Nuclear Energy

Source: https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsnew-diesel-boilers-installed-at-zaporizhia-npp-11406068

Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP) is installing four new mobile diesel boilers to generate additional steam needed for various nuclear safety functions at the site, including for waste treatment, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in his latest update.

The IAEA team of experts present at the ZNPP observed the installation work during a walkdown and were subsequently informed that the new boilers will be ready soon. The site currently has nine mobile boilers, eight of which are operating to provide heating during the winter.

“Nuclear power plants need significant amounts of steam to conduct important operational activities at the sites. This remains the case also for the Zaporizhia NPP, even though it has not produced electricity for well over a year now. The IAEA has encouraged the plant to install diesel boilers for this purpose and we welcome the planned additional capacity,” Grossi said.

Five reactors remain in cold shutdown, while unit 4 is in hot shutdown to produce steam and heat, including for the nearby town of Energodar, where most plant staff live.

Nearly three weeks after it suffered its eighth complete loss of off-site power during the conflict, the ZNPP remains connected to two external power sources: the main 750 kilovolt (kV) power line, and a back-up 330 kV power line.

The IAEA experts have continued to monitor the nuclear safety and security situation across the site, conducting walkdowns to the reactor hall and electrical safety system rooms of unit 3 and to the main control room of unit 5, where they observed a successful test of the safety systems.

In recent days, they also went to the site’s 750 kV electrical switchyard, entry point for the off-site power needed at the plant, and the onsite water treatment facility. In another walkdown, they saw the ZNPP’s cooling pond, cooling towers, inlet and outlet channels as well as the outlet channel of the nearby Zaporizhia Thermal Power Plant. However, they were not allowed this time to access the isolation gate of the cooling pond.

Separately, the IAEA experts were informed by ZNPP that they could not access the reactor rooftops as planned due to security concerns. No alternative date has so far been provided. The IAEA has previously this year been given access to three of the reactor roofs – of units 2, 3 and 4 – but not the others.

In addition, the IAEA team was once again not granted access to the north-western part of the turbine hall of reactor unit 5 during a walkdown there, despite a request made before the visit. The IAEA has not been able to visit the north-western part of any of the six turbine halls since mid-October.

The team continues to pay close attention to the maintenance situation at the plant, particularly the maintenance plan for next year, and also to the electrical equipment related to the safety systems of the reactor units following a power loss at unit 6 in mid-November. The IAEA experts have been informed that the 2024 maintenance plan is almost complete, but they have so far not been able to study it as requested.

An unannounced fire drill was conducted at the ZNPP site, following last an earlier emergency communication exercise. The drill scenario involved a hypothetical oil leakage at the transformer of reactor unit 2, which resulted in a fire. The drill’s participants included regional, city and on-site fire departments. The IAEA team was only made aware of the drill afterwards.

As usual in recent months, the IAEA team has continued to hear explosions from outside the ZNPP site, including six powerful blasts. Zaporizhzhya NPP has repaired security systems and is moving to Russian standards.

Meanwhile, Russian specialists fully completed the repair of security systems at ZNPP during 2023, according to the Advisor to the Director General of nuclear utility Rosenergoatom, Renat Karchaa. “The repair of security systems was completed in 2023 in full,” he told Tass. “Analytical work has been done to identify problem areas in the operation of the station. These have been solved in terms of both the application of federal norms and regulations, and from the technical side".

Karchaa noted that significant attention is paid to the safety of personnel, both in the production process and in terms of emergency response. He said the station continues to switch to Russian standards. One of the main tasks in this process is the preparation of applications for obtaining Rostekhnadzor licences for each power unit, for the complex for the processing radioactive waste, for the dry storage of used nuclear fuel and other facilities at ZNPP.

Source: https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsrussian-physicists-test-boron-carbide-as-wall-coating-for-iter-reactor-11406053

Specialists at the GI Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INP SB RAS) together with teams from other scientific organisations are testing boron carbide as a coating for the walls of the International Experimental Thermonuclear Reactor (ITER) under construction in France. Plasma burning during a thermonuclear reaction occurs at extremely high temperatures which can damage the walls of the reactor. Research is underway to find a substance that can protect against this damage.

The plasma in the tokamak is in a toroidal vacuum chamber. Despite the fact that it has little contact with the walls due to the retention of the magnetic field, the load on them is still large. This is both heating and radiation flux emanating from plasma, that is, neutron and gamma radiation. The material of the wall in such conditions can be destroyed. In any case, the wall cover particles will fall into the plasma, but heavy impurities are especially dangerous. Such substances in the plasma lead to its rapid cooling. Finding material for the first wall that would meet all the requirements is very difficult.

Carbon was widely used in research tokamaks to protect the walls, but its use was problematic as it can capture and retain hydrogen isotopes, including radioactive tritium. Currently, tungsten and beryllium are used as material for the first wall of the camera in ITER. Tungsten is refractory and withstands high temperatures well, but it is heavy, and when it enters the plasma, it quickly cools it. Beryllium is very light, and even when it enters the plasma, it does not affect its quality. However, the dust from beryllium is toxic to humans and is a strong carcinogen.

Therefore, a team of scientists led by Anatoly Krasilnikov, head of the ITER centre (Russia’s national agency for the construction of ITER) looked for alternative options for covering the wall of the tokamak. It needed to be heat-resistant and at the same time a light material with high thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity such as some special types of ceramics. Typically, ceramics are an insulator, but there are heat-resistant materials of the ceramic class that have sufficient conductivity.

The study also involves the Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics SB RAS, Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical & Applied Mechanics (ITAM SB RAS), and Tomsk State University of Management Systems & Radio Electronics. They applied a coating of special material with a thickness of only tens of microns. Tests are being carried out at the BETA installation in INP SB RAS, where the material is subjected to thermonuclear pulse loads. BETA is a material testing complex where it is possible to observe the parameters of the substance directly during the experiment. During testing, the material is submitted to a laser-powered thermal load from the plasma. Using a diagnostic system, temperature, absorbed heat and the degree of erosion can be tracked. Surface damage causes roughness also to change. At the BETA complex, the exact moment erosion begins can be identified with the subsequent loss of matter. “The purpose of the tests was to characterise the limit of the loads that our test materials can withstand during pulsed heating,” said research engineer Dmitry Cherepanov.

“We have been developing neutron protection from boron carbide with Virial (St Petersburg) for a long time. Virial company is a manufacturer of equipment components of ceramic and cera-metallic materials. This substance is very durable, has relatively good thermal conductivity, and we test it under the impulse loads that are characteristic of tokamaks,” explained researcher Alexander Burdakov.

Boron carbide is similar to light beryllium and does not cause the walls to cool quickly and it is also a readily available material. There are two options for using boron carbide – it can completely replace tungsten or applied to tungsten walls as a protective coating.

So far, the results from testing at the BETA complex show that the threshold values of loads at which ceramics begin to collapse are similar to tungsten. Tests suggest boron carbine is competitive with tungsten carbide and beryllium coatings.

Source: https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsiaea-reports-activity-at-north-korean-reactor-11405973

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has recalled that in his opening statement to the IAEA Board in November, he reported that IAEA had observed increased levels of activity at, and near, the Light Water Reactor (LWR) at Yongbyon in North Korea. Also – since mid-October – a strong water outflow from its cooling system was noted. These observations were consistent with the commissioning of the LWR, he said.

