliable supplier of natural uranium and its operations, with an evolving action plan that enables it to react to evolving geopolitical events, the company said in its yearly financial results statement.

Despite geopolitical tensions in 2023, the demand for nuclear power as a stable, low-carbon energy source has "notably increased", the Kazakh national atomic company's CEO Meirzhan Yussupov said. "With Kazakhstan accounting for about 40% of the world's uranium production on an annual basis, we’re proud that at least every third nuclear reactor in the world runs on Kazakh uranium.

"The company appreciates being a part of the energy security agenda. With the continuing global geopolitical uncertainty and risks, and continuous talks on the bifurcation of the market, Kazatomprom is located in an ESG-compliant and low-risk jurisdiction and is fully capable of keeping its leadership position as a reliable supplier of natural uranium and is ready to secure utilities' needs in diversifying their supply sources."

The current global geopolitical situation saw sanctions packages and lists of sanctioned goods, works and services being constantly updated throughout the year. The company said it "constantly works" to assess and monitor sanctions risks. It has developed an action plan to minimise possible negative impacts on the company’s activities, which evolves upon identification of new risks and adapts to updates.

To date, events in Ukraine have not affected the group’s financial position, it said. The majority of its revenues are received in US dollars, and financing is also raised in US dollars, creating a "natural hedging effect" against currency risks.

Active international sanctions processes against Russian banks mean it is "not advisable" for the group to engage in operations or interact with these banks and their subsidiaries, and it has taken steps to redistribute available funds to banks that are not currently sanctioned.

The provision of services under a contract for uranium processing with Uranium Enrichment Center JSC, which is located in the Russian Federation, is currently expected to continue, but "increased attention is being paid to this issue, and risks and plans associated with compliance with sanctions regimes are being analysed", Kazatomprom said.

The group - which transports material through Russia - said it continuously monitors the potential impact of sanctions on its ability to transport material, although it is not currently experiencing restrictions on activities related to supplying its products to end customers. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route continues to mitigate the risk of Kazatomprom's primary uranium transportation route via St Petersburg being unavailable for any reason.

Proposed US legislation to prohibit the import of Russian enriched uranium products from 2028 would not have any effect on Kazatomprom, since its primary business is production of natural uranium, the company said: "Whether shipped by Kazatomprom or its JV partners, Kazakh-origin uranium retains its origin until its arrival at a conversion facility."

"As part of the ongoing risk assessment programme, senior management analyses the impact of anti-Russian sanctions on the group's activities," the company said. "To date, the sanctions have not had a significant impact on the group's operations, although the resulting market uncertainty caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine has resulted in significant volatility in the uranium spot price, domestic currency exchange rate and the company's share price."

The Kazatomprom group's consolidated 2023 revenue, at KZT1435 billion (USD3.19 billion) was 43% up on 2022's figure, with operating profit showing a 49% year-on-year increase to KZT681 billion. The increase was mainly due to the growth in average realised prices associated with an increase in the spot market price for U3O8; an increase in sales volumes, mainly related to additional requests from customers to flex up their annual delivery quantities within existing contracts, plus some new long-term contracts with delivery during 2023; and an increase in revenue from the sale of uranium products related to the growth of fuel assembly deliveries from the Ulba-FA fuel plant and from Kazatomprom's rare metal products segment.

Uranium production volumes for 2024 are still expected to be 21,000-22,500 tU (100% basis), as announced in January. The company said it has "contracted the relevant volumes of sulphuric acid to meet its 2024 production guidance", but added that delays in construction works at new deposits/sites "make significant uncertainties" and may affect operating performance for the year.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Lower-tier-of-Tianwan-8-s-containment-dome-lifted

The lower part of the inner containment building's dome has a diameter of 44 metres at its base and is just over 12 metres high. The upper dome part will be lifted and welded into position in a separate operation.

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said that wind and weather allowed the hoisting to go ahead on 13 March, with a 2000-tonne crawler crane slowly lifting the tier to a height of 50.5 metres. It then went through a series of rotations and precise movements before being installed in position on the containment building at a height of 44.6 metres.

