Nuclear Energy

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Landmark-module-installation-at-Sanmen-4

The CA01 'super module' has been installed at unit 4 of the Sanmen nuclear power plant in China's Zhejiang province, marking a construction landmark for the CAP1000 reactor.

Weighing 1046.2 tonnes and measuring more than 27 metres long, 29 metres wide and 24 metres high, the concrete and steel CA01 module sits inside the unit's containment module where it will house the plant's steam generators and other components. It is referred to as a super module because it is too large to be transported by road and rail, and was constructed on site.

The module was hoisted into place at Sanmen 4 on 6 September, the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute (SNERDI) announced.

"The successful installation of the CA01 module brings a successful conclusion to the large-scale hoisting work of unit 4 in 2023, and also opens a new stage of construction on the [nuclear] island," said SNERDI - a unit of the State Power Investment Corporation.

The construction of two new reactors at each of the Sanmen, Haiyang and Lufeng sites in China was approved by China's State Council in April 2021. The approvals were for Sanmen units 3 and 4, Haiyang 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, and two CAP1000 units were approved for Phase II (units 3 and 4) of each plant.

The CAP1000 reactor design - the Chinese version of the AP1000 - uses modular construction techniques, enabling large structural modules to be built at factories and then installed at the site.

The first safety-related concrete was poured for the nuclear island of Sanmen 3 on 28 June last year, marking the official start of its construction. The first concrete for that of unit 4 was poured on 22 March this year.

The largest and heaviest module - the cuboid-shaped CA20 - was installed at Sanmen 4 in April.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Bruce-6-back-on-the-grid-after-refurbishment

The unit has been reconnected to Ontario's grid following a successful Major Component Replacement (MCR) outage that was completed ahead of schedule and on budget.

Beginning its MCR outage in January 2020, Bruce 6 is the first of six units to undergo the refurbishment process under Bruce Power's Life Extension Program, extending their operation to 2064 and beyond. According to Bruce Power, the programme is Ontario's largest clean-energy initiative and one of Canada's largest private sector infrastructure projects, funded by private-sector investors.

Bruce Power President and CEO Mike Rencheck expressed the company's pride in the people and partners, including suppliers and trades unions, who have contributed to the project. "As one of the largest nuclear operators in the world, refurbishing our units is key to providing clean, reliable energy to the people of Ontario well into the future. We have shown strong performance and we’ve committed to providing the lowest-cost nuclear energy in Ontario and to bettering our performance in each successive MCR outage," he said.

The company also thanked Ontario Power Generation (OPG) for sharing lessons learned and operating experience. OPG has completed the refurbishment of the first two of four units at its Darlington site in a ten-year programme that will enable the plant to continue operations until 2055.

Bruce 3 - which began its MCR outage earlier this year - is reaping the benefits of lessons learned in Unit 6 to achieve time and cost savings, the company said. Innovations realised in Bruce 6's refurbishment will be carried forward to improve performance and quality in subsequent MCR outages, including tooling and inspection automation and robotics, and advanced modelling and training.

Hundreds of companies, and thousands of tradespeople, are involved in each MCR. The refurbishment includes replacing and upgrading key equipment - 480 fuel channels, 960 feeders and eight team generators - in addition to thousands of other modifications and tasks, before 5,760 new fuel bundles are loaded into the reactor core.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Positive-trends-continue-for-global-nuclear-fuel-c

As uranium markets begin to recover from their long-term contraction, all projections in the latest edition of the World Nuclear Association's flagship fuel cycle report show an increase in global nuclear generating capacity over the next two decades - with knock-on effects for the entire fuel cycle.

Geopolitical instability since the last edition of the report was published in 2021 - notably resulting from the Russia-Ukraine war - has led to increased interest in nuclear power for energy security and sovereignty, as well as having significant implications for the globalised market for nuclear fuel services.

Released at World Nuclear Symposium 2023 in London, The Nuclear Fuel Report: Global Scenarios for Demand and Supply Availability 2023-2040 sets out three scenarios for future nuclear generating capacity: the Reference Scenario, which is informed by government and utility targets and objectives; the Lower Scenario, which assumes delays to the implementation of these plans; and the Upper Scenario, which considers the potential developments if more favourable conditions are applied.

Launching the report, ConverDyn CEO Malcolm Critchley, a co-chair of the working group responsible for drafting the report, said the nuclear sector has "almost overnight" seen a complete revival. "There's a growing acceptance that nuclear power has got to be part of the solution for climate change," he said.

"The inventory overhang that was so damaging to the market for almost a decade has been largely consumed, and going forward, we're going to have an increasing reliance on primary supply."

Under the Reference Scenario, nuclear capacity is expected to grow from 391 GWe (from 437 units) at the end of June this year to 444 GWe by 2030 and 686 GWe by 2040. The Upper Scenario sees 490 GWe in 2030 and 931 GWe by 2040, while the Lower Scenario sees capacity increasing to 409 GWe by 2030 and 487 GWe by 2040.

All three scenarios envisage capacity from small modular reactors (SMRs) accounting for part of the 2040 nuclear generation, with 35 GWe of generic SMR capacity included in the 2040 Reference Scenario, 83 GWe in the Upper Scenario and 2 GWe in the Lower Scenario. The scale of SMR deployment will depend on the success of delivering first-of-a-kind construction, demonstrating cogeneration capabilities, and establishing an industrialised and modularised supply chain - but "hundreds of billions of dollars" of investment could be channelled into these technologies every year from the second half of the current decade.

Another positive change compared with previous editions of the report is the move towards extended operating lifetimes. Upwards of 140 reactors could be subject to extended operation in the period to 2040, driven by economics, emissions reduction targets, as well as security of supply, the report finds.

Fuelling growth

The increased interest in nuclear power means that overall projections for uranium reactor requirements are higher than the same scenarios in the 2021 edition of the report (although the Upper Scenario does see requirements fall slightly in the period to 2030 compared with the previous projections). Current world reactor requirements are estimated to be around 65,650 tU per year. This would increase to 83,840 tU by 2030 and almost 130,000 tU by 2040 under the Reference Scenario. However, primary uranium production has dropped considerably in recent years.

Production volumes for existing mines are projected to remain fairly stable until 2030 in all three scenarios, before decreasing still further over the decade to 2040. "To meet the Reference Scenario requirements from early in the next decade, in addition to restarted idled mines, mines under development, planned mines and prospective mines, other new projects will need to be brought into production. Considerable exploration, innovative techniques and timely investment will be required to turn these resources into refined uranium ready for nuclear fuel production within this timeframe," the report notes.

Future demand cannot be met from identified supply sources, and from the beginning of the next decade, planned mines and prospective mines - as well as increasing amounts of so-called unspecified supply - will need to come into production to meet requirements under the Reference Scenario. "It takes 8-15 years to reach production after first discovery of a resource, and intense development of new projects will be needed in the current decade to avoid potential future supply disruptions," the report says.

For the conversion sector, the situation has dramatically changed since the oversupply which characterised the market in the decade up to 2018. Pointing to the restart of production and ramp-up at two primary Western convertors - ConverDyn and Orano - the report says this deficit can be met in the near term, but in the medium term, convertors will need to operate at "near to maximum" levels. In the long term, new conversion capacity will be needed in both the Reference and Upper Scenarios.

