Nuclear Energy

Federal regulators began an investigation this week at the Donald C. Cook nuclear plant around the circumstances of multiple diesel generator failures. The facility continues to operate safely.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission determined that a special inspection is necessary to evaluate the reliability of diesel generators after they failed four times in two years. The Cook plant is located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Bridgman, Mich., and is operated by Indiana Michigan Power.

Emergency diesel generators are critical for plant safety, as the units are designed to provide backup power to safety equipment when power from the electrical grid is not available. Following each emergency diesel generator failure, NRC inspectors verified that the plant performed prompt repairs.

What’s next: A three-person special inspection team with expertise in electrical and mechanical engineering and plant systems will identify the failure timelines, review the plant’s troubleshooting and corrective actions, assess maintenance practices, and evaluate the plant’s ability to effectively identify and resolve issues of concern.

The inspection will “take as long as necessary,” NRC spokesperson Prema Chandrathil told Moody on the Market on Monday.

Once complete, results of the special inspection will be made public.

Rosatom, has shipped the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and one of the four steam generators for Xudabu-4 nuclear power plant being built in Liaoning province in northeast China.

Construction of Xudabu-4 (also written in English as Xudabao and Xudapu) started in May 2022.

The plant will be a conventional pressurised water reactor unit using the Russian VVER-1200 technology.

The RPV is one of the largest reactor components at a nuclear plant. It is a vessel containing the nuclear reactor coolant, core shroud, and the reactor core and fuel.

The steam generators act as heat exchangers where water carrying heat generated from the nuclear reaction is used to turn demineralised water into steam for the plant turbines.

The Xudabu project was originally expected to comprise of six CAP1000 plants, with Units 1 and 2 in the first phase.

Site preparation began in November 2010, but plans changed with the construction of two VVER-1200 reactors for Units 3 and 4.

International Atomic Energy Agency data shows four units are currently under construction at Xudabu – Units 1 and 2 are CAP1000s, and Units 3 and 4 are VVER-1200s.

The reactor pressure vessel for unit 2 of the San'ao nuclear power plant in China's Zhejiang province has been installed within the reactor building, CGN Cangnan Nuclear Power announced.

The vessel - manufactured by Shanghai Electric Nuclear Power Equipment Company Limited - departed from Shanghai on 30 July and arrived at the San'ao site on 2 August after four days of sea transportation. Following two days of channel clearing and other preparatory work, unloading and hoisting work was carried out at the quay on 4 August.

"On 17 August, after unpacking inspection, on-site transportation, hoisting to the 17.5-metre platform, internal inspection of the container, flipping and translation, the reactor pressure vessel of unit 2 of the San'ao Nuclear Power Project was successfully put in place," CGN said. "The whole process took 14 days, marking that the installation of the main equipment of unit 2 has entered a new stage and laid a solid foundation for subsequent main pipeline welding, main pump installation and other work."

CGN describes the reactor pressure vessel - weighing about 300 tonnes - as the "heart" of a nuclear power plant. The pressure vessel is mainly responsible for fixing and supporting the internal components of the reactor, ensuring that the fuel assemblies are supported and positioned in the core at a certain distance, and limiting the nuclear reaction inside it.

San'ao 2 is the second of six Chinese-designed HPR1000 (Hualong One) pressurised water reactors planned at the site.

In May 2015, the National Energy Administration approved the project to carry out site protection and related demonstration work at San'ao. On 2 September 2020, the executive meeting of the State Council approved the construction of units 1 and 2 as the first phase of the plant. China's National Nuclear Safety Administration issued a construction permit for the two units on 30 December that year and first concrete for unit 1 was poured the following day. The first concrete for San'ao 2 was poured on 30 December 2021.

San'ao 1 and 2 are scheduled to begin supplying electricity in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

The San'ao plant is the first nuclear power project in China's Yangtze River Delta region to adopt the Hualong One reactor design.

The San'ao project marks the first Chinese nuclear power project involving private capital, with Geely Technology Group taking a 2% stake in the plant. China General Nuclear (CGN) holds 46% of the shares of the project company Cangnan Nuclear Power, with other state-owned enterprises holding the remainder.

Global Atomic has received a letter from the government of Niger in which president Tiani and the Council of ministers confirm support for the company and development of its Dasa uranium project.

The Canada-based company said it continues to develop the Dasa Project and expects to be bringing the mine and the processing plant into production at the end of 2025 for delivery of yellowcake to utilities in the US and other countries in early 2026.

Global Atomic president and chief executive officer Stephen Roman said the letter confirms strong support from the government of Niger for the Dasa project and the company’s progress in its development to date.