The plant uses a double containment to maximise safety, with reinforced concrete protecting the plant from external hazards including natural disasters such as earthquakes. The installation of the lower tier of the internal containment dome at Tianwan 8, follows a similar process for Tianwan 7 in May 2023. The two units are expected to be put into operation in 2026 and 2027 respectively.

In June 2018, Russia and China signed four agreements, including for the construction of two VVER-1200 reactors as units 7 and 8 of the Tianwan plant, with work launched in May 2021 at a ceremony attended via video-link by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Tianwan nuclear power plant is owned and operated by Jiangsu Nuclear Power Company, a joint venture between CNNC (50%), China Power Investment Corporation (30%) and Jiangsu Guoxin Group (20%).

Alexey Bannik, vice president for projects in China and advanced projects of Atomstroyexport, part of Rosatom, said: "Installation of the dome on the reactor building of the power unit is one of the key events at the construction site ... in the coming months, the hermetic shell of the reactor building will be installed and concreted, and the installation of the main equipment of the reactor compartment will begin - the reactor vessel, steam generators, the main circulation pipeline."

Jiangsu Nuclear Power Company says that when the eight unit plant is completed, Tianwan's clean energy will avoid the equivalent of 57.4 million tonnes per year of carbon dioxide emissions, adding that its construction goal for units 7 and 8 was to be a high quality "benchmark project" and added that, to ensure the hoisting's success, "builders from Jiangsu Nuclear Power, CNNC Engineering, CNNC Consulting, CNNC Huaxing, CNNC 23, CNNC Machinery and other units formed a Tianwan project team to systematically plan" the process.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Ur-Energy-to-build-out-second-Wyoming-project

Ur-Energy has announced a decision to "build out" the fully permitted and licensed Shirley Basin Project in Carbon County, Wyoming. The company recently made its first shipment of uranium from the restarted Lost Creek project.

The decision to build out Shirley Basin was based on the company's growing uranium sales contracts, a strong uranium market price, and an expectation of increasing uranium demand, the company said. Building out Shirley Basin will "nearly double" the company's annual permitted mine production capacity to 2.2 million pounds U3O8 (846 tU) while diversifying supply, CEO and Chairman John Cash said.

"We look forward to bringing in-situ mining technology back to its birthplace in Shirley Basin where it was pioneered beginning in 1963," he added. "The Shirley Basin Uranium District has a long, proud history and we are excited to bring the jobs back while responsibly operating."

The satellite plant at the Shirley Basin project will be a "relatively low-cost facility" consisting of ion exchange, wastewater and groundwater restoration circuits, with the capacity to produce up to 1.0 million pounds U3O8 per year, the company said. Ion exchange resin loaded with uranium from the mine will be shipped to the operating Lost Creek in-situ leach facility for processing before being recycled back into operations at Shirley Basin. This approach will help minimise costs, with initial facility capital costs of around USD24.4 million and pre-operational wellfield development costs of USD16.3 million.

The estimated time to finalise designs, order materials and construct the satellite plant and initial wellfield is approximately 24 months, Ur-Energy said. Work has already started on long-lead items and ion exchange vessels have already been designed and ordered.

Ur-Energy has been ramping up operations at Lost Creek over the past year since its decision in 2022 to restart operations, making its first shipment of U3O8 to the converter in February this year. The project produced a total of 22,278 pounds of drummed U3O8 in 2023; 2024's production had already reached some 32,000 pounds of drummed product as of 29 February.

Lost Creek has estimated measured and indicated mineral resources of 12.7 million pounds U3O8 and inferred resources of 6.1 million pounds, according to updated S-K 1300 reports filed by the company earlier this month. Shirley Basin is estimated to have mineral resources of 8.8 million pounds, all in the Measured and Indicated categories.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Germany-aims-to-build-fusion-power-plant

A new funding programme for nuclear fusion research has been announced by Germany's Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger aimed at paving the way for the first fusion power plant to be constructed in Germany by 2040.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has long supported fusion research at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Garching and Greifswald, at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and at the Research Center Jülich (FZJ).