The situation has also changed for enrichment, with primary Western enrichers expected to expand capacity. Fuel fabrication capacity, while sufficient to cover anticipated demand, could also experience bottlenecks.

Recovery

There is "no doubt" that sufficient uranium resources exist to meet future needs, but producers have been waiting for the market to rebalance before starting to invest in new capacity and bringing idled capacity back into operation. This is now happening, the report says.

"With changes to individual governmental policies on nuclear power for various reasons, the uranium market has begun to recover," it says. "Additional conversion and enrichment capacities are also likely to be needed".

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Net-Zero-Nuclear-campaign-launched,-seeking-to-tri

World Nuclear Association and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), with support from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Atoms4NetZero and the UK government, have launched the Net Zero Nuclear initiative seeking "unprecedented collaboration between government, industry leaders and civil society" ahead of COP28.

The launch of the new campaign - by ENEC Managing Director and CEO Mohamed Al Hammadi, World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León, UK Minister for Nuclear and Networks Andrew Bowie and nuclear advocate and Miss America Grace Stanke - took place on the first morning of the World Nuclear Symposium 2023, attended by 700 people from across the global industry.

The aim of the campaign is to ensure that nuclear energy’s potential "is fully realised in facilitating the decarbonisation of global energy systems by promoting the value of nuclear energy and removing barriers to its growth", especially ahead of COP28, which takes place in the United Arab Emirates later this year.

It says that recent data modelling suggest nuclear energy capacity needs to at least triple by 2050 to achieve climate targets, which would require about 40 GW of new nuclear per year, about six times the deployment rate of the past decade.

At the launch, Al Hammadi said that net-zero “will not be possible without nuclear energy” and said that as well as bringing clean energy day and night, its ability to decarbonise heavy industry and transport meant there should be even greater collaboration to ensure its growth. "Talking is great, but delivering is even greater," he added.

Bilbao y León said: "Scaling up nuclear energy capacity to at least three times its current size requires political will from energy leaders, along with mobilising quickly and efficiently the required financing. We have no time to lose … through Net Zero Nuclear, we hope to facilitate the action our industry needs to grow."

Grace Stanke, a nuclear engineering student who is spending her year as Miss America raising awareness about nuclear power and zero-carbon energy sources, said many younger people had got involved in nuclear because of climate change, and said that extreme weather events meant climate change was a “pressing issue that we grew up with - we're not afraid to take action, because if we don't take action today, we won't have a tomorrow" adding that it was "important to have this conversation at the international level … let's start at the top because if it's not happening everywhere, on this planet, what's the point?"

The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced at the launch that it would be joining Net Zero Nuclear as the inaugural government partner, with Bowie echoing the point that there could be “no net zero without nuclear”. He highlighted the UK’s plans for new nuclear capacity - large plants and small modular reactors - and stressed the need for international collaboration.

Earlier, opening the annual conference, World Nuclear Association chairman Bohdan Zronek, director of ČEZ's nuclear energy division, and Bilbao y León outlined the key developments in the nuclear energy sector over the past year and also the developing plans for new nuclear in existing, and newcomer, countries and also highlighted a series of examples of collaboration taking place across the industry.

They were also joined for the morning session, on Nuclear for Global Growth and Prosperity, by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, who gave his backing to the Net Zero Nuclear campaign and said it was "clear we're at a key moment for nuclear" with lifetime extensions of existing plants as well as the development of small modular reactors and increasing interest in nuclear from newcomer countries.

He said that the IAEA was helping those countries along that road, and was also pursuing initiatives to help harmonisation, which would have broader benefits for faster rollout of future nuclear capacity. He said that "just as technology and industry adapts", the regulatory process should adapt as well.

Grossi also stressed that, above all, the priority remained the safety and security of the nuclear power plants in Ukraine, saying that any attack on them, or anything going wrong inside them, would mean that the "visions, plans, ideas and aspirations" being discussed "will be much more difficult", in terms of persuading people and politicians to back nuclear energy.

US Congressman Chuck Fleischmann said that it was critically important for future nuclear "that we who support new nuclear get the information out to our respective constituencies that new nuclear is safe". He also highlighted the collaboration taking place between the USA and Canada which has led to them learning and gaining from working together.

​Joo Ho Whang, president and CEO of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, outlined the current and planned positive prospects for new nuclear in South Korea.

He also stressed the importance of supply chains in the nuclear sector, giving the example that the number of nuclear grade cement producers had fallen from three to one under the previous South Korean government, which had a nuclear phase-out policy. He said that with new projects planned, it was important, nationally and internationally, to have a strong supply chain.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Japan,-UK-enhance-cooperation-on-HTGRs

The UK's National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) have signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs), as well as a memorandum for collaboration on the next stage of the UK HTGR Demonstration Reactor programme.

In December 2022, the UK government announced funding of GBP60 million (USD75 million) for research into HTGRs, a type of Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR), aimed at helping to get a demonstration project up and running by the end of the decade. Following an initial call for evidence, the focus for the AMR R&D programme was placed on HTGR technology last year.

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

On 18 July this year, the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) announced that a team comprising NNL and JAEA was selected as one of the project entities to implement the Phase B reactor project. They received funding of GBP31 million. In parallel, DESNZ also announced that Phase B will also push the development of an advanced fuel required for AMRs, through the Coated Particle Fuel (CPF) – Step 1 Programme. NNL, working with JAEA, has been selected by DESNZ to deliver this fuels programme which will build expertise, knowledge and collaboration on coated particle fuel fabrication and scale-up activities.

In 2001, JAEA and NNL concluded a technical cooperation agreement and have been co-operating with the focus on the areas of nuclear fuel cycle and radioactive waste management as well as advanced reactors. The agreement was renewed in April this year to further strengthen the cooperation for another five years.

The latest memorandum will enable the continued cooperation between NNL and JAEA in the deployment of HTGRs and in the development of AMR fuel.

"Investing in cutting-edge research and development is a key part of our plans to generate up to a quarter of all the UK's electricity from nuclear by 2050 – helping to grow the economy, reduce bills, reach net zero and strengthen our energy security," said UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Claire Coutinho. "The UK is at the forefront of nuclear innovation, and today’s agreement will see greater collaboration with our Japanese partners to accelerate next generation technologies like Advanced Modular Reactors and take nuclear to the next level."

"These programmes build on our long partnership with JAEA, who we have collaborated with for civil nuclear power for over 20 years," added NNL CEO Paul Howarth. "Our joint decades of experience enable us to accelerate the design of these new reactors and fuels building on the UK's experience in gas-cooled reactor technology."

Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura Yasutoshi noted, "Both Japan and the UK’s DESNZ, have decided to provide policy support for the UK-Japan joint development project for a High Temperature Gas Reactor, that is expected to contribute to decarbonisation not only in terms of power generation but also in terms of hydrogen and heat use."

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

WNA says interest in nuclear has risen since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Demand for uranium in nuclear reactors is expected to climb by 28% by 2030 and nearly double by 2040 as governments ramp up nuclear power capacity to meet zero-carbon targets, the World Nuclear Association (WNA) said in a report on Thursday (7 September).