Roman said the letter confirms Dasa is considered a strategic investment for Niger.

“The letter highlights that we have always complied with Niger’s regulations,” Roman said.

“The mines minister, during his site visit in May 2024, witnessed our commitment to predominately populate our local management and operating staff from Niger’s workforce and prioritise Niger companies for the supply of goods and services, where practical.

“We are pleased to see that the government recognises not only the socio-economic benefits that accrue to Niger from Dasa, but also the excellent ESG work we have been doing since 2008.”

The Dasa project lies within the Adrar Emoles III licence area, 105 km south of the established uranium mining town of Arlit. Bank Postpones Dasa Presentation

It emerged recently that a US development bank postponed a scheduled July presentation about the Dasa project to its credit committee, with the company saying it will move to “finalise other financing discussions” if there are further delays.

Global Atomic said the unnamed development bank was moving a planned debt financing facility, previously reported to ben CAD295m ($215m, €195m), through its approval process.

The bank postponed its scheduled July presentation of the project to its credit committee, but Roman said the company remains confident that the bank will eventually approve the project.

In June, Niger’s ruling military junta, which came to power following a coup in July 2023, revoked the operating licence of French company Orano at the Imouraren mine, which sits on one of the biggest uranium deposits in the world.

Last month Canada-based GoviEx Uranium said the junta had withdrawn its licence for the Madaouela uranium mine, dealing a major blow to the development of one of the world’s largest uranium projects.

Deliveries of natural uranium and other nuclear services to the EU, including imports from Russia, increased in 2023 as utilities continued to diversify their sources of nuclear fuel. But there are still supply chain challenges to face, according to the latest annual report from the Euratom Supply Agency (ESA).

The 2023 report shows significant progress in the security of supply for VVER reactors for most countries, ESA Director-General Michael Hübel said in his foreword. It also shows important challenges ahead, notably in relation to diversification in conversion and enrichment services. Inventory levels of nuclear materials have risen, but the supply of medical radioisotopes remains a concern mainly due to reliance on foreign supplies of their source materials, particularly from Russia.

Nuclear power accounted for around 23% of the EU’s total electricity generation in 2023, and the bloc's demand for natural uranium accounts for about 22% of global needs.

Deliveries of natural uranium and other nuclear services increased in 2023, with the majority of natural uranium delivered to EU utilities coming from Canada, Russia, Kazakhstan and Niger. Canada was the leading supplier at 4801 tU, accounting for nearly 33% of 2023 deliveries, up over 86% on 2022.

Russia was the second largest supplier to EU utilities, supplying 3419 tU - just over 23% of total deliveries and nearly 73% higher year-on-year. But this increase should not be read as an indication of a trend or heightened EU dependency on Russian supplies, the Agency said. Since 2022 "almost all" EU operators of Russian-designed VVER nuclear reactors have been working to diversify their fuel supply, it said, and some utilities operating VVERs have been building stockpiles of fresh fuel to cover the period until alternative fuels - including related plant adaptations - are completed and licensed.

Securing supplies

The ESA said it has "long recommended" that EU utilities maintain sufficient strategic inventories and use market opportunities to increase their stocks, and it noted that the overall EU inventory level increased by 5.45% in 2023. "All utilities have nuclear material in their inventory to cover between one to more than three reloads each, with the vast majority covered for more than two reloads. More than 60% of the inventory is kept in the form of enriched uranium or fresh fuel … The ESA considers that most utilities’ inventories remain at a healthy level," the report notes.

But further efforts are needed by "interested Member States" to develop reliable supply chains to meet the growing demand for nuclear and new nuclear technologies to achieve climate goals while maintaining energy sovereignty, it says. The Euratom community "would benefit from a coordinated approach to strategic stockpiling for emergency situations", to ensure a coordinated response to supply chain disruptions and minimise the impact on EU utilities and users.

It also calls for "clear political and policy decisions" at both EU and Member State level both to support industry investment in vulnerable areas of the supply chain, particularly for conversion and enrichment capacities, and to tackle future HALEU (high-assay low-enriched uranium) supply vulnerabilities, as well as a coordinated approach to streamline the licensing process for innovative reactor fuels designs.

Hübel said: "For the second year, ESA had to mobilise and concentrate our resources on crisis management. The arrival of new market actors and the emergence of new technologies means that new supply chains will be developed. In the coming years, ESA will have to be prepared to support a range of new partners, handle an increasing number of transactions and be able to analyse and report on market developments in a more dynamic way."