"This institutional funding is supplemented by a second pillar with the new project funding programme," the ministry said. "The aim of the project funding is to advance the technologies, components and materials needed for a fusion power plant in a first phase by the early 2030s. In the second phase, the focus is on integration into a power plant design. The funding programme is open to technology and addresses both the technology of so-called magnetic confinement and laser fusion."

In order to achieve the construction of a fusion power plant as quickly as possible, the programme is essentially based on application-oriented collaborative research as a form of public-private partnership. Projects on specific sub-technologies are to be carried out jointly by research institutions, universities and industry. The ministry said this allows new findings from research to be taken up at an early stage and know-how to be transferred to the domestic industry for further use.

"The energy crisis has shown us how important a clean, reliable and affordable energy supply is," Stark-Watzinger said. "And fusion is a huge opportunity to solve all of our energy problems. Thanks to its excellent research landscape and strong industry, Germany offers excellent conditions for the construction of fusion power plants.

"This is where we come in with our new funding programme - named Fusion 2040 - Research on the way to a fusion power plant - and we want to pave the way to the first fusion power plant in Germany. We want to build a fusion ecosystem made up of industry, start-ups and science so that a fusion power plant in Germany becomes a reality as quickly as possible."

She said the government wants to "bundle Germany's existing strengths and create synergies between the different players".

"The global race is on. I would like us in Germany to be among the first to build a fusion power plant. We must not miss this huge opportunity, especially with a view to growth and prosperity," the minister said.

In September last year, Stark-Watzinger announced that Germany would significantly increase research funding for fusion with an additional EUR370 million (USD403 million) over the next five years. Together with funds already earmarked for research institutions, the ministry will provide more than EUR1 billion for fusion research by 2028.

In August 2011, the 13th amendment of the Nuclear Power Act came into effect, which underlined the political will to phase out fission nuclear power in Germany. As a result, eight units were closed down immediately: Biblis A and B, Brunsbüttel, Isar 1, Krümmel, Neckarwestheim 1, Phillipsburg 1 and Unterweser. The Brokdorf, Grohnde and Gundremmingen C plants were permanently shut down at the end of December 2021. The country's final three units - Emsland, Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 - shut down in April last year.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/First-concrete-poured-at-Leningrad-7

The concreting of the 2100-square-metre foundation slab for the new VVER-1200 unit has begun, with those attending the occasion told the additional Leningrad nuclear power plant capacity would help towards Russia achieving a 25% energy share for nuclear by 2045.

The Leningrad nuclear power plant is one of the largest in Russia, with an installed capacity of 4400 MWe, and provides more than 55% of the electricity demand of St Petersburg and the Leningrad region, or 30% of all the electricity in northwest Russia.

Leningrad 1 shut down in 2018 after 45 years of operation. Leningrad 2, also a 1000 MWe RBMK unit, started up in 1975 and was permanently shut down in November 2020. As the first two of the plant's four RBMK-1000 units shut down, new VVER-1200 units started at the neighbouring Leningrad II plant. The 60-year service life of these fifth and sixth units (also known as Leningrad II-1 and Leningrad II-2) secures power supply until the 2080s. Units 7 and 8 will replace units 3 and 4 as they are shut in the coming years.

The pouring of the first concrete for unit 7 marks the start of the main phase of construction of the new power unit which is expected to generate power for 60 years, with the possibility of a 20-year extension. The foundation slab needs 5500 cubic metres of concrete, with the aim to complete it by the summer, after which the construction of the floors and the inner and outer containment shells of the reactor building can begin. The aim is for unit 7 to enter commercial operation in 2030.

President Vladimir Putin took part via videolink in the ceremony, saying the construction of the new power unit "will be a good contribution" to increasing nuclear's share of Russia's energy balance to 25% by 2045 and would "increase the energy security of the entire northwestern region of Russia and provide consumers with more environmentally friendly, clean electricity for years to come".

Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region, said: "Thanks to the work of the nuclear power plant ... thousands of industrial enterprises and social facilities are operating, houses, bridges, roads are being built, large regional investment projects are being implemented, jobs are appearing, and significant funds for healthcare, education, social support of the population."

Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev said: "In addition to the Leningrad NPP, replacement units will also be built at the Smolensk and Kola nuclear power plants." He also said there would be new sites developed and "we will significantly increase nuclear generation in the Urals and expand to Siberia and the Far East, where the largest increase in consumption is predicted".

Rosatom says that the new units at Leningrad will not only replace the retiring capacity but will be able to meet growing demand and help large regional investment projects. The VVER-1200s are capable of load following, in contrast to RBMK units which only operate in baseload mode, which means running only at full power between refuelling and maintenance outages.

According to World Nuclear Association, there are currently 37 operable reactors in Russia. They generate about 20% of the country's electricity - there are four power reactors under construction and 26 more planned and officially proposed.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/US-proposed-budget-supports-nuclear-projects

The US Administration's 2025 budget request includes nearly USD1.6 billion for the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy, with support for securing supplies of high-assay low-enriched uranium, developing new reactor technologies, supporting R&D, advancing the use of additive manufacturing and AI, and deploying US reactors overseas.

The comprehensive budget request submitted by the president to the US Congress outlines the Administration’s policy and funding priorities and the economic outlook for the coming fiscal year, compiled with input from the various federal agencies. It is then considered by both House and Senate, with both legislative chambers holding hearings and creating their own budget resolutions, which must be negotiated and merged before final approval by Congress. The US fiscal year begins on 1 October.

The budget request for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy includes USD188 million to secure a near-term supply of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for DOE-supported research and demonstration projects, such as the recovery and downblending of government-owned legacy uranium and ramping up enrichment operations in Piketon, Ohio, to help make limited quantities available.

The request also includes USD142.5 million to support the continued execution of five advanced reactor projects supported through DOE’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, and USD56 million to establish new testing facilities at US national laboratories. This includes USD12 million to finish the construction of the NRIC DOME microreactor test bed at Idaho National Laboratory, which the Office of Nuclear Energy says could start testing designs as soon as 2026; USD16.5 million to complete the fabrication of fuel and key components for the MARVEL microreactor testing platform; and USD18 million to initiate construction of the LOTUS testbed.

The Office of Nuclear Energy is also requesting USD143 million to support university R&D; USD32 million to advance the use of digital tools and manufacturing methods such as artificial intelligence and additive manufacturing to strengthen nuclear supply chains, and USD8 million for projects to support the international deployment of US reactor technology.

The Office of Nuclear Energy's request is part of the DOE's wider budget request which also includes USD8.5 billion to support clean energy research and innovation. USD845 million of this is earmarked for a Department-wide initiative to accelerate the viability of commercial fusion energy, coordinating academia, national laboratories, and the private sector, in support of the Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy which was announced by the DOE in 2022.

"The FY 2025 Budget provides the Department with critical resources to transform the President's historic clean energy investments into reality - as we continue to lay the building blocks for an inclusive clean energy economy that lifts up all communities across the country, while tackling the climate crisis head-on," Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Transatlantic-collaboration-on-SMR-regulation-expa

A trilateral memorandum of cooperation has been signed between the British, Canadian and US nuclear regulators to collaborate on technical reviews of advanced reactor and small modular reactor technologies.

The Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), the UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was signed during the NRC's Annual Regulatory Information Conference in Maryland, USA, on 12 March. It was signed by CNSC acting CEO Ramzi Jammal, NRC Chair Christopher Hanson and ONR Chief Executive and Chief Nuclear Inspector Mark Foy.

The partners said the MoC underscores their commitment to share best practices and regulatory experience as new technologies move toward standardisation that facilitates international deployment. The agreement is expected to aid development of shared approaches for reviewing common technical safety issues to meet each country's regulatory requirements. The agencies will also collaborate on pre-application activities, research, training, and emerging novel technical issues.