The biennial Nuclear Fuel Report said demand for uranium for nuclear plants is expected to rise to 83,840 tonnes by 2030 and 130,000 tonnes by 2040, from 65,650 this year.

Interest in nuclear power has also risen since Russia invaded Ukraine and many nations want alternatives to Moscow’s energy supplies, the report added.

“From the beginning of the next decade, planned mines and prospective mines, in addition to increasing quantities of unspecified supply, will need to be brought into production,” the report said.

Global uranium production dropped by a quarter to 47,731 tonnes from 2016 to 2020 and recovered slightly to 49,355 tonnes last year.

After an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed Japan's Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station in the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl 25 years earlier, countries closed dozens of reactors.

Global nuclear capacity at the end of June 2023 was 391 GW from 437 units, with another 64 GW under construction, the report said.

Nuclear capacity is expected to rise by 14% by 2030 and by 76% to 686 GW by 2040.

Capacity will grow through not only new reactors, the bulk of which are planned in China and India, but by extending the operating lifetimes of existing plants.

Members of European Parliament, led by French centrist MEP Christophe Grudler, are preparing to challenge the Parliament’s stance on EU electricity market reform, with a formal “objection” due to be presented next Tuesday (12 September).

The European Commission tabled proposals in March to reform the bloc’s electricity market to counter soaring electricity prices that hit consumers after Russia invaded Ukraine.

While EU member states are still debating the proposal in the Council, the European Parliament already adopted its position during a vote in the industry committee on 19 July, based on a report by Socialist MEP Nicolas González Casares.

A second vote on the same day gave Parliament a mandate to send Casares’ report directly to the Council to swiftly complete the reform during final “trilogue” talks involving the European Commission.

But pro-nuclear lawmakers were left frustrated with the Casares report, which restricted financing options for the construction of new reactors and the lifetime extension of existing ones.

The fast-track procedure also meant that a plenary vote by the full Parliament was no longer necessary – unless a sufficient number of lawmakers raised an “objection” against it.

This is precisely what pro-nuclear MEPs, led by Grudler, are now set on doing.

Backing from 72 MEPs needed

Next Monday (11 September), EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola will announce the current parliamentary mandate for the reform negotiations at the plenary session, based directly on the report voted in committee on 19 July.

However, this procedure can be challenged if 72 signatures are collected by noon the following day (12 September). If successful, all MEPs can vote on whether to support the Parliament’s mandate in a plenary session on Wednesday (14 September).

Speaking to EURACTIV France, Grudler defended the move. “This not about questioning the position of the European Parliament, but of ensuring that it suits all the MEPs”, he told us.

Triggering the procedure is not insignificant: by opposing the Parliament’s mandate, Grudler said he wanted to make a point and “show that there is no unanimous mandate from the European Parliament on the report voted on in the industry committee”.

In defence of nuclear

The MEPs joining Grudler’s “objection” say they want more financing options for existing nuclear plants under the EU’s reformed electricity market.

“The Parliament’s current position has gutted the European Commission’s proposal, which would have allowed existing nuclear plants to be financed through subsidy mechanisms currently being negotiated as part of the reform,” explains Grudler.

In its proposal, the Commission said “all public support for new investments” in renewables or nuclear plants “will have to be in the form of two-way Contracts for Difference (CfDs)”.

The proposal applied to “investments in new power-generating facilities,” including those “aimed at repowering existing power-generating facilities,” including nuclear, without specifying any restrictions on how this should be done.

However, the Casares report is more restrictive, saying CfDs should be “strictly limited to the share of total electricity generation capacity that reflects the cost of the new investment”.

Quite the disappointment for Grudler, who believes that “this creates a gap in the financing of existing nuclear power, which is essential if we are to avoid a blackout at least between 2025 and 2030 before any new nuclear plants come on stream”.

Little chance of success

Grudler has already collected around 50 of the 72 signatures needed to object to the Parliament’s current negotiating mandate.

The objection will then need backing by a simple majority of MEPs to trigger a vote on the text during the Parliament’s next plenary session, with the possibility of tabling amendments.

However, it is far from certain that the objection itself will gain enough support, especially as the July vote in the Parliament’s ITRE committee saw over 80% of MEPs in favour of the mandate set out in Casares’ report.

What’s more, the MEPs most opposed to the text in committee belong to minority political factions, including the far-right ID group, the nationalist ECR, the radical Left group, as well as French MEPs from the centre-right EPP and Grudler’s own centrist group Renew.

The objection, therefore, has little chance of being adopted.

Still, pro-nuclear MEPs will have highlighted the Parliament’s nuclear divisions, which Paris might want to use during the final trilogue talks on EU electricity market reform.

Source: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/industries/energy/uae-joins-calls-to-triple-nuclear-capacity-by-2050

UAE supports Nuclear Net Zero campaign to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

The UAE has joined calls to triple nuclear capacity by 2050.

World Nuclear Association (WNA) and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), with the support of the Atoms4NetZero initiative launched by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has called for unprecedented collaboration between government, industry leaders and civil society to triple global nuclear capacity to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

The urgent call for rapid deployment of more nuclear technologies was made during the launch of “Net Zero Nuclear”; an initiative for action and advocacy for nuclear energy’s role in achieving global clean energy security, which was debuted during the opening of the World Nuclear Symposium taking place in London this week. UAE Nuclear Net Zero support

Recent data modelling has shown that global nuclear energy capacity should at least triple by 2050 to achieve climate targets while still ensuring global energy security.

This would require the worldwide rate of deployment to average 40 GW per year, more than six times the rate of deployment over the past decade.

In the lead up to COP28, which will be hosted by the UAE in Dubai later this year, Net Zero Nuclear aims to bring together political leaders and industry to engage in data-driven, actionable, solutions-focused dialogue to enable the rapid expansion of the global nuclear fleet and the acceleration of research and development into emerging nuclear technologies.

The initiative will work to ensure nuclear energy’s potential is fully realised in facilitating the decarbonisation of global energy systems, by promoting the value of nuclear energy and removing barriers to its growth.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said: “Building on the efforts made during COP26 and COP27, nuclear energy will feature even more prominently at COP28.

“As more nations understand the role nuclear can play in achieving energy security and decarbonisation targets, global support for nuclear energy is growing.

“Analysts agree that globally we cannot achieve carbon neutrality without a rapid expansion of nuclear energy capacity. We welcome the important objectives of Net Zero Nuclear launched by the nuclear industry, which is in line with the Atoms4NetZero initiative launched by the IAEA and we will continue to provide technical support and cooperation to countries with existing nuclear power programmes and those considering embarking on them.”

Dr Sama Bilbao y León, Director General of the World Nuclear Association, said, “We cannot afford to underestimate the role nuclear energy must play in achieving Net Zero.

“Our world is in the midst of an energy crisis, and we continue to experience unprecedented climate-change-related weather extremes. The time for debating is over.

“Nuclear energy is a critical tool in securing future energy systems that are clean, resilient and secure.

“But scaling up nuclear energy capacity to at least three times its current size requires political will from energy leaders, along with mobilising quickly and efficiently the required financing.