More recent observations now indicate that this water discharge is warm, which is also consistent with ongoing commissioning of the LWR, a process that takes some time for any new reactor. However, the discharge of warm water is indicative the reactor has reached criticality. It remains the case that without access to the facility the Agency cannot confirm its operational status.

The LWR, like any nuclear reactor, can produce plutonium in its irradiated fuel, which can be separated during reprocessing, so this is a cause for concern, Grossi noted. “Concerning the safety of the LWR, we do not have sufficient information to make an assessment. Of course, safety should always be the paramount issue when starting a new reactor. Nuclear safety is a sovereign responsibility of the State and the IAEA supports the States in this area.”

He added: “I repeat that the further development of the DPRK’s nuclear programme, including the construction and operation of the LWR, is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions and is deeply regrettable. I call upon the DPRK to comply fully with its obligations under Security Council resolutions, to cooperate promptly with the Agency in the full and effective implementation of its NPT Safeguards Agreement and to resolve all outstanding issues, especially those that have arisen during the absence of Agency inspectors from the country. The Agency is ready to engage on any of the above issues, including safety.”

South Korean Defence Minister Shin Wonsik told a National Assembly committee that the North Korean reactor would probably be fully operational by mid-2024. Defense Minister Shin Wonsik told local reporters that South Korea had spotted similar cooling system-related activities at the reactor in the summer. Shin said the reactor appears to be in the stage of a trial operation.

North Korea has long produced weapons-grade plutonium from its smaller 5 MWe reactor at Yongbyon. However, the LWR is more suited for electricity generation. Shin noted there has been no country that has used light-water reactors to produce weapons-grade plutonium. The IAEA and foreign governments rely on satellite imagery and other methods to monitor activities at Yongyon after North Korea expelled IAEA inspectors in 2009.

Source: https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsoklo-makes-siemens-energy-preferred-supplier-for-advanced-reactors-11405963

US-based fission technology company Oklo has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Siemens Energy designating Siemens Energy to become Oklo’s preferred supplier for rotating equipment of the power conversion system (conventional island) for the Aurora powerhouse. Siemens Energy would also be positioned to provide consulting to support Oklo in design work of the conventional island. Oklo says that as a result of this partnership, the power generation equipment for its powerhouses is expected to be “cost-efficient, well-proven, and sourced from readily available components, enabling a key catalyst for deployment scale-up and reliability” of for its advanced fission power plants.

“The clean power generated by advanced nuclear is one of the key steps to reaching a net zero future and Siemens Energy’s thermal energy components and services complement the powerhouses being developed by Oklo,” said Tobias Panse, Senior Vice President of Industrial Steam Turbines and Generators at Siemens Energy. “Working with Oklo as a preferred supplier will bring us closer to advanced nuclear deployments and our net-zero targets.” Oklo said Siemens Energy's contributions will extend beyond the supply of steam turbine generators; they will also provide consulting to support the design and integration of the power conversion system (conventional island).

Oklo is developing the Aurora microreactor, which uses heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core to a supercritical carbon dioxide power conversion system to generate electricity. It will use HALEU fuel. Oklo says the reactor builds on the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) and space reactor legacy. EBR-II features a hexagonal fuel element with a sealed heat pipe and a passive air-cooling system. Oklo initially marketed a 1.5 MWe microreactor version of the Aurora but has now expanded its capacity offerings from 15 MWe to 100 MWe.

Alex Renner, Senior Director of Product at Oklo said the company “is focused on providing clean, reliable, affordable power to customers” He added: “Fast fission reactors are a proven technology to produce heat and partnering with Siemens Energy takes steps to secure an efficient, reliable, and scalable supply chain for converting that heat into power in our Oklo Aurora powerhouses.”

By partnering with Siemens Energy, a global leader in energy technology, Oklo says it will gain access to a well-established supply chain for its essential components critical to making power. The partnership with Siemens Energy as a proven leader in energy solutions would complement Oklo’s overall design philosophy for the powerhouses, “which is based on proven fast reactor technology with hundreds of reactor years of successful operational history”.

Currently however, the only operational fast reactors are in Russia, which is the world leader in this technology. A number of other countries in the past have run fast reactor prototypes, such as EBR-II in the US, Phénix and Superphénix in France, the Prototype Fast Reactor and Dounreay Fast Reactor in the UK and Joyo and Monju in Japan. These were all closed down prematurely for a combination of political and technical reasons, with only the Russian development continuing.

Source: https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsjet-to-be-repurposed-after-delivering-final-plasma-11405916

The Joint European Torus (JET) at the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA’s) Culham facility has performed its final experiments, marking the end of 40 years of groundbreaking experiments. JET delivered pulse number 105,842 on 18 December over four decades after it delivered its first pulse on 25 June 1983. UKAEA CEO, Professor Sir Ian Chapman, who was present for the final plasma experiment, said: “This is the final milestone in JET’s 40-year history. Those decades of research using JET by dedicated teams of scientists and engineers have played a critical role in accelerating the development of fusion energy.”

According to UKAEA, JET’s final day of plasma “continued to push scientific boundaries, firstly attempting an inverted plasma shape for the first time at Culham before deliberately aiming electrons at the inner wall to improve understanding of beam control and damage mechanisms”. During delivery of the final pulse, JET ?? was engraved into one of its tiles.

As with previous research at JET, the findings of these experiments will support the development of the the International Experimental Thermonuclear Reactor (ITER) being built in Cadarache, France. JET has achieved a number of landmarks over the years, holding the title of the largest reactor of its type in the world until Japan’s Torus-60 Super Advanced (JT-60SA) fusion device began operation in November. Jet also achieved the world's first controlled release of fusion energy and in 1997 set a record thermal power output of 16 MW. In 2022 JET doubled previous records by producing a total of 59 megajoules of heat energy from fusion over a five second period.

JET will now move on to the next phase of its life cycle in early 2024 for repurposing and decommissioning, which will last until around 2040. However, even the decommissioning of JET will provide valuable information for the fusion community. "The decommissioning will look at analysing what has happened to the [reactor] materials and how they have changed. This will help better maintain other fusion sites," said Fernanda Rimini, JET Senior Exploitation Manager.

When the foundation stone for JET was laid in 1979, it was a multinational project comprising Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, France, Netherlands, West Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. It was subsequently operated by UKAEA jointly with scientists from 28 European countries through work coordinated by the EUROfusion consortium which manages and funds European fusion research activities on behalf of Euratom. However, UK ceased to be a member of EUROfusion after Brexit in 2020, which also compromised UK’s relations with ITER. A temporary framework for some forms of cooperation was agreed and discussions on possible future association continued. In September, the UK government decided to leave the Euratom Community for good but left the door open for potential collaboration with ITER.

The official government declaration said the UK had decided to pursue a domestic fusion energy strategy instead of associating to the EU's Euratom programme but that this “would involve close international collaboration, including with European partners, and a new, cutting-edge alternative programme, backed by up to £650m ($825m) to 2027." The European Commission acknowledged that this decision was “guided by the UK's assessment that its industry's long absence from Euratom and Fusion for Energy/ITER programmes cannot be reversed”. However, the UK made clear that it remained open to collaboration with the EU and ITER.