"Importantly, the trilateral agreement signals a partnering approach that will improve both regulatory effectiveness and efficiency, essential given the rapid growth in reactor technologies that are seeking regulatory consideration and approval," ONR's Foy said. "The agreement will ensure the efficient use of regulators' time and resources through a willingness to share technical knowledge and judgements, streamlining regulation while maintaining safety standards, acting as an exemplar of how regulators should work together in today's modern world."

"This agreement shows the great progress we've made with our international counterparts to ensure advanced reactor technology can be safely and efficiently deployed," added NRC Chair Hanson. "We've seen our work with CNSC on joint reports support significant licensing activities on several advanced designs over the past couple of years. We look forward to ONR's contributions as we all consider applications to build SMRs and advanced reactors."

CNSC's Jammal said: "The CNSC is pleased to sign our first trilateral MoC with longstanding partners, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation. This provides a framework for the three nuclear regulators to work together to optimise collective skills, experience and knowledge. The agreement will help us discover greater regulatory efficiencies, and strengthen the effectiveness of our reviews of advanced reactor technologies."

The agreement builds on the information-sharing aspects of several previous agreements, as well as recent bilateral memorandums of cooperation on small modular reactor (SMR) and advanced modular reactor (AMR) technology. International collaboration and initiatives to harmonise the regulatory process are seen as vital for the safe and successful deployment of new reactor designs such as SMRs.

The CNSC and NRC have been working together on this for several years, and in 2019 signed an MoC covering technical reviews of advanced reactor and SMR technologies.

In January 2023, Terms of Reference were signed and published between the CNSC and the ONR for an MoC between the two organisations on sharing best practice and experience around reviewing AMR and SMR technologies. The agreement also allowed for future working to facilitate a joint technical review of AMR and SMR technologies and to cover pre-application activities to ensure mutual preparedness to review them effectively and efficiently.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Oklo-and-Argonne-complete-second-THETA-testing-cam

California-based liquid metal fast reactor developer Oklo Inc has successfully completed the second phase of the Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article (THETA) testing campaign in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory.

THETA is a 450-litre pool-type sodium vessel installed inside Argonne National Laboratory's (ANL's) Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) facility and consists of a primary system, submerged in a liquid sodium pool, and a secondary system, located outside of the pool, that contains all the major components of a sodium-cooled fast reactor. The primary system consists of a pump, electrically heated core, intermediate heat exchanger and connected piping and thermal barriers, while the secondary system consists of a pump, sodium-to-air heat exchanger and connected piping and valves. Fibre-optic temperature sensors provide thousands of temperature measurement points across a specific flow field, allowing tests to be performed in real-time with immediate feedback.

As well as helping researchers gain insight on how coolant flows through the reactor under all operating conditions, THETA modelling will ultimately identify parameters that could enhance fundamental knowledge for more predictable safety margins, define higher operating temperatures, and provide more efficient power operation to support a wide range of advanced reactor designs, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy.

Oklo - developer of the 15 MWe Aurora fast neutron reactor - is using THETA via a voucher through the DOE's cost-shared Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear initiative.

The THETA testing campaign is strategically focused on key thermal-hydraulic behaviour of Oklo's fast fission reactor design. A better understanding of key thermal-hydraulic behaviour enables design optimisations while providing high-fidelity data using high-fidelity instrumentation. Ultimately, the THETA testing campaign enables the opportunity to further improve the demonstrated safety and economic potential of bringing Oklo's fast fission technology to market.

"Argonne's leadership and technical expertise have been pivotal to THETA's success, and the completion of the second phase of testing is a huge accomplishment," said Patrick Everett, Deputy Senior Director of Product at Oklo. "THETA has and will continue to play a major role in Oklo's testing endeavours to support our commercialisation plans for our Aurora Powerhouses."

In May 2022, Oklo became the first developer to run tests at THETA.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/UK-completes-transfer-of-Winfrith-waste-drums

A project to transfer more than 1000 drums of radioactive waste from the Winfrith site in Dorset, in southern England, to the Low Level Waste Repository site in Cumbria, in northwest England, has been completed earlier than expected.

The project was an accumulation of eight years' work and has seen 11 consignments of drums transported by rail from Winfrith to the LLW Repository site.