“We have no time to lose in delivering a realistic, proven approach to the clean energy transition. Through Net Zero Nuclear, we hope to facilitate the action our industry needs to grow.”

Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ENEC, which leads the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Programme and its flagship Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, said: “Nuclear energy is a key source of electricity for delivering Net Zero. It is the only source of dispatchable, low-carbon, climate-resilient energy we have available that can reliably produce vast amounts of clean electricity, day and night.

“It brings energy security, resilience, diversity and sustainability to an energy system. Beyond the grid, nuclear’s potential to enable the decarbonisation of heavy industry and transport sectors through heat, steam and hydrogen should provide even greater impetus to ensure nuclear’s growth is strongly supported through sound policy, access to finance and unprecedented collaboration.

“The UAE example has proven that nuclear energy can be a modern-day climate solution – delivering a transformational shift in the carbon intensity of power supply. In just over a decade, nuclear energy is producing a quarter of the nation’s energy needs.

“The UAE, as host of COP28, welcomes other nations coming to the UAE for COP28 to learn how the nation has rapidly decarbonized its power grid through the deployment of nuclear energy, offering a model for others looking for a proven route to reducing carbon emissions while boosting energy security.”

In the UAE, where the sun is abundant and where renewables have a major role to play in the energy mix, nuclear energy has delivered the largest decarbonisation of the nation’s history, with the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, which will generate 40 TWh annually once fully operational while preventing the release of over 22 million ton of carbon emissions, being the largest single source of clean electricity in the country.

“The UAE’s nuclear energy program is one of the most cost and time-efficient new nuclear builds in recent history.

Globally, nuclear energy has experienced a significant resurgence over the past two years, as nations rush to meet energy security and decarbonisation targets.

The industry has benefited from major policy announcements in different nations, including the UK, US, Canada, Japan, France and China, as well as growing inclusion in green financing mechanisms and a major uptick in private investment interest in nuclear energy technologies.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Chubu-to-take-stake-in-SMR-developer

Chubu Electric Power Co has announced it is to invest in US small modular reactor (SMR) developer NuScale Power.

The Japanese company says it has entered into an agreement to acquire issued shares in NuScale from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), subject to regulatory approvals.

NuScale's pressurised water reactor with all the components for steam generation and heat exchange incorporated into a single integrated unit is the only SMR design which has to date been certified by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It is being considered in more than 10 countries around the world, Chubu noted. The first NuScale VOYGR SMR plant in the USA is expected to begin operating at a site at Idaho National Laboratory in 2029. With the US Department of Energy providing more than USD1.3 billion in financial support for the first deployment of the NuScale VOYGR SMR power plant, "it can be said that NuScale is the frontrunner in SMR development", the company added.

"Through our investment in NuScale, we aim to earn revenue from NuScale's future business expansion," Hiroki Sato, CEO of Chubu's Global Business Division, said. "In addition, it is important to secure all options for the sustainable use of nuclear power generation, which is indispensable for realising a decarbonised society and we will continue to promote social implementation of innovative technologies to enhance our corporate value."

According to Reuters, Sato told journalists that, as an equity owner, the company is investing in NuScale to expand its revenue base. He said it would be "difficult" to deploy SMRs in Japan "anytime soon... but we have high expectations for the future development of next-generation reactors in Japan".

JBIC made a strategic investment of USD110 million in NuScale in 2022, through a purchase of equity from NuScale majority owner Fluor Corporation. The bank's investment was via a special-purpose company established by Japanese engineering companies JGC Corporation and IHI Corporation to make equity investments in NuScale, Japan NuScale Innovation LLC.

Chubu owns the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka prefecture. The three operable units (Hamaoka 3 and 4 are boiling water reactors, Hamaoka unit 5 is an advanced boiling water reactor, or ABWR) are all in the process of seeking clearance to restart after the introduction of new regulatory requirements in 2013 by Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority.

Egypt is considering building new nuclear units for power generation after it completes the existing reactor in 2028, an Egyptian newspaper reported on Thursday.

The Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA), which oversees such projects in the most populous Arab nation, is studying “adding four new nuclear units for electricity production,” the Arabic language daily Addustour said, quoting a source at the Egyptian Electricity and Renewable Energy Ministry.

The report said the new units could be constructed in Dabaa, where Egypt’s only nuclear power plant is being built, or nearby areas.

“We have requested the allocation of a land in Matrouh Governorate (Northwest Egypt) pending a final decision in this respect...we will be open to offers from several countries, including China, Europe and the Company which is building Dabaa reactor,” the source said, referring to Russia's state-owned nuclear energy corporation, Rosatom.

“The Ministry has an ambitious nuclear programme for the generation of electricity and diversification of energy sources, including wind and solar energy.”

In a statement last week, NPPA said it would begin building the fourth unit at Dabaa in the fourth quarter of 2023 after the project was approved by the country’s top nuclear power authority. The plant consists of four units with a capacity of 1,200 megawatt (MW) each.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Centrus-brings-forward-HALEU-production-date

US nuclear fuel and services company Centrus Energy Corp announced that it expects to begin first-of-a-kind production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) at the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio, in October - about two months ahead of schedule.

HALEU fuel contains uranium enriched to between 5% and 20% uranium-235 - higher than the uranium fuel used in light-water reactors currently in operation, which typically contains up to 5% uranium-235. It will be needed by most of the advanced reactor designs being developed under the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. But the lack of a commercial supply chain to support these reactors has prompted the DOE to launch a programme to stimulate the development of a domestic source of HALEU.

Centrus began construction of the demonstration cascade of 16 centrifuges in 2019 under contract with the DOE, and last year secured a further USD150 million of cost-shared funding to finish the cascade, complete final regulatory steps, begin operating the cascade, and produce up to 20 kg of HALEU by the end of this year.

In June, Centrus announced it had successfully completed its operational readiness reviews with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and received NRC approval to possess uranium at the Piketon site - the last major regulatory hurdle prior to beginning production.

Centrus is now conducting final system tests and other preparations so that production can begin in October.

"This will be the first new US-owned uranium enrichment plant to begin production since 1954," said Centrus President and CEO Daniel Poneman. "What better way to commemorate the 70th anniversary of President Eisenhower's historic Atoms for Peace initiative than to restore a domestic uranium enrichment capability that will support our energy security and clean power needs, enable long-term national security and non-proliferation goals, and generate great new jobs for American workers."

Centrus said the capacity of the 16-centrifuge cascade will be modest - about 900 kilograms of HALEU per year - but with sufficient funding and offtake commitments, the company could significantly expand production. It says a full-scale HALEU cascade, consisting of 120 centrifuge machines, with a combined capacity to produce approximately 6000 kilograms of HALEU per year, could be brought online within about 42 months of securing the necessary funding. Centrus said it could add an additional HALEU cascade every six months after that.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Germany-plans-massive-investment-in-fusion

Germany will invest more than EUR1 billion (USD1.1 billion) in fusion research over the next five years, Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger announced.

The minister announced that she would significantly increase research funding for fusion with an additional EUR370 million over the next five years. Together with funds already earmarked for research institutions, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will provide more than one billion euros for fusion research by 2028.

The new funding programme strengthens the ongoing activities of the BMBF at the Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Research Center Jülich (FZJ).