The UK’s fusion programme between now and 2027 includes development of the new Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) prototype fusion energy plant too be sited in Nottinghamshire, aiming for 2040. The government is providing £220m to fund the first phase of STEP, which will see the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) produce a concept design by 2024. The aim is to have a fully evolved design and approval to build by 2032, so that construction can begin.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/NuScale-SMR-meets-Polish-safety-requirements,-says

NuScale Power's NPM-20 small modular reactor (SMR) technology is compliant with Polish nuclear safety and radiological protection standards, the president of the National Atomic Energy Agency (Państwowa Agencja Atomistyki PAA) said in a general opinion.

The PAA President assessed, among others: assumptions of the design of the reactor control room, reactor core, as well as the following systems: electrical power supply, command and control, fire protection, reactor cooling, auxiliary systems, radioactive waste and used nuclear fuel management, and the reactor containment used in the NuScale NPM-20 reactor with a power of 77 MWe.

Aspects related to the design and operation of a multi-module nuclear facility, the methodology for classifying the safety of systems and elements of the structure and equipment of a nuclear facility were also analysed.

According to the PAA, a general opinion, "as a pre-licence instrument, may apply to any solutions planned by the investor, including design, technological and organisational solutions, which will have a direct impact on the issues of nuclear safety and radiological protection". The opinion aims to determine whether the planned organisational and technical solutions comply with the requirements of nuclear safety and radiological protection resulting from the provisions of the country's Atomic Law Act, or whether the investor should make appropriate modifications.

In an opinion issued on 22 December, the PAA president concludes that the assumptions adopted in the design of the NuScale technology are correct and meet the requirements of Poland's Atomic Law and selected regulations on the safety of nuclear facilities. The conclusions published by the PAA will be taken into account in the standard and detailed design process of the NuScale reactors that are planned to be constructed in Poland.

In July last year, Polish copper and silver producer KGHM Polska Miedź SA's plan to construct a power plant based on NuScale's SMR was approved by the country's Ministry of Climate and Environment. The decision-in-principle issued by the ministry is a general opinion on selected conditions enabling the construction of a VOYGR modular nuclear power plant with a capacity of 462 MWe consisting of six modules, each with a capacity of 77 MWe.

The decision-in-principle represents official state approval for the planned investment in accordance with the assumptions and concept presented by the company. It is the first decision in the process of administrative permits for investments in nuclear power facilities in Poland that an investor may apply for. Obtaining it entitles KGHM to apply for a number of further administrative arrangements, such as a siting decision or construction licence.

In February 2022, KGHM signed a definitive agreement with NuScale to initiate work towards deploying a first NuScale VOYGR SMR power plant in Poland as early as 2029. In July last year, KGHM submitted an application to the PAA to evaluate NuScale's SMR technology and prepare a site study. Under a task order signed in September, NuScale will continue to support KGHM's application to the PAA through activities including drafting additional preliminary safety analysis reports and coordinating with the PAA. The task order also sets the stage for the subsequent tasks in the Early Works Agreement as proposed by NuScale to KGHM.

NuScale's SMR technology was the first to have gained approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, in August 2020. NuScale offers VOYGR plants in four, six and 12-module configurations.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/NRA-lifts-ban-on-Kashiwazaki-Kariwa-fuel-activitie

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has decided, at a meeting on 27 December, to lift an administrative order imposed on Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) in 2021 that prohibited the company from moving nuclear fuel or loading it into reactors at the seven-unit Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant.

Tepco applied for NRA approval of its design and construction plan for Kashiwazaki-Kariwa units 6 and 7 in September 2013. It submitted information on safety upgrades across the site and at those two units. These 1356 MWe Advanced Boiling Water Reactors began commercial operation in 1996 and 1997 and were the first Japanese boiling water reactors to be put forward for restart.

In 2017, Tepco received permission from the NRA to restart units 6 and 7. Local government consents are still required before the reactors can be restarted.

However, in January 2021, Tepco notified the NRA that a contractor had accidentally damaged intruder detection equipment at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa site. The company informed the regulator the following month that some of the functions related to this equipment had been repaired. At that time Tepco said it had also found malfunctions in intruder detection equipment at 12 locations on the site and that alternative measures had been implemented. Tepco later informed the NRA of three further locations experiencing equipment malfunctions. In addition, it reported the unauthorised use of an ID card.

The NRA told Tepco in March 2021 that a preliminary assessment had rated the significance of these security lapses as 'red' - the highest level on its four-point scale of risks in safeguarding nuclear material. This rating implies a large impact on safety functions or performance. The NRA decided to "suspend for the time being" its pre-use inspections, which are required for Tepco to load fuel into Kashiwazaki-Kariwa unit 7.

The following month, the NRA issued an administrative order to Tepco prohibiting it from moving nuclear fuel at the plant until improvements in security measures there have been confirmed by additional inspections.

At the 27 December meeting, the NRA decided to lift the administrative order after inspections confirmed that measures had been enhanced at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, in Japan's Niigata Prefecture.

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa was unaffected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which damaged Tepco's Fukushima Daiichi plant, although the plant's reactors were previously all offline for two to three years following the 2007 Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake, which caused damage to the site but did not damage the reactors themselves. While the units were offline, work was carried out to improve the plant's earthquake resistance.

Although it has completed work at the other idled units at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, Tepco is concentrating its resources on units 6 and 7 while it deals with the clean-up at Fukushima Daiichi. Restarting those two units - which have been offline for periodic inspections since March 2012 and August 2011, respectively - would increase the company's earnings by an estimated JPY100 billion (USD706 million) per year.

"While going back once again to the reflections and lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Accident, we will continue to engage in activities in which all personnel voluntarily engage as we strive to become a nuclear power operator that is trusted by the people of the region and society as a whole," Tepco said.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/No-abnormalities-reported-at-Japanese-nuclear-plan

Japanese nuclear power plant operators have reported some minor damage, but no public safety issues, following the 7.6 magnitude earthquake which struck Ishikawa Prefecture on Monday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was in contact with Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority and had been told there were "no abnormalities in nuclear power plants within the affected area", adding that the agency would continue to monitor the situation.

By Tuesday at 13:00 GMT the earthquake, the largest since 2011, was known to have caused the deaths of 48 people, with rescuers continuing to search rubble for survivors.

The closest nuclear power plant to the epicentre of the earthquake was Hokuriku Electric Power Company's Shika plant, which has been shut since the Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011. With aftershocks continuing, regular inspections are taking place at the plant, but no major damage has been reported, with cooling and monitoring systems all operating, the company said.

A leak has been identified and is being investigated in a water tank which feeds the cooling ponds, although the operator says it is not affecting the cooling functions at the plant. There has also been a tilting by several centimetres of part of the four-metre-high steel seawall, but the rest of it is reported to be "sound and there is no risk of collapse". The automatic fire extinguishing system had been activated in the area of a transformer near unit 2, although no fire was detected.

The Japan Times reported that at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' (Tepco) Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant officials "confirmed Monday that water from a spent fuel pool spilled over due to the earthquake, but that no abnormalities in operation had been detected". In an update issued on Tuesday, Tepco said: "At the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the readings on the stack monitors and monitoring posts installed at the power plant site boundaries are within normal fluctuation ranges, and there is no radioactivity impact on the outside world. The spent fuel pool cooling system is in operation at all units, and there are no abnormalities in fuel cooling. As of 12:25 pm on 2 January, all patrols had been completed and no abnormalities caused by this earthquake were confirmed."