The ESA's mission is to maintain regular and equitable supply of nuclear materials for all users in the European Atomic Energy Community, with the security of supply of nuclear materials, particularly nuclear fuel, for power and non-power uses, by means of a common supply policy, as its strategic objective.

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Centre of Excellence for Safeguards and Non-Proliferation has been launched at uranium enrichment services provider Urenco's Capenhurst site in the UK. The centre will be fully operational in 2025.

The centre, which is a Urenco facility, will establish a nuclear non-proliferation testing and training base for the benefit of IAEA safeguards and the international non-proliferation system. This will enable the development and testing of nuclear verification technologies, as well as the training of practitioners.

The project, which is the only facility of its kind globally, is a collaboration between the IAEA and Urenco's owners - the governments of the UK, the Netherlands and Germany - and the US government. It sees the repurposing of a decommissioned gas centrifuge enrichment plant brought back into active service for this unique safeguarding purpose.

The centre will help the IAEA enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of safeguards implementation at gas centrifuge enrichment facilities. IAEA safeguards are an essential component of the international nuclear non-proliferation system, and the centre will support the IAEA in its efforts to independently verify the peaceful use of such facilities.

An event was held at the Capenhurst site to mark the launch of the centre attended by representatives from the IAEA and the UK, Dutch, German and US governments.

"We are very proud to be able to contribute and collaborate with this international community to help grow expertise in nuclear safeguards by building a dedicated facility at our UK site," said Urenco CEO Boris Schucht. "We will continue to use our expertise and technologies to support non-proliferation and the safeguarding of civil nuclear operations."

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi added: "Staying ahead of technology advances is a crucial part of the IAEA's work as the world's nuclear watchdog. The Centre of Excellence for Safeguards and Non-Proliferation at Capenhurst will strengthen IAEA safeguards inspectors' training and enhance the research and development of safeguards equipment and techniques.

"I would like to commend the governments of Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and the executive team at Urenco for their understanding of the always-evolving demands of safeguards and nuclear non-proliferation, and their leadership in turning this facility from an idea into a valuable hands-on tool in the pursuit of international peace and security."

Urenco operates plants in Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA using its own centrifuge technology to enrich uranium for the use as a nuclear fuel for civil power generation.

In a first for the USA, the country's nuclear regulator has approved an increase in the burnup limit for Westinghouse's Encore accident tolerant fuel design, paving the way for longer and more economic fuel cycles.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval means that for the first time, nuclear fuel batch reloads in the USA will be able to exceed a burnup limit of 62 gigawatt days per metric tonne of uranium.

Burnup is a measure of the thermal energy released by nuclear fuel relative to its mass - how much uranium is "burned" - or consumed - before the fuel is removed from a reactor when it can no longer economically keep a chain reaction going. Pressurised water reactors in the USA currently operate on 18-month fuel cycles. Higher burnups mean that fuel can stay inside the reactor for longer, which can lead to more economic operation.

"We are very pleased to receive approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for incremental burnup in our nuclear fuel," Westinghouse President of Nuclear Fuel Tarik Choho said. "This milestone marks the start of production of nuclear fuel with increased capacity for pressurised water reactors, vastly improving fuel costs for US utility customers."

Westinghouse is one of three US nuclear fuel suppliers working with the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop new accident tolerant fuels - or ATFs - for US reactors. ATFs use new fuel and cladding mixtures that could help improve the overall economics and performance of today’s reactors as well as allowing for longer response times at high temperatures in severe, beyond design basis, accident situations.

The initial phase of Westinghouse's EnCore programme focuses on chromium coated cladding (fuel rods) loaded with ADOPT (Advanced Doped Pellet Technology) fuel pellets coupled with higher enrichment and higher burnup.

Earlier this month, the company announced the production of its first fuel pellets containing higher enrichment levels than the 3-5% enrichment currently used in fuel for commercial reactors. LEU+ ADOPT pellets containing up to 8% by weight uranium-235 were pressed at the company's Springfields fuel manufacturing facility in the UK using a higher enriched uranium oxide powder prepared by DOE's Idaho National Laboratory, and will be fabricated into lead test assemblies to be shipped back to the USA for irradiation testing at unit 2 of Southern Nuclear's Vogtle plant in Georgia next year.

The two 143-metre-tall cooling towers of the shut down single-unit Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant in Germany have been demolished in a controlled explosion.

PreussenElektra - which is responsible for the decommissioning of eight nuclear power plants in Germany - announced that the cooling towers were "successfully and safely demolished" at 7.55pm on 16 August.

The blasting had been planned for 5.30pm but was delayed after a 36-year-old pro-nuclear protester scaled an electricity pylon near the towers in protest at their demolition.