In December 2022, BMBF set up a commission of experts to take stock of the field of laser fusion, which has so far been little researched in Germany. In May this year, Stark-Watzinger accepted a memorandum from the commission. The memorandum describes the potential of Germany as an industrial and research location with a view to laser fusion and defines needs for further research on the way to a first fusion power plant.

Building on this, the BMBF published a position paper on fusion research in June. This describes the framework conditions with which a fusion power plant becomes reality as quickly as possible. It is the basis for the new funding programme.

"The energy crisis has shown us how essential a clean, reliable and affordable energy supply is," Stark-Watzinger said. "Fusion is the huge opportunity to solve all of our energy problems. With our new funding programme, we want to invest massively and in a technology-neutral way in fusion - a total of over one billion euros in the next five years. And create a fusion ecosystem with industry so that a fusion power plant in Germany becomes a reality as quickly as possible."

Magnetic and laser fusion are equally promoted under the research programme. Industry and research institutions will be expected to work together to address the technological challenges so that a fusion power plant can be realised.

Among other things, cooperation with the private sector is planned to develop infrastructure for laser-driven fusion. For this purpose, the BMBF will establish the Pulsed Light Technologies GmbH subsidiary through the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation SPRIND, through which up to EUR90 million will be invested over the next five years.

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 this year.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Paks-II-construction-moves-ahead-Szijjarto-says-2

Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó has said that with groundwork under way at the site of the planned sixth unit at the Paks nuclear power plant, a fresh project milestone has been reached.

Szijjártó said that initial groundwork is now taking place to a depth of five metres, with some sections of the sixth block at the plant likely to be up to 23 metres deep to ensure its stability and safety. Similar work has already been carried out on the site of the planned fifth block at the plant, he added.

There are between 30 and 40 lorries involved in carrying the soil excavated from the site, which will total as much as one million cubic metres, he said.

Work began to construct the groundwater cut-off - an underground waterproof wall - around the area on Hungary's Paks nuclear power plant site where the two new units are to be built, in July. The wall will control the flow of groundwater into and out of the Paks II construction pit, once excavated. Szijjártó said about 700 metres of the wall had now been completed.

According to the official About Hungary report on Szijjártó's comments, the minister said that the work taking place on site, plus the work under way in Russia "means that the target of completing the project by 2030 remains realistic".

Earlier this year Energy Minister Csaba Lantos said in an interview with Kossuth Radio that the Paks II plant was likely to be completed two years later than planned, in 2032.

The Paks II project was launched in early 2014 by an intergovernmental agreement between Hungary and Russia for two VVER-1200 reactors to be supplied by Rosatom, with the contract supported by a Russian state loan to finance the majority of the project. The application was submitted in July 2020 to construct Paks II alongside the existing Paks plant, 100 kilometres southwest of Budapest on the banks of the Danube river. Procedures allowed Hungary's National Atomic Energy Office 12 months to make its decision, with the possibility of extension by three months. That extension was triggered in July 2021, but the construction licence was not finally issued for more than a year, in August 2022.

The existing four units at Paks are VVER-440 reactors that started up between 1982 and 1987 and they produce about half of the country's electricity. Their design lifetime was for 30 years but that was extended in 2005 by 20 years to between 2032 and 2037. In December, the Hungarian Parliament approved a proposal to further extend their lifespan, which means preparations can begin on operating the plant into the 2050s.

Hungary has said it plans to push ahead with the project with Russia, despite opposition to it from fellow European Union countries following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Rosatom said that the general contractor of the Paks II project, JSC Atomstroyexport, started work on the main stage of construction on 21 August, with Hungarian contractor Duna Asxfalt starting preparations for the excavation work under future unit 6. This followed the signing of amendments to the construction contract on 18 August and Paks II Nuclear Power Plant Ltd issuing "the relevant official notification on the transition of the project to the second, ie the main, construction stage".

It said that the excavation work at unit 6 would cover an area equal to about four football pitches and should be completed this autumn. The two new units are designed to have a lifetime of at least 60 years.

There are no easy options when it comes to the “unavoidably complex” task of managing the UK’s plutonium stockpile, but more research, development and innovation is needed to underpin any decision, a report says.

The report, prepared by the Dalton Nuclear Institute at Manchester University, calls for a national dialogue led by “trusted voices” and based on a clear view of the government’s thinking of the role, if any, plutonium might play in meeting future UK energy needs.

The stockpile could be used as fuel for existing or future thermal reactors. It could also be combined with the UK’s 100,000 tonne supply of depleted, natural and low-enriched uranium to fuel new fast reactors, which has the potential to power the UK for centuries. Both options could lead to the reduction of the UK’s nuclear legacy burden.

Another option is to dispose of the stockpile in the planned UK deep geological repository.

Professor Clint Sharrad, acting director of the Dalton Nuclear Institute, said while this all sounds promising, successfully delivering such outcomes would take time, money, organisation, and commitment.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, a government body, is in the process of repackaging the plutonium stocks, stored at Sellafield in northwest England, into more robust containment.

“Being wary of the current global political and economic climate, it may be that extracting the energy from UK plutonium in the not-too-distant future becomes unnecessarily expensive and political barriers may be too difficult to overcome,” Prof Sharrad said.

“Therefore, it might be simpler and cheaper to consider it a waste material alongside the other legacies from the nuclear industry, and safely dispose of it.”

The stockpile originates from reprocessing spent fuel from the UK’s reactor fleets, plus some material derived from outside the UK.

The report says the UK is considered a world leader in nuclear with a well-established nuclear industry since the 1950s. This offers many positives by contributing to improved energy security and delivering net zero, but does present challenges in regards to nuclear legacy management.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Orano-developing-transport-packages-for-advanced-f

Orano and Urenco are developing a new cylinder designed for the transport of uranium enriched up to 20%. Meanwhile, the US nuclear regulator has approved the doubling of capacity of Orano's enriched uranium transport package.

Orano and Urenco have signed a consortium agreement for testing and development of the new 30B-X cylinder designed to transport uranium enriched up to 20%.

Orano said the new cylinder is designed in light of future low enriched uranium plus (LEU+) and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel transport. For the upcoming new fuel designs and the evolution of the small modular reactor market, solutions will be required for the transport of uranium enriched to up to 20%, as they are not currently available on the market.

The 30B-X cylinder equips the innovative DN30-X packaging. This DN30-X packaging combines the properties of the existing DN30 overpack with the new 30B-X cylinder into which is inserted the criticality control system (CCS) to ensure transport safety thanks to control rods with neutrophilic characteristics.

Two versions of the 30B-X cylinder are available for optimised transport capacity depending on the level of uranium enrichment, with a different number of CCS control rods: one model with a capacity of 1460 kg of uranium enriched up to 10%, and a second with a capacity of 1271 kg of uranium enriched up to 20%.

The DN30-X package was licensed in March 2023 by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Licensing in France is in progress and is expected in the second half of 2024. Licensing for other countries will follow upon request, Orano said.

In parallel to licensing in France, two prototypes of the 30B-X cylinder were delivered to two enrichment facilities for testing of the integration of the cylinders into their plant processes: at a Urenco enrichment site and at Orano's Tricastin site in France.