A total of 1068 drums of waste from the Winfrith Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactor (SGHWR) - which ceased operations in 1990 - were placed in the Treated Radwaste Store at the Dorset site, awaiting transfer to the intermediate-level waste storage facility at the Harwell site in Oxfordshire. However, the period of radioactive decay means the drums are now classed as low-level, rather than intermediate-level, waste, allowing early disposal at the LLW Repository, the UK's primary LLW disposal facility.

The drums have been disposed of utilising void space in Vault 8, optimising the use of the LLW Repository, and freeing up the Winfrith facility for alternative use or decommissioning, the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) said. Final disposal of this waste has also removed the requirement for long-term storage, saving money for the UK taxpayer.

The initiative was a collaboration with Nuclear Waste Services (NWS), Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) and Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS), which are all part of the NDA group.

"The retrieval operation of the drums from the store went really well," said Laura Street, NRS's head of waste at Winfrith and Harwell. "We managed to improve our timings on each retrieval, meaning that the final drum was retrieved well ahead of schedule. The shipment of the drums by rail provided significant savings to the taxpayer and also saved 7502 kg of carbon emissions for each rail shipment compared to transporting these drums by road.

"This achievement takes us another step closer to completing our decommissioning mission and returning the site to heathland with public access."

Howard Falconer, Head of Waste Services at NWS, added: "Seeing the final train arrive at the LLW Repository was a proud moment and significant milestone for this successful project. It is the result of years of collaborative planning and preparation by Nuclear Waste Services, Nuclear Restoration Services, Nuclear Transport Solutions and our extensive supply chain partners involved.

"Planning and preparation were key to the success of this project with NWS staff working with Winfrith Site to explore alternatives to manage the waste more effectively. This work is integral to our mission, to make the UK’s nuclear waste permanently safe, sooner."

SGHWR was a 100 MWe prototype reactor which operated from 1968 until 1990, supplying electricity to the grid as well as performing its prime function of supporting research into water-cooled reactor technology. It is one of only two remaining reactors - both of which are being decommissioned - at Winfrith. The 84-hectare site was a centre for nuclear research and development to enable vital research into reactor design and was home to nine experimental reactors at various times from the 1950s to the 1990s.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/IAEA-governors-resolution-on-Zaporizhzhia-rejected

The board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution calling for the immediate return of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to Ukrainian control - however Russia says the vote "went beyond the mandate of the board and the entire agency".

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors resolution notes that the six-unit Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) has been under Russian military control for more than two years and "expresses serious concern about the unstable state of nuclear safety and security at the ZNPP, especially the lack of adequately qualified personnel at the site, gaps in planning and prevention work, the lack of reliable supply chains, the vulnerable state of water and electricity supply outside the site, as well as the installation of anti-personnel mines in the buffer zone between the internal and external perimeter of the installation".

It also supports the work of the IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi "to address the nuclear safety, security, and safeguards implications of the current situation in Ukraine, including through the continued physical presence of Agency technical experts at the ZNPP and other nuclear facilities in Ukraine".

Ukraine is one of 35 countries represented on the IAEA board of governors. Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said: "The vote for this resolution demonstrates the commitment of the IAEA and the need to return safety to Europe's largest nuclear power plant."

Russia's Tass news agency quoted Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations Mikhail Ulyanov as saying the 20 members who voted for the resolution "obviously went beyond the mandate of the board and the entire agency", noting that 12 countries had abstained, while Russia and China had voted against.

On Wednesday the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement about Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, thanking IAEA Director General Grossi for his efforts to promote nuclear safety and his visits to Russia and to the plant itself, as well as the stationing of IAEA experts there.

It added: "Russia makes every possible effort to improve the reliability of security at the plant and to reinforce its nuclear and physical safety ... Russia emphasises that it views any resolutions and statements by officials and international organisations calling for the Zaporizhzhia NPP to be returned Ukraine, or placed under international control, as an infringement on Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity."

The foreign ministry statement added that "we remain committed to improving the protection and safety" of the plant and the linked city of Energodar "to prevent Kiev" and the "collective West from compromising them".