Prior to the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, Japan's 54 reactors had provided around 30% of the country's electricity. However, within 14 months of the accident, the country's nuclear generation had been brought to a standstill pending regulatory change with new safety checks and regulations brought in. So far, 12 of Japan's 33 operable reactors have cleared inspections confirming they meet the new regulatory safety standards and have resumed operation. Another 17 reactors have applied to restart.

Norway is the latest IAEA Member State to team up with the Agency’s Department of Safeguards by establishing a Member State Support Programme (MSSP). The partnership, formally signed on 27 September 2023, will see Norway working closely with the IAEA to address challenges and opportunities in the field of nuclear safeguards.

Nuclear safeguards are technical measures, embedded in bilateral agreements between the IAEA and a State, which are implemented by the IAEA to provide the international community with assurances that nuclear material remains in peaceful use.

“By establishing a MSSP, Norway intends to help the IAEA strengthen the Agency’s nuclear verification system,” said Per Strand, Director General of the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority. “Norway has a long association with the IAEA and was the very first country to have an IAEA safeguards inspection in 1962. I’m delighted that the new MSSP with the IAEA bolsters this long relationship.”

MSSPs extend support to the IAEA in various forms, including knowledge exchange, technology transfer, expert collaboration and financial support. These efforts collectively assist the IAEA in its mission to verify the peaceful use of nuclear materials while staying at the forefront of advancements in nuclear technology.

“MSSPs are one of the primary ways States can help strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of Agency safeguards,” said Massimo Aparo, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards. “By leveraging the impressive array of expertise and talent from Norway, I am confident we can accomplish great things together.”

The establishment of Norway's MSSP marks a significant addition to the network of active support programmes across the world, which has now reached 24. This partnership will allow the IAEA to work closely with Norway on a range of projects including advancing safeguards by design for new or modified facilities; training of IAEA safeguards inspectors; and developing and testing new spent fuel measurement methods.

"Norway recognizes the paramount importance of the IAEA maintaining the highest standards in international nuclear safeguards,” said Susan Eckey, Permanent Representative of Norway to the International Organizations in Vienna. “By joining the IAEA's Member State Support Programme, we aim to contribute to global efforts in this critical area. This partnership underscores our dedication to verifying the peaceful use of nuclear material worldwide.”

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Grid-connection-for-second-Shin-Hanul-unit

Unit 2 of the Shin Hanul nuclear power plant in South Korea has began supplying its first electricity to the grid, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) announced. The unit is the second of two APR-1400 reactors at the site, with a further two planned.

In a LinkedIn post, KHNP said the 1350 MWe pressurised water reactor was connected to the grid on 21 December. "Grid connection means connecting the electricity generated at the nuclear power plant to the transmission line and sending it to general households and industrial sites," it noted.

The company added: "Shin Hanul unit 2 is the 28th nuclear power unit in Korea, and plans to contribute to the winter power peak with the power generated from today."

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.

Shin Hanul 2 received an operating licence from the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission on 7 September, 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.

Unit 2 reached first criticality - a sustained chain reaction - on 6 December.

After major tests at each power output stage, it is scheduled to begin full-scale commercial operation in the first half of 2024.

Shin Hanul 2 becomes 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, three of which are now in operation, with the fourth currently in its commissioning phase.

Three stations in affected area along Japan’s west coast with tsunami warnings issued.

No irregularities have been identified at nuclear power plants following a series of strong earthquakes in western Japan and warnings of possible tsunamis, the country’s nuclear regulator has said.

Reactors at Kansai Electric Power’s Ohi and Takahama nuclear stations in Fukui Prefecture, to the north of the main earthquake site in Ishikawa Prefecture, appear not to have been affected by the earthquakes, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) added. Ohi has two units in operation and Takahama has four. The stations are about 20 km from each other and both in the affected area along Japan’s west coast.

Hokuriku Electric Power’s two-unit Shika nuclear station, about 250 km north of Ohi and closest to the strongest quake’s epicentre, has been offline since the 2011 Fukushima disaster and saw no impact from the quake, the NRA said.

It added there is "no risk of radioactivity leaking from nuclear power plants" in the areas affected by the earthquakes and tsunami.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it is in contact with the NRA and the NRA had confirmed no abnormalities in nuclear power plants within the affected area. “The IAEA will continue to monitor the situation,” a statement said.

A succession of 21 earthquakes registering 4.0 magnitude or stronger struck central Japan in just over 90 minutes on Monday (1 January), the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The strongest tremor hit Ishikawa Prefecture at 16:10 local time (08:10 Central European time), measuring 7.6.

People along the west coast have been told to evacuate to high ground due to a tsunami risk.

Following a major earthquake in northeastern Japan in March 2011, a 15-metre tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima-Daiichi reactors, causing a major nuclear accident.

All the country’s commercial reactors were shut down following the Fukushima-Daiichi accident and are not allowed to restart until they have passed stringent new safety checks.

Before Fukushima-Daiichi, Japan’s fleet of 54 nuclear plants generated about 30% of the country’s electricity. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency that figure was 7.2% in 2021.

Among the 33 operable nuclear reactors in Japan, 12 have now resumed operations after meeting post-Fukushima safety standards.

The restarted plants are: Sendai-1 and -2, Genkai-3 and -4, Ikata-3, Mihama-3, Ohi-3 and -4 and Takahama-1, -2, -3 and -4.

Prime minister Fumio Kishida’s government wants nuclear power generation to play a greater role in efforts to cut carbon emissions and ensure stable sources of energy.

Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cameroon and Ghana will participate in the next cycle of the IAEA Comprehensive Capacity-Building Initiative for State systems of accounting for and control of nuclear material (SSACs) and State and Regional Authorities responsible for safeguards implementation (SRAs). The initiative, commonly known as COMPASS, involves partnering with the State to help them strengthen the effectiveness of their SSAC and SRA.

“I am delighted to welcome the next group of States to receive safeguards support through COMPASS,” said Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the IAEA. “Cooperation between the State and the IAEA is a crucial element in the implementation of safeguards. Based on the results and lessons learned from COMPASS’s pilot phase, we will work closely with this new group of States to provide the tools and knowledge they need to fulfil their safeguards obligations effectively and efficiently.”

Through safeguards, the IAEA verifies that States are honouring their international legal commitments to use nuclear material and technology only for peaceful purposes. Launched in September 2020 by the Director General, COMPASS provides comprehensive safeguards assistance tailored to a State’s needs. During its initial pilot phase, seven States received support from the IAEA and COMPASS’s implementing partners in the areas of outreach; legal and regulatory frameworks; training; information technology; procurement; and related expertise. The IAEA successfully concluded the pilot phase in March 2023.

The individual needs of new COMPASS States will be assessed through an IAEA Safeguards and SSAC advisory service (ISSAS) mission at the start of the new implementation phase, which will begin in January 2024. COMPASS activities will then be conducted collaboratively between the State and the IAEA, with the in-kind and/or financial support of individual IAEA Member States and Member State Support Programmes.

“I am excited that Ghana has been chosen to take part in the next phase of COMPASS”, said Nii Kwashie Allotey, the Director General of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority for Ghana. “Ghana is committed to working with the IAEA to fulfil its international nuclear verification obligations. We believe that being part of COMPASS will provide Ghana the support it needs to facilitate the optimal implementation of Agency safeguards.”