Capacity of transport package doubled

Orano's new high-capacity basket (HCB) for its Versa-Pac VP-55 enriched uranium transport package has obtained approval from the NRC.

The HCB allows two 5-inch (12.7-cm) diameter pipe containers to be secured inside a VP-55 package, instead of only one. At the maximum length of 21 inches, each pipe can be filled to capacity or hold two standard two-litre or three 850-millilitre plastic shipping bottles of material.

Orano said its VP-55 Type AF package was specifically designed and licensed to meet the anticipated increasing need for transporting 10% LEU+ and up to 20% HALEU material fueling a growing number of advanced reactor designs.

"Based on our decades of nuclear fuel cycle expertise, Orano is increasingly involved in helping develop the advanced reactor supply chain with innovations and enhancements to our products and services," said Orano USA CEO Amir Vexler. "Doubling the capacity of our versatile VP-55 package creates immediate value for customers shipping a variety of nuclear materials. We are excited to support the development of advanced reactors, which this package would enable."

The Versa-Pac is licensed for shipment of tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel, uranium oxides, uranium metal, uranyl nitrate crystals and other uranium compounds such as uranium carbides, uranyl fluorides and uranyl carbonates, uranium hexafluoride, and thorium.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Iran-unveils-home-grown-reactor-simulator

Iran's nuclear professionals are now able to train using a fully Iranian-designed and built reactor simulator.

The Generic Nuclear Reactor Training simulator - or GNRTS - has been designed and built by the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI). It represents a two-loop pressurised water reactor (PWR) with a thermal power of 100 MW and a net electrical output of 30 MWe, with a core of 21 rectangular 17x17 fuel assemblies and a fuel enrichment of 4.9%.

The real-time simulator can recreate various scenarios to train technical personnel and nuclear engineering students in the basic concepts of operational characteristics of a PWR plant in normal operating conditions as well as in abnormal and emergency conditions.

An opening ceremony for the simulator, which is at the AEOI's Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute (NSTRI), was held in July. During the ceremony, AEOI head Mohammad Eslami said the NSTRI had been assigned a mission to train the human resources that will be needed over the coming years if it is to achieve its 20 GWe nuclear capacity goal. "This simulator is, in principle, a sign of confidence in our youth, a symbol of success and self-belief, which in its own way, is highly valued," he said.

Earlier versions of the simulator have now been installed at eight Iranian universities where they are being used for teaching purposes, Eslami said, and added that the AEOI would be willing to export its new simulator system to other countries, in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Iran's Bushehr unit 1 - a Russian-designed VVER-1000 PWR, which uses infrastructure that was already in place from a previous, uncompleted German-designed plant - began commercial operation in 2013. A second VVER-1000 is under construction at Bushehr, with further units planned or proposed at Bushehr and other sites. The Bushehr reactor operates under IAEA safeguards.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Containment-vessel-takes-shape-at-Sanmen-4

The CV1R module - the largest and heaviest module among the six major components of the steel containment vessel - has been hoisted into place at unit 4 of the Sanmen nuclear power plant in China's Zhejiang province.

The module - weighing 1024 tonnes - was successfully installed on 29 August in an operation lasting 2 hours and 15 minutes, the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute (SNERDI) announced.

The CV1R includes various penetration casings, equipment gates, accessory plates and other components.

"The successful installation of CV1R created good prerequisites for construction operations in the nuclear island reactor building, and also accumulated valuable experience for subsequent large-scale hoisting work," SNERDI said.

The construction of two new reactors at each of the Sanmen, Haiyang and Lufeng sites in China was approved by China's State Council in April 2021. The approvals were for Sanmen units 3 and 4, Haiyang 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, and two CAP1000 units were approved for Phase II (units 3 and 4) of each plant.

The CAP1000 reactor design - the Chinese version of the AP1000 - uses modular construction techniques, enabling large structural modules to be built at factories and then installed at the site.

The first safety-related concrete was poured for the nuclear island of Sanmen 3 on 28 June last year, marking the official start of its construction. The first concrete for that of unit 4 was poured on 22 March this year.

The largest and heaviest module - the cuboid-shaped CA20 - was installed at Sanmen 4 in April.

Minister to chair sector meeting later this month.

The Italian government has reaffirmed its commitment to reviving the Italian nuclear energy sector, with several ministers unveiling plans to reintroduce nuclear power generation within the next decade.

Speaking at the European House-Ambrosetti economic forum on Sunday, transport minister and deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini expressed confidence in the government’s ability to begin nuclear energy production within the next 10 years.

Argus Media reported that environment minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said he will preside over the inaugural meeting of the National Platform for Sustainable Nuclear on September 21.

This platform aims to coordinate efforts among companies and institutions involved in various areas of the nuclear industry, including safety, radioprotection, and waste management.

Pichetto said the government’s emphasis is on research, experimentation, and “leveraging Italy's extensive nuclear sector expertise, rather than constructing new nuclear plants”.

He said small modular reactors could be a viable option for Italy’s energy landscape in the next decade.

Earlier this year the Italian parliament backed the government’s plan to include nuclear in the country’s energy mix as part of its decarbonisation efforts after the country abandoned its nuclear programme nearly four decades ago.

Since she took office late last year, prime minister Meloni has openly supported the reactivation of the country’s long-shuttered nuclear power plants.

Italy was a pioneer of nuclear power and had four commercial nuclear plants – Caorso, Enrico Fermi, Garigliano and Latina – providing almost 5% of the country’s electricity production share at their peak in 1986-1987.

Italy shut down the last of the plants, Caorso and Enrico Fermi, in July 1990 following a referendum in the wake of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

In January the Italian Nuclear Association said Italy needs to develop a national energy policy that includes restarting its nuclear power programme as it seeks to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and imports from Russia.

In 2021, opinion polls in Italy suggested support was growing for the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies including SMRs.

New generation of nuclear plants can play ‘significant role’ in replacing fossil fuels.

Europe needs to show a firm commitment to the development of small modular reactors as the bloc seeks to meet its goal of climate neutrality by 2050, a draft European Parliament committee report says.

The report, prepared for the committee on industry, research and energy, says SMRs represent a promising way for the EU to achieve its energy and climate objectives and offer “considerable opportunities” in terms of electricity production, industrial heat, hydrogen generation and district heating, a draft European Parliament committee report says.

It calls on the European Council to demonstrate a firm commitment to contributing to the successful development of SMRs in the EU and warns that the bloc could be left behind if it does not commit itself to the global race for leadership in the future SMR market.

The report underlines the need for a comprehensive strategy for the deployment of SMRs in the EU and stresses the need for an annual report by the European Commission assessing progress in the development of SMRs.

It says SMRs offer a lower initial capital investment, greater scalability and siting flexibility for locations unable to accommodate more traditional larger reactors. They now have the potential for enhanced safety and security compared to earlier designs.

No SMRs have been commercially operated, but more than 80 SMR designs are at different stages of development and deployment in 18 countries.

The EU has committed to reducing achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and SMRs “have the potential to play a significant role in replacing fossil fuels”, the report concludes.

The main challenge of SMR deployment is the uncertainty coming from the fact that designs are not yet at the advanced stage of maturity.