A total of 1340 electronic detonators and 260 kilograms of explosives were used to bring down the two towers, PreussenElektra said.

The blasting resulted in around 55,000 tonnes of rubble, mainly concrete. The concrete rubble will first be processed and a large part of it - about two-thirds - will be used to fill one of the two cooling tower bases. This area will later be used as a storage area for materials from the dismantling of the Grafenrheinfeld plant. The remainder of the concrete rubble as well as plastics and metals will be recycled.

In order to ensure safe demolition, the Grafenrheinfeld plant (KKG) project team began the complex planning and preparation work almost two years ago.

Grafenrheinfeld plant manager Bernd Kaiser said: "My thanks today go especially to the demolition expert Ulrike Matthes and her team from the Thuringian Explosives Company, as well as to everyone involved in the KKG, especially the project manager Matthias Aron. A big thank you also goes to all the emergency services, the police, the Schweinfurt district office, the surrounding communities and all the other authorities involved, with whom we have worked very constructively in recent weeks and months."

"With today's demolition, we have changed the well-known silhouette of Grafenrheinfeld forever and created space for something new," said PreussenElektra CEO Guido Knott. "In parallel with the well-progressing dismantling of the plant, we are already working on a sensible and value-adding development of the site. Together with our partners and local stakeholders, we want to promote ideas primarily in the field of energy generation and storage that will benefit our employees and the region."

The 1275 MWe (net) pressurised water reactor achieved first criticality in December 1981 and was connected to the grid in the same month. It entered commercial operation in June 1982.

In August 2011, the 13th amendment of the Nuclear Power Act came into effect, which underlined the political will to phase out nuclear power in Germany. As a result, eight units were closed down immediately: EnBW’s Phillipsburg 1 and Neckarwestheim 1; EOn's Isar 1 and Unterweser; RWE's Biblis A and B and Vattenfall's Brunsbüttel and Krümmel. As part of the 13th amendment to Germany's Nuclear Power Act, Grafenrheinfeld lost its authorisation for power operation and was finally shut down on 27 June 2015.

PreussenElektra applied for the decommissioning and first dismantling permit in 2014 and received it in 2018. In this first approval procedure, the company described in detail the concept for the entire dismantling of the system and the measures planned for this. PreussenElektra split the application for the individual dismantling scopes into two steps. The dismantling of the plant began in April 2018 with the granting of the decommissioning and dismantling permit. The second dismantling permit, which was granted in December 2022, for which the application was submitted in December 2019, includes the dismantling of the reactor pressure vessel and the biological shield surrounding it.

PreussenElektra has posted a video of the demolition on its YouTube channel.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi warns that the nuclear safety situation is deteriorating after a drone strike on a road near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant's perimeter.

The IAEA team stationed at the Zaporizhzhia plant (ZNPP) was informed on Saturday that an explosive carried by a drone detonated just outside the plant's protected area, close to the cooling water sprinkler ponds and about 100 metres from the Dniprovska power line, which is the only remaining 750 kilovolt line providing external power supply to ZNPP.

"The team immediately visited the area (see picture above) and reported that the damage seemed to have been caused by a drone equipped with an explosive payload. There were no casualties and no impact on any NPP equipment. However, there was impact to the road between the two main gates of ZNPP," the IAEA update said.

There has also been "intense" military activity close to the plant over the past week, the IAEA team reports. Recent days have seen a fire in one of the cooling towers and damage to a power and water substation in nearby Energodar, where many of the nuclear power plant workers and their families live.

Grossi said: "Yet again we see an escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers ... I remain extremely concerned and reiterate my call for maximum restraint from all sides and for strict observance of the five concrete principles established for the protection of the plant."

He added: "Nuclear power plants are designed to be resilient against technical or human failures and external events including extreme ones, but they are not built to withstand a direct military attack, and neither are they supposed to, just as with any other energy facility in the world. This latest attack highlights the vulnerability of such facilities in conflict zones and the need to continue monitoring the fragile situation."

The six-unit ZNPP, Europe's largest, has been under Russian military control since early March 2022. It is close to the frontline between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

Kursk nuclear power plant

Grossi reported that he had held talks at the weekend about the safety and security situation at Zaporizhzhia and also "recent events in the territory of the Russian Federation, including the proximity of military action to an important and operating nuclear power plant".

The Director General of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, said that during talks with Grossi he had invited the IAEA's head to visit the Kursk nuclear power plant. The IAEA statement said "Director General Grossi has expressed his readiness to assess the situation, including by making a visit to the plant".