As per their respective comprehensive safeguards agreements with the IAEA, 182 States are obliged to establish and maintain an SSAC. As the State’s mechanism through which it declares to the IAEA the location, uses and quantities of nuclear material in the country, SSACs are important components of IAEA-State cooperation. The need for a robust SSAC becomes particularly evident when a State is at a pivotal juncture in the development of its nuclear fuel cycle or associated legislation. This includes the planning and construction of a new nuclear facility, agreeing to the revised text of a small quantities protocol, or bringing into force an additional protocol — each of which entail new reporting obligations for the State.

“The COMPASS initiative has been a game changer for Malaysia”, said Nurul Hafiza binti Mohamed Aliasrudin, Assistant Director of the Nuclear Installation Division at the Malaysian Department of Atomic Energy. Malaysia was one of the seven States who participated in the pilot phase of COMPASS. “In two years, COMPASS helped us review safeguards regulations, develop technical guidelines and license conditions, and also enhance the training within the national safeguards authority,” said Nurul Hafiza binti Mohamed Aliasrudin.

The IAEA provides a suite of safeguards assistance to States. In addition to COMPASS, States can request and access support including ISSAS missions; national, regional, and inter-regional training offerings; e-learning modules; and the safeguards traineeship programme.

Find out more about IAEA safeguards assistance for States

Source: https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsglobal-smr-buildout-needs-a-new-marshall-plan-11398436

Over the last several years evidence has been mounting that a large expansion of nuclear energy capacity is indispensable for keeping global warning within 1.5°C limits. Multiple studies have confirmed that, contrary to the claims by “all-renewables” zealots, no single group of technologies can enable a timely and cost-efficient energy transition, and a diversified energy mix of low-carbon sources, including both intermittent renewables and nuclear, is needed to achieve net-zero by 2050. The most recent estimates suggest that the global nuclear energy installed capacity needs to increase 2.5-3 times from the current 370 GW to between 916 GWe and 1,160 GW by 2050.

To offset the retirement of the aging existing fleet, new global capacity additions over the next 25 years need to reach between 800-1,000 GWe, averaging about 30-40 GWe annually. This task is challenging, considering that the average new global capacity additions over the past decade stood at approximately 6.5 GWe per year, almost six times less than the target. While the majority of expected growth will likely come from conventional, GW-sized reactors connected to centralised grids in BRICS and other large emerging economies, between 10% and one-third of the additions are expected to come from small modular reactors (SMRs).

In December 2023, the New Nuclear Watch Institute (NNWI), a London-based think tank, published a comprehensive report: ‘Scaling Success: Navigating the Future of Small Modular Reactors in Competitive Global Low Carbon Energy Markets’ which emphasises the pivotal role of SMRs in achieving global net-zero targets and underscores the urgency for accelerated deployment of SMRs across the globe.

Despite growing interest and burgeoning number of start-ups and initiatives, the actual sector's progress in the past decades has been slower than expected. Russia's Akademik Lomonosov, the world’s first operational SMR-based facility launched in 2019 and stationed in Chukotka, remains the lone commercially-operational project to date. The recent cancellation of NuScale's pilot project in Utah in November 2023 further highlights the challenges SMR vendors face.

According to the NNWI analysis, the very attributes making SMRs appealing – their compact size, modular construction, and flexibility – are also associated with their potential strategic vulnerabilities. While SMRs offer the promise of quicker, more economical builds and suitability for diverse grid configurations, these advantages come with higher relative costs per unit of output capacity. At the same time, market demand uncertainties, along with supply chain challenges, regulatory and political risks, complicate the scaling of modular production, a key factor in driving down costs.

SMR projects are entering a very competitive market. Internally, the competition arises among different SMR designs, while externally, especially in the on-grid application segment, they face competition from other low-carbon energy sources like large reactors, utility-scale energy storage, which is advancing rapidly towards full commercialisation, advanced geothermal technologies in some parts of the world, and carbon capture and storage systems. In this context, according to the NNWI analysis, capabilities enabling a rapid scaling for SMR designs to leverage modularisation benefits and reduce costs becomes crucial. As a result, the market is expected to be dominated by first movers.

Many of the SMR vendors tout significant and even potentially disruptive reduction of overnight construction cost offered by a move from the conventional pressurised water (PWR) technology, where up to half of the capital expenses is spent on safety features, to advanced, next generation technologies boasting “inherent safety”. However, according to the NNWI, the real costs of new technologies are likely to significantly exceed ex-ante estimates. Advanced SMRs, employing technologies like molten salt and high-temperature gas reactors, might face significant delays due to complex licensing and challenges in supply chain and fuel provision. Though some prototype units still may, as planned, become operational between 2030 and 2035, widespread deployment and mass production are not anticipated until around 2040.

The NNWI analysis shows that factors beyond technology, such as access to low-cost capital, subsidised demand, shorter supply chain lead times, and more efficient licensing processes are vital, sometimes even more so than technological advancements in safety and performance. It highlights that learning curves, scalability, and reduced capital costs often lead to greater reductions in electricity costs than those achieved through technological innovation.

According to the report, in its base-case scenario the total capacity of the global SMR fleet by 2050 will be around 150-170 GWe (up to about 300 GWe in the high case). Geographically, this distribution is expected to include approximately one-third in the United States and Canada, about one-quarter in China, and another quarter across the emerging markets of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

The report evaluates the top 25 SMR projects, chosen based on a mix of external business factors and internal technological capabilities. These 25 designs or design series, according to the NNWI, have the highest chances to be successfully deployed and capture significant market shares by mid-century. It suggests that if current trends continue, over half of the global SMR capacity by 2050 could be represented by just 6 to 8 leading designs that are the first to enter the market.

The Russian RITM reactor series, benefiting from state backing and an early move into the stage of series manufacturing, is expected to capture the largest share of the global SMR fleet, representing 17-18% of its total capacity. Despite geopolitical challenges, Rosatom is likely to extend its market dominance from the large reactors’ exports segment to that of SMRs, especially in emerging markets. The Chinese Linglong One, NuScale's VOYGR, Hitachi’s BWRX-300, as well as advanced reactors like the XE-100 are projected to secure significant global market shares in the coming decades. Relative latecomers, which are expected to capitalise on substantial private and public backing, like the molten salt reactor Natrium developing by Bill Gates’ TerraPower, the French NUWARD, and Rolls-Royce’s UK-SMR, as well as the group of potential disrupters, such as OKLO’s Aurora, SSR-Wasteburner, and Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR are also expected to survive the competition and win in some significant market niches.

The NNWI estimates that developing 150-160 GWe of SMR capacity globally by 2050 will require an investment of around US$800-900bn, based on 2023 prices. State support and subsidies are vital in the sector's early stages before the leading designs reach the stage of full commercialisation. The sector is estimated to need about US$150bn in governmental aid and subsidies for its successful rollout over the next two decades. Although it may seem a lot, this amount is just a fraction of the amount currently spent on fossil fuel subsidies, with over US$1 trillion spent globally in 2022 alone, including coal subsidies via capacity mechanisms.

Despite the challenges, SMRs remain the most economically viable, and often the only practical, option for replacing coal in decentralised grids, district heating, and industrial applications. If pursuing net-zero is a genuine goal, prioritising the replacement of coal and diesel generation with SMRs is essential. The world requires an initiative akin to the Marshall Plan to assist the most carbon-intensive regions in transitioning from aging coal-fired plants to SMRs.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Haiyang-3-reactor-vessel-lifted-into-place

The 281-tonne reactor pressure vessel has been successfully hoisted into position at unit 3 of Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant in China's Shandong province, in a process which took just over two hours.