The scientific community still needs to test and prove the expected advantages. This affects the risk perception and limits the potential size of the market.

Another challenge would be establishment of a robust supply chain.

The report also says that to maximise the economic advantage of SMRs, it would be crucial to establish an almost global market for one design of reactor to be manufactured via mass production.

“That would require higher levels of regulatory harmonisation and market consolidation than exist at present.”

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Four-new-reactors-in-year-is-a-record,-says-Rosato

The 340-tonne reactor vessel for the second unit at Kursk II is being shipped by AEM-Technology JSC, marking what Russia's nuclear corporation Rosatom says is a record for annual reactor production.

Earlier this year reactor vessels and steam generators were shipped for units at the Tianwan and Xudapu nuclear power plants in China, and for Kudankulam nuclear power plant in India.

Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev said: "This is the fourth reactor produced by Atommash this year. This means that our machine-building division is reaching a record pace of production of reactor equipment." He aded that it was "not a record for the sake of records" but a reflection of an "ambitious programme for the construction of nuclear power plants" in Russia and abroad.

The VVER-TOI design was announced in 2010. Kursk II will replace four RBMK units currently operating at the site. The generation III+ power unit has an upgraded pressure vessel, increased power to 3300 MWt and 1255-1300 MWe gross (nominally 1300), improved core design to increase cooling reliability, further development of passive safety with 72-hour grace period requiring no operator intervention after shutdown, lower construction and operating costs, and 40-month construction time. It will use a low-speed turbine-generator.

The reactor vessel is to be transported by road and by river from AEM-Technology's Atommash production site in Volgodonsk, Rostov Oblast.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Oklo-selected-for-Alaska-airbase-microreactor

The US Department of the Air Force, in partnership with the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, has selected Oklo Inc to site, design, construct, own and operate a microreactor facility to deliver electricity and steam at the Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.

The Defense Logistics Agency Energy has issued a Notice of Intent to Award a contract to Oklo to provide power and heat at the base as part of the US Air Force's microreactor pilot programme. This marks the start of the acquisition process to potentially award a 30-year, firm-fixed-price contract to Oklo. The company would need to obtain a licence for the plant from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) before constructing and operating the plant. The FY2019 National Defense Authorisation Act requires the reactor to be operational by the end of 2027.

The US military is the nation's largest single energy consumer. The US Congress, in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to site and operate at least one nuclear reactor at a DOD facility within a decade, to meet energy resilience and assurance needs. The US Air Force confirmed in 2021 that Eielson - which currently relies on coal to power its operations - would be the site for its first microreactor, and in September 2022 issued a request for proposals for a "nuclear microreactor energy production facility" able to produce electricity and steam and to meet a baseload electricity demand of 5 MWe.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment, Brendan Owens, said the department would be "watching this project closely and working with the other military departments to identify additional installations where deployment of US-developed advanced nuclear technology will improve power reliability and installation resilience".

"Today is a historic first for the Air Force, state of Alaska, and the nation," said Ravi Chaudhary, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Energy, Installations, and Environment. "Safe, reliable, clean energy using microreactor technology will be an integral part of Air Force installations in the future. The best part of this innovation is that we are coming together at the beginning to demonstrate this capability - partnering with key regulatory authorities, state, and local communities to ensure we get this right and do it safely."

"We are honoured to be at the forefront of increasing resilience and reducing emissions, while driving national security forward," Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte said.

Oklo's fast reactor technology is able to operate independently from the grid while providing a clean and reliable power source. This makes it an ideal solution for domestic military installations critical to national security infrastructure, the company said. The company submitted an application to build and operate its first plant at a site at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in 2020 - the first such application to be submitted for an advanced fission plant. The NRC in 2022 said it would need additional information to resume the application, but the company says it remains on track to bring its first plant online before the end of the decade.

The DOD Strategic Capabilities Office has also partnered with the Department of Energy in Project Pele to develop, prototype and demonstrate a transportable microreactor. BWXT has been selected to build the prototype, which is to be tested at INL.

Orlen Synthos Green Energy wants to build reactor in south of country.

Poland has begun a transboundary consultation process on plans by Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE) to build a small modular reactor plant at the Stawy Monowskie site in the south of the country, the company said.

OSGE said on social media that the General Directorate for Environmental Protection (GDOS), which is responsible for the process, sees consultations with the Czech Republic and Slovakia as justified, while Austria has expressed a willingness to participate in the process.

It is up to GDOS to identifies the possibility of a significant transboundary environmental impact of a given project. This information is sent to the countries potentially interested in participating in the transboundary procedure.

The 1997 Espoo Convention sets out rules for assessing the environmental impact of activities – including nuclear power plants – at an early stage of planning. It lays down the general obligation of states to notify and consult each other on all major projects that are likely to have a significant adverse environmental impact across boundaries.

In April, OSGE announce seven locations for deployment of the BWRX-300 SMR technology, which is being developed by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy.

The first plant will be deployed at Stawy Monowskie, about 70 km from Poland’s southern borders with Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Austria shares borders with both Slovakia and the Czech Republic, but not with Poland. Austria’s northeastern border is about 300 km from Poland.

Other sites include Wloclawek in central Poland, Ostroleka in northeastern Poland, Stalowa Wola near Warsaw, the Nowa Huta area of Krakow, near the border with the Czech Republic in southern Poland, Tarnobrzeg special economic zone in southeastern Poland and Dabrowa Gornicza, southern Poland.

Local media recently reported that GDOS has revised its deadline for issuing an environmental decision for the Stawy Monowskie project to 30 November 2023. Transborder consultations form part of these proceedings.

In June, GDOS said it had started an environmental decision process for the proposed new-build project. OSGE said it had asked the directorate to define the scope of an environmental impact assessment the company will have to prepare for the project.

On 27 April, OSGE also applied for a decision-in-principle to the Polish Climate and Environment Ministry for its BWRX-300 deployment plans. A decision-in-principle would formally confirm that nuclear new-build investments will be in line with the public interest and Warsaw’s energy policy.

OSGE was established in 2022 as a joint venture between Synthos Green Energy and PKN Orlen. GEH and Synthos announced in October 2019 an agreement to collaborate on potential deployment applications for the BWRX-300 SMR in Poland.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/What-to-do-with-the-UK-s-civil-plutonium-stockpile

The UK's 140-tonne stockpile of civil plutonium could be used as fuel for thermal reactors or combined with the country's 100,000-tonne supply of depleted, natural and low-enriched uranium to fuel new fast reactors - or disposed of as waste in a future geological disposal facility - says a new report from The University of Manchester's Dalton Nuclear Institute exploring the options.

The report, Managing the UK plutonium stockpile: No easy choices, says that over the past six decades the UK has built up the largest stockpile of civil plutonium in the world, which is currently stored at Sellafield as plutonium dioxide powder. It says that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is carrying out an improvement programme over the coming decades of the facilities, packaging and storage.

However, it adds: "After the period of storage, the end point of the plutonium is being examined against the possible futures of conversion into either fuel for nuclear reactors or a wasteform for disposal in the planned UK geological disposal facility (GDF)."

It says that as nuclear fuel, the plutonium "would generate quantities of low-carbon energy, the amount of which would vary with the reactors and fuel types used but could be very significant for the UK. As waste, no energy would be generated, but this option could be expected to reach an earlier end point than use as fuel and to involve less initial cost as part of the overall GDF programme".