The lift began at 14:07 on December 21 with Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute saying the process had to be carefully planned to ensure the highly precision manoeuvres - which included lifting, rotating, lowering and adjusting - all proceeded successfully.

The reactor pressure vessel - which houses the nuclear reactor and is the core of a nuclear power plant - was installed in place at 16:23, in what was described as more major progress for the construction of the CAP1000 reactor unit - the Chinese version of the AP1000. It uses modular construction techniques, enabling large structural modules to be built at factories and then installed at the site. This means that more construction activities can take place at the same time, reducing the time taken to build a plant as well as offering economic and quality control benefits.

The construction of two new reactors at each of the Haiyang, Sanmen and Lufeng nuclear power plant sites in China was approved by the country's State Council on 20 April 2022. The approvals were for Haiyang 3 and 4, Sanmen units 3 and 4 and units 5 and 6 of the Lufeng plant. The Sanmen and Haiyang plants are already home to two Westinghouse AP1000 units each.

In May last year, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) signed contracts for the civil construction of the nuclear islands and installation engineering for the planned second phases of the Sanmen and Haiyang nuclear power plants. China Nuclear Industry 22 Construction Company was contracted to carry out the civil construction of the Sanmen Phase II nuclear island, and China Nuclear Industry 24 Construction Company contracted to carry out the civil construction of the Haiyang Phase II nuclear island. China Nuclear Industry Fifth Construction Company (CNI5) was contracted to undertake the nuclear island installation work at all four units.

Unit 1 of the Haiyang plant entered commercial operation in October 2018, with unit 2 following in January 2019. Together, Haiyang units 1 and 2 can provide some 20 TWh of electricity to the grid annually, sufficient to meet one-third of household demand in Shandong province.

The first safety-related concrete was poured for the nuclear island of Haiyang unit 3 in July 2022. Construction of Haiyang 4 began in April this year. The Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute said the planned construction period for Haiyang 3 and 4 was 56 months, with the two units scheduled to be fully operational in 2027.

Haiyang nuclear power plant is also the centre of an innovative district heating scheme which, since November is supplying heat via 23 kilometres pipeline to the cities of Haiyang and Rushan, with State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) saying the project covers an area of 12.5 million square metres and meets the clean-heating needs of about 400,000 people.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Work-begins-to-dismantle-Garigliano-reactor-vessel

Societa Gestione Impianti Nucleari SpA (Sogin) has begun the process of dismantling the pressure vessel of the boiling water reactor, which the company says is the most complex dismantling activity in the decommissioning of the boiling water reactor plant.

Working with its subsidiary Nucleco, Sogin said it has now removed the top part of the vessel as it enters the final phase of the nuclear decommissioning of the Campania site.

Removing the vessel head means that the rest of the vessel can now be submerged in the reactor channel. This will provide a natural radiation shield for subsequent dismantling operations which will be carried out under water, Sogin said.

Preparatory activities carried out before the removal of the vessel head included restoring auxiliary electrical, ventilation and control systems to the reactor building, as well as the circuit to flood the reactor channel. The removal of the vessel head was carried out under the supervision of Italy's National Inspectorate for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection.

Work to remove equipment from the upper part of the reactor vessel is set to be completed in early 2024, after which Sogin said it will start the dismantling work on the vessel and the systems and components of the reactor building.

Garigliano, a 150 MWe boiling water reactor, was connected to the grid in January 1964 and was shut down in 1982. Italy decided to phase out nuclear power in a referendum that followed the 1986 Chernobyl accident and Sogin was established in 1999 to take responsibility for decommissioning the country's former nuclear power sites and locating a national waste store.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts were told that security concerns meant they would not be going ahead with their planned access to the reactor rooftops at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on 19 December.

According to the latest update on the situation from IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, no alternative date has yet been provided. IAEA teams have previously had access to the roofs of reactors 2, 3 and 4, but not the three other units.

He said that the agency's team at the site, which has been under Russian military control since early March 2022, also had a request to visit the north-western part of unit 5's turbine hall rejected, adding that there has been no access to the north-western part of any of the six turbine halls since mid-October. They are also waiting to be able to see the maintenance plan for 2024.

In the past week the team have visited the reactor hall and electrical safety system rooms of unit 3 and the main control room of unit 5, and visited the site's 750kV electrical switchyard, the on-site water treatment facility, the cooling pond and towers, inlet and outlet channels. They have reported continuing to hear explosions outside of the site, which is on the frontline of Russian and Ukrainian forces.

The six unit nuclear power plant has one unit - unit 4 - in hot shutdown to produce steam and heat for safety and other functions at the plant and the associated town of Energodar where most of the staff live. The IAEA has in the past urged alternative methods to provide the heat and steam required, so that all six reactors could be in cold shutdown.

In Thursday's update Grossi said that four new mobile diesel boilers were being installed to generate additional steam in addition to nine mobile boilers which are already on site and being used to provide heating.

Grossi said: "Nuclear power plants need significant amounts of steam to conduct important operational activities at the sites. This remains the case also for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, even though it has not produced electricity for well over a year now. The IAEA has encouraged the plant to install diesel boilers for this purpose and we welcome the planned additional capacity."

For access to external power the site currently relies on the one functioning 750 kV power line and one back-up 330 kV line. There have been eight times during the conflict where the plant has had to reply on emergency diesel boilers after losing access to external power.

The IAEA said that it had also completed the 33rd delivery of nuclear safety and security equipment to Ukraine, using contributions from Australia, and the agency reported that teams at the country's other nuclear energy plants - Rivne, Khmelnitsky, South Ukraine - and the Chernobyl site, said "nuclear safety and security is being maintained despite challenging circumstances".

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Belarus-could-be-a-world-leader-in-nuclear-energy

Belarus is considering building a second nuclear power plant, or a third unit at its existing one, and could become one of the leading countries in terms of the proportion of its energy being nuclear-generated, Energy Minister Viktor Karankevich has said.

According to the official Belta news agency, Karankevich noted that, with the commissioning of the second unit at the country's first plant, more than a quarter of Belarus's electricity is now generated by nuclear, and only five countries get more than 40% of their total generation from nuclear.

He said that a decision on more nuclear would depend on evaluation of future electricity consumption: "The construction of the second nuclear power plant or the third unit [of the existing nuclear power plant] is under consideration now ... experts and government agencies are now looking into the matter and are preparing rationalising materials. We are looking into organisational, technical, and economic matters.”

"We intend to reach 44 billion kWh of electricity in 2025. By 2030 we have to reach 47 billion kWh ... as we decide in favour of the second nuclear power plant or the third unit, we have to analyse the year 2040 instead of 2030 or 2035. We have to evaluate how the manufacturing sector will develop, how much electricity Belarusian households will use, how electricity consumption volumes will change."

In a press conference at Belta he said that the energy produced by the two units at the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant was about 55 million kWh of electricity a day. He also said that tours of the plant were proving increasingly popular, with 3,500 visitors in 2022.

The Belarus nuclear power plant is located in Ostrovets in the Grodno region. A general contract for the construction was signed in 2011, with first concrete in November 2013. Rosatom began construction of unit 2 in May 2014. There are now six VVER-1200 reactors in operation in total, with four in Russia. The first Ostrovets power unit was connected to the grid in November 2020 and, the energy ministry says, the plant will produce about 18.5 TWh of electricity per year, equivalent to 4.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas, with an annual effect on the country's economy of about USD550 million. The second unit was put into commercial operation on 1 November.