The report says its "key initial finding is that the current programme of improvement at Sellafield is essential to reduce the risks and hazards of plutonium storage, and this must be a priority for resources and funding over the next several decades. This unavoidably long timescale allows time for the choices between 'use' and 'disposal' to be properly examined: essential when any choice will almost certainly exclude any later move to another choice. Time is, however, a consideration, when the storage of plutonium dioxide powder is more hazardous than storing the same plutonium as a reactor fuel or as a wasteform. This will need to be clearly factored into decision making, especially when the desire to minimise hazard/risk appears to be taken as an absolute driver in some quarters".

Among its 10 recommendations, the report says there needs to be a national dialogue allowing stakeholders on all sides to share their views in an evidence-based debate; the current programme of repackaging and storing the plutonium inventory in optimal conditions must be carried out by NDA and Sellafield Ltd to the currently programmed end point of 100-year design life storage; the hazard represented would be greatly decreased by conversion from dispersible powder into a solid form and government should ensure that a comprehensive assessment is carried out on the attributes and costs of the range of options and, because the different options have different pathways to putting plutonium beyond reach, government needs to develop a full understanding of the whole plutonium lifecycle for each pathway before committing to irrevocable decisions.

The report does not select one specific option, but its overall recommendation is that the UK government "should acknowledge that this is an unavoidably complex, multigenerational undertaking, requiring ongoing stewardship prior to an irrevocable decision on the end point for the material, and should put in place suitable arrangements. There are significant major uncertainties which can only be managed through a long term, programmatic approach with continuity, flexibility, adaptability, underpinned by Research, Development and Innovation commensurate with the scale of the challenge".

Standard operation of nuclear power reactors produces plutonium from the use of uranium-238 in nuclear fuel and much of the UK's used fuel was subsequently reprocessed but with the plutonium separated for future use, the report says, "mainly with the intention of eventually utilising it to start generation using a future programme of fast reactors" but "the economic and resource drivers for the adoption of fast reactors did not materialise, and the UK’s plutonium inventory remains stored".

The report notes that the current commitment to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 means that the plutonium "could have a significant role in both generating low-carbon energy, and in facilitating the huge energy potential of the UK’s stock of depleted uranium (which becomes a viable energy source in fast reactors in partnership with plutonium)".

In his foreword to the report, Professor Clint Sharrad, acting director of the Dalton Nuclear Institute, says that successfully delivering on the use of plutonium for one of the fuel options "could power the UK for centuries" but "would take time, money, organisation and commitment ... and it may be that extracting the energy from UK plutonium in the not-too-distant future becomes unnecessarily expensive and political barriers may be too difficult to overcome. Therefore, it might be simpler and cheaper to consider it a waste material alongside the other legacies from the nuclear industry, and safely dispose of it. So there are some decisions to be made. Some need to be made soon, whereas others can, and should, be safely postponed until we have the necessary supporting information".

Sharrad adds: "To paraphrase the common saying about building new nuclear reactors, the best time to begin such conversations is around twenty years ago - but the second-best time is now."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Robot-navigates-Dounreay-evaporator-cell

Spot, a robotic quadruped, has completed a trial at the Dounreay site in Scotland, UK, where it successfully navigated an evaporator cell in the Fuel Cycle Area that has been shut off for 25 years.

Described as a "mobile agile robot", Spot - developed by Boston Dynamics - negotiated pitch-black conditions and several flights of stairs to complete this latest challenge.

At Dounreay its mission was two-fold; to map out the four-storey cell, collecting important radiological data for the team to use when planning the decommissioning of the facility; and to gain useful experience on how the robot and survey equipment should be used.

The site joiners constructed a wooden mock-up of the evaporator cell entrance and temporary containment in a clean area to test the abilities of the robot and train the operators who would support Spot, before the work moved into the evaporator cell.

Swathed in its protective suit, once inside the evaporator cell the robot collected data to give the team a complete three-dimensional map of the area. It also collected radiological data to create a full dosimetry map showing areas of higher radioactivity, which will enable the team to develop a radiological fingerprint.

"By doing the initial groundwork, Spot has shown us the hazards that might affect workers who are tasked with the decommissioning," said Dounreay Project Manager Bernie Jones. "We will use the data to ensure that we mitigate those hazards and keep our people safe. This work also has the potential to save money on our decommissioning investigation."

"Over the course of five days, we deployed two Spots in multiple entries to the cell," noted Will Newsom, Energy Managing Director of Createc Ltd, the systems integrator for Spot. "The environment we were exploring was complex as it had not been accessed in over 20 years, so the team didn't know what to expect: that's what made the deployment so challenging.

"Using our innovative NV-Explore sensor, the team captured 3D radiation maps. At the same time, one Spot with a robotic arm was used to take several physical samples for lab analysis."

Dounreay's Managing Director Mark Rouse added: "I am really proud that Dounreay is pushing the boundaries of what existing technologies can do and in so doing opening up innovative pathways for the future that will keep our staff even more safe and improve our effectiveness at cleaning up this site."

In June, Dounreay Site Restoration Limited and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority announced they had partnered with Createc to launch an innovative twelve-month programme of work, taking on seven different remote robotic sensing projects, across five different Dounreay teams. The projects - which span security, planning, environmental and safety use cases - all involve the deployment of Spot.

Over the course of twelve months, Dounreay will systematically validate the suitability of several different types of sensors, combined with Spot, to support the digitalisation of existing on-site processes. The use cases will demonstrate the multi-tasking value of the quadruped for nuclear sites, and its ability to carry out practical work for multiple teams.

Dounreay was the UK's centre for experimental fast breeder research and development from 1954 until 1994.

India plans to ramp up nuclear capacity from 7.48GW to 22.4GW by 2031.

Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCI) has started operations at maximum capacity for the 700MW Kakrapar nuclear power plant Unit-3 in the Indian state of Gujarat, the Hindustan Times has reported.

Although operations at the third unit had started by June’s end, the power plant is said to have been operating at only 90% of its capacity until now.

Considered to be the first indigenously developed nuclear power reactor at the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project, it was designed, built, commissioned and will be operated by NPCI, a public sector company under the Department of Atomic Energy.

NPCI is building two 700MW pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR), including Units 3 and 4 at Kakrapar, where there are two 220MW power plants. Officials say that in July, the fourth unit recorded 97.56% progress.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter: “India achieves another milestone. The first largest indigenous 700MWe Kakrapar Nuclear Power Plant Unit-3 in Gujarat starts operations at full capacity. Congratulations to our scientists and engineers.”

The operations at the third unit began three years after the unit achieved its ‘first criticality’, a process of controlled but sustained nuclear fission reaction in July 2020.

NPCI also plans to build a total of 16 700MW of nuclear plants at Rawatbhata, Rajasthan and Gorakhpur, Haryana.

The Indian Government has further approved the construction of ten indigenously built PHWRs across the four states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.

The plan is to ramp up the present nuclear capacity from 7.48GW to 22.4GW by 2031. The 700MW reactors are expected to play a major role in this expansion, the Indian Express noted.