US company also preparing two more sites for operation.

US-based Energy Fuels said on Thursday (21 December) it had started production at three of its permitted and developed uranium mines in Arizona and Utah, encouraged by higher prices of the heavy metal.

The company is also preparing two more mines in Colorado and Wyoming for expected production within a year and advancing permitting on several other large-scale US mine projects to increase uranium production in the coming years.

The three mines where production has started are Pinyon Plain, La Sal and Pandora. The two mines being prepared for production are Whirlwind and Nichols Ranch.

Energy Fuels said Ore mined from the three mines during 2024 will be stockpiled at the company’s White Mesa Mill in Utah for processing in 2025.

“Due to the substantial increase in uranium prices, US government support for nuclear energy and nuclear fuel, and a global focus on reducing carbon-emissions, Energy Fuels is resuming large-scale uranium production,” Energy Fuels chief executive officer Mark Chalmers said in a statement.

Uranium spot prices are currently near $90 per pound – the highest level seen since 2007, when it reached $135 per pound, or over $200 per pound on an inflation-adjusted basis, Chalmers added.

The company's decision to ramp-up uranium production was driven by several favourable market and policy factors, including strengthening spot and long-term uranium prices, increased buying interest from US nuclear utilities, US and global government policies supporting nuclear energy to address global climate change, and the need to reduce US reliance on Russian and Russian-controlled uranium and nuclear fuel.

Earlier this month, the US House of Representatives passed a ban on imports of Russian uranium as lawmakers seek to add pressure on Moscow for its war on Ukraine, although the measure has waivers in case of supply concerns for domestic reactors.

The recent United Nations Cop28 climate conference ended with a landmark consensus that called for a transition away from fossil fuels and an acceleration of zero- and low-emission technologies, including nuclear energy. It marked the first time nuclear energy had been formally specified as one of the solutions to climate change in a Cop agreement.

That consensus followed a declaration endorsed by 22 nations earlier at Cop28to triple nuclear power capacity by 2050, marking the first time that governments have joined together at Cop to endorse nuclear power. While the price of uranium has more than doubled over the past three years, it remains far below its peak of $140/lb reached in 2007.

newcleo has announced the completion of its acquisition of Rütschi Group, a producer of engineered pumps for nuclear applications. Pompes Rütschi SAS and Rütschi Fluid AG, collectively the Rütschi Group, was founded in 1946 in Switzerland and will add almost 70 employees to newcleo’s workforce.

newcleo, which is developing a Generation IV fast reactor using nuclear waste as fuel, regards the buy as an important milestone in its strategy to create a global manufacturing capability. It follows newcleo’s acquisition of nuclear engineering group SRS-Fucina in October.

Stefano Buono, newcleo Chairman and CEO, commented: “The completion of this acquisition is another milestone in our industrialisation strategy, marking an important step towards our aim of bringing together the best global capabilities in nuclear engineering, manufacturing and waste management.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/IAEA-oversees-removal-of-disused-sealed-radioactiv

A record number of 31 disused sealed radioactive sources (DSRSs) have been transferred from Chile to a recycling facility in Europe as part of an International Atomic Energy Agency multi-regional project to enhance nuclear security and radiation safety.

Most radioactive waste arising from nuclear applications consists of DSRS. Radioactive sources are used in different devices in medical, industrial and agricultural facilities. They have to be accounted for and when they are no longer usable, they have to be recovered, dismantled, stored and, in some cases, prepared for transportation. The removed DSRSs - mostly cobalt sources used for cancer treatment in Chile - have been in temporary storage since the end of their use in 1992.

The IAEA said that the DSRSs "represent about half of the radioactive material received yearly in waste management facilities from different activities around the country".

Luis Huerta Torchio, director of the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission (CCHEN), said: "The removal of these sources has multiple benefits for the CCHEN and the whole country, and it is in line with the circular economy objectives, in terms of recycling and reuse. The removal has significantly reduced the risk for any type of incident associated with these disused sources. In addition, it freed up to 30 per cent of space in the national storage facility used for disused radioactive sources, and subsequently extended the possibility of its use for about ten more years."

Olena Mykolaichuk, director of the IAEA’s Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology division, said: "The IAEA technically oversaw the removal of the sources from Chile to ensure that it was performed safely and securely. An operation of this scale cannot succeed without the dedicated efforts of organisations like CCHEN, skilled contractors, and the regulatory bodies involved - the experience gained is invaluable and represents a model that can be applied for future projects in other countries."

The three-year IAEA Multi-Regional Project on Sustainable Management of Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources, funded by Canada, began in 2019 with 11 Latin American, African and Pacific countries in its first phase. A second phase began in November 2022 with 24 more countries taking part.

Hildegarde Vandenhove, director of the IAEA's Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety, said: "The increase in the number of participating countries indicates the success of the first phase of the project, the global interest in the safe and secure handling of DSRSs and, at the same time, the amount of work that remains to be done in this field."

The operational plan for Chile was agreed in December 2021 and involved the verification of the radioactive sources, appropriate packaging for transport, transportation and shipment to the recycling facility. The first 17 DSRSs were exported in October 2022 and 14 more in July this year.

Yerevan’s only commercial reactor could operate until 2036.

Armenia and Russia have signed a contract on modernising and extending the lifespan of Armenia’s only commercially operating nuclear power plant until 2036.

The work will be carried out by Rusatom Service JSC, a subsidiary of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, and will cost the Armenian government $65m (€59m), reports said.

In 2021 Armenia said it was planning to extend the operating lifetime of Armenian-2 for another 10 years beyond the current shutdown date of 2026. It has also said it is considering the possible construction of new reactors, potentially inclkuding small modular plants.

Armenian-2, a 415-MW VVER-440/V270 pressurised water reactor supplied by Russia, was reconnected to the national grid in October 2021 after a major retrofitting and refurbishment programme carried out by Rosatom.

The work meant the plant’s electricity generation was increased by 10-15% without additional fuel consumption.

According to International Atomic Energy Agency statistics, Armenian-2 provided about 34% of the country’s electricity generation in 2020, up from 27.8% in 2019. Armenian-1 was permanently shut down in 1989.

In October the IAEA said it was ready to help Armenia in realising its future nuclear energy plans.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Installation-of-Lianjiang-1-containment-starts

The containment vessel bottom head has been hoisted into place for unit 1 of the Lianjiang nuclear power plant in China's Guangdong province, State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) announced.

The operation to install the bottom head was completed on 19 December and lasted 3 hours and 21 minutes, it said.

"This is the first nuclear-grade large-scale module hoisted into place in the first phase of the project, marking the full start of the construction of the No 1 nuclear island reactor building," SPIC said.

The steel containment vessel is composed of five modules: the bottom head, first cylinder ring, second cylinder ring, third cylinder ring, and top seal. The bottom head is the base of the steel containment vessel, with an inner diameter of more than 39 metres and a height of 11.5 metres. It is comprised of 64 arc-shaped steel plates welded together. The total lifting weight was about 850 tonnes, including supporting short columns, studs, attachment plates, and penetrations.

The first phase of the Lianjiang nuclear power plant project - the first coastal nuclear power project developed and constructed by SPIC in Guangdong - will comprise two 1250 MWe CAP1000 units. The site is eventually expected to house six such reactors. It is the first nuclear power plant in China to adopt seawater secondary circulation cooling technology, and is the first to develop and use a super-large cooling tower.

The construction of the first two CAP1000 reactors - the Chinese version of the Westinghouse AP1000 - at the Lianjiang site was approved by China's State Council in September 2022. Excavation works for the units began in the same month. The first safety-related concrete for the nuclear island of unit 1 was poured in October this year.

Lianjiang unit 1 is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2028.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/First-waste-received-by-new-Sellafield-transfer-fa

The newly-opened Box Encapsulation Plant Product Store - Direct Import Facility at the Sellafield site in the UK has received its first box of historical radioactive waste.

The Box Encapsulation Plant Product Store is a purpose-built, above-ground vault that can store intermediate-level wastes safely and securely for the next 100 years. The store has the capacity to store 6681 waste boxes inside its metre-thick walls, and can receive up to 9 boxes every 24 hours.

The Direct Import Facility is an annex to the store, built to receive the packages of waste retrieved from ageing stores in the oldest parts of the Sellafield site.

This facility received its first box of waste this week after years of planning and testing by hundreds of people, Sellafield Ltd announced.

Its first package contains waste from the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo (PFCS), the oldest waste store at Sellafield, which has stored more than 3200 cubic metres of intermediate-level waste undisturbed for 70 years.

Built between 1950 and 1951, the PFCS is 21 metres high, subdivided internally into six individual compartments. It contains irradiated cladding materials removed from fuel assemblies used in some of the UK's earliest reactors at Windscale and Chapelcross. The PFCS was originally designed to remain sealed forever, but equipment has now been installed to enable the safe removal of the wastes so the facility can be decommissioned.

"Today it represents one of the highest hazards on the Sellafield site, making the removal and repackaging of wastes from the silo a key priority for Sellafield Ltd and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority," Sellafield Ltd said.

The first batch of waste was successfully retrieved from the silo in August this year. Giant shield doors were installed on the top of the silo to maintain a radiation barrier as holes were cut in the sides of the building to allow access to its contents. The retrievals team then used a remotely-operated crane to reach into the silo, lift out the waste and place it into a specially designed 3-cubic-metre stainless-steel box. Once filled, the five-tonne box was loaded into a shielded transport flask, monitored, and cleared for export to the BEPPS-DIF.

The flask was transported from the silo by road and lifted into the new store by crane. Once inside, the flask had its lid bolts removed and was placed behind a shield door so operators could remotely remove the flask lid, lift out the box, and transfer it to its predetermined location in the store, where it will be held until it is ready for permanent disposal underground in a Geological Disposal Facility.

"The receipt of the first box of waste into the Box Encapsulation Plant Product Store - Direct Import Facility marks an important breakthrough in the clean-up of our site and a huge step forward in our mission to create a clean and safe environment for future generations," said Sellafield Ltd CEO Euan Hutton.

"This is a significant achievement which will enable us to continue to deliver our vital mission and I’d like to extend my thanks to everyone who has been involved for their commitment to the project," added Nuclear Decommissioning Authority group CEO David Peattie. "Removing waste from the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo is one of our biggest challenges, this new facility is providing the storage capability to allow us to do that safely and securely. It also provides future capability for retrievals from other high hazard facilities such as the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Regulator-accepts-Diablo-Canyon-licence-renewal-ap

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) can operate the two-unit Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California beyond the expiry of their current licences (2024 and 2025, respectively) following the acceptance of PG&E's licence renewal application by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

PG&E filed the application on 7 November, seeking to extend the plant's operating licences by an additional 20 years.

"The NRC staff has determined the application contains sufficient information to formally docket the application and begin its detailed safety and environmental reviews," the NRC said on 19 December. "With the docketing of the application, the reactors' licences will remain in effect under an exemption to agency regulations until the agency's review is complete."

PG&E originally applied to renew the licences in November 2009, but withdrew the application in 2018 after agreeing to close the plant at the end of its current licences. At that time, it was thought that the plant's output would no longer be required as California focused on an energy policy centred on efficiency, renewables and storage. However, in September 2022 - as California's energy grid saw its highest-ever peak demand during a record-breaking heatwave - the state passed a law allowing the units to continue to operate until 2030 to ensure a reliable energy system.

Normally, NRC regulations allow a reactor's operating licence to remain in effect beyond its expiry date provided that the licensee has already applied for a renewal at least five years prior to expiration, which the NRC calls "timely renewal".

PG&E asked the NRC to resume its review of the licence renewal application, but in January the regulator ruled that a new application would need to be submitted. This meant that PG&E could not meet the timely renewal requirement, and therefore it needed to seek the exemption. Such an exemption, allowing the two units to continue operating while the NRC considers PG&E's application to renew the plant's licence, was granted in early March.

Last week, Californian regulators agreed to extending the operations of the Diablo Canyon plant for an additional five years, to 2030. The California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC's) approval is subject to three conditions: the NRC must continue to authorise the plant to operate; a USD1.4 billion federal loan agreement must not be terminated; and that the CPUC does not make a future determination that extended plant operations "are imprudent or unreasonable".

"PG&E remains committed to complying with energy policies to ensure the state has the option to keep DCPP online past 2025 to ensure electricity reliability as California continues toward its clean energy future," said Maureen Zawalick, DCPP Vice President. "We are grateful for the opportunity to continue providing homes and businesses across California with safe, clean, and affordable power."

Chernobyl plant will save country about $200m a year in payments to Moscow.

Ukraine’s state nuclear operator Energoatom has begun transporting used nuclear fuel from the nation’s operating reactors to its newly built central spent fuel storage facility (CSFSF).

The company said in a statement that operation of the facility, built by US-based Holtec International inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone in the north of the country, means Russia will not be able to force Ukraine’s reactors to shut down because of lack of used fuel storage capacity.

It said the facility would save Kyiv approximately $200m (€182m) a year in remittances to Russia for the storage of Ukraine’s fuel and remove a “strategic dependence” on Russia.

Oleg Korikov, acting director of the Ukrainian State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate, was quoted by local media as saying 13 containers of spent nuclear fuel have already been placed at the facility, which began trial operations earlier this year.

He said the next stage is to move the facility from trial operation to industrial operation.

The trial operation permit is valid for three years, he said. Energoatom now has two years and six months “to work on all elements of the technology, which should be carried out during the trial operation, then prepare a security analysis and apply for the transition into the industrial operation with the regulatory authority”.

Energoatom received an operating permit for the facility in April 2022. Construction began in 2017, although initial contracts with Holtec were signed in 2005.

The CSFSF will be used for storing spent fuel from nine units at the South Ukraine, Khmelnitski and Rivne nuclear power stations, which until 2021 was sent to Russia for processing and storage.

“Today, Ukraine is entirely self-sufficient in the strategically crucial area of storage and management of the used nuclear fuel discharged by its reactors, eliminating a critical constraint in the continued generation of electricity by the nation’s nine reactors,” Energoatom said.

Ukraine has a fleet of 15 commercial nuclear power reactors, but six are at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, which is under Russian control with all units offline.

Speaking at the CSFSF, Energoatom president Petro Kotin said the new facility is critically important for Ukraine’s nuclear energy industry to ensure continued supply of electricity during the conflict with Russia.