Ukraine and Russia each accuse the other side of putting nuclear safety at risk and breaching the IAEA's central safety principles for nuclear facilities. Grossi explained at the United Nations in April that the IAEA would not attribute blame without "indisputable proof" and said the agency aims to "keep the information as accurate as we can and we do not trade into speculating".

A Ministerial Determination for the procurement of 2500 MWe of new nuclear capacity has been withdrawn to allow for further public consultation after legal challenges to the procedure for seeking public comments.

The determination was reached in 2020 but was formally gazetted in January this year, clearing the way for procurement activities to begin. But Minister of Energy and Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa told a media briefing that the determination, and National Energy Regulator of South Africa's concurrence of the process, had come under legal pressure on the grounds that public comments had not been sought and the procedure had not been fair.

"I have taken the decision…to withdraw the gazette to allow for that public participation to happen," Ramokgopa said.

The minister emphasised that nuclear remains part of the government's plans for energy security, but added that it is "happy" to delay the process "to allow for each and every party in the country that wants to add a voice in how we are going to procure this process … to be given the opportunity to be able to make that submission".

"So it will add another three to six months in the process. We are happy to do that for as long as we protect the integrity of the process; for as long as we cement the transparency of the process so that there’s general public confidence in the work that we are doing," Ramokgopa said.

"Nuclear is part of the mix. Nuclear is part of the future but it’s important that as we go out…the procurement process must be able to stand the test of time. In this instance, it’s the ability to be able to subject itself to scrutiny," he added.

“Let’s go back to that process; accord the public an opportunity to scrutinise, respond and then on the basis of that [National Energy Regulator of South Africa] can make a determination on concurrence. Once we receive that, we’ll issue the gazette and ensure that we procure."

The Democratic Alliance political party was one of the groups that had begun legal action challenging the determination, with a court hearing scheduled for 15 October. "We view this withdrawal as a significant step in ensuring that public voices are considered in decisions of this magnitude. It represents an important win for the rule of law and the principles of transparency," it said today.

The South African government is in the process of updating its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) setting out how it will seek to ensure security of electricity supply. The previous IRP, published in 2019, recognised the need to retain nuclear power in the country's energy mix and supported utility Eskom in pursuing a licence for the long-term operation of the Koeberg nuclear power plant: the two-unit plant at Koeberg is the only operating nuclear power plant on the African content and produces about 5% of South Africa's electricity.

In July, South Africa's National Nuclear Regulator granted Eskom a licence to continue operating Koeberg unit 1 for another 20 years until 21 July 2044. The regulator is expected to reach a decision on the long-term operation of unit 2 by early November 2025.

The top section of the cylindrical part of the inner containment building for the third unit at Turkey's Akkuyu nuclear power plant has been installed in place.

The ring-shaped section consists of 12 reinforced concrete blocks and weighs 396 tonnes and measures 6.5 metres high.

The blocks were the first part welded together into a ring structure weighing about 115 tonnes before special consoles were welded on and a circular rail track installed for the circular overhead crane for the reactor building. It was then moved by crawler crane to the site for the installation.

Sergei Butckikh, CEO of Akkuyu Nuclear, said: "The installation of the consoles to which the rail track of the polar crane is attached is usually performed ... after the installation of the tier. With a view of optimising the deadlines of further construction and installation works, we decided to mount the consoles when the tier was still on the ground, and then to mount the already assembled structure in the design position. Russian and Turkish specialists - installers, crane operators, slingers - once again demonstrated the highest level of professional skill and successfully installed a multi-tonnes structure."

The background

Akkuyu, in the southern Mersin province, is Turkey's first nuclear power plant. Rosatom is building four VVER-1200 reactors, under a so-called BOO (build-own-operate) model. According to the terms of the 2010 Intergovernmental Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey, the commissioning of the first power unit of the nuclear power plant must take place within seven years from receipt of all permits for the construction of the unit.

The licence for the construction of the first unit was issued in 2018, with construction work beginning that year. Nuclear fuel was delivered to the site in April 2023. Turkey's Nuclear Regulatory Agency issued permission for the first unit to be commissioned in December, and in February it was announced that the reactor compartment had been prepared for controlled assembly of the reactor - and the generator stator had also been installed in its pre-design position.

The aim is for unit 1 to begin supplying Turkey's energy system in 2025. When the 4800 MWe plant is completed it is expected to meet about 10% of Turkey's electricity needs, with the aim that all four units will be operational by the end of 2028.

TerraPower has selected Chicago-based engineering company Sargent & Lundy to design a training centre at Kemmerer, Wyoming, for TerraPower’s innovative Natrium reactor demonstration project which will be deployed at the site at the end of this dacade.

TerraPower said in a statement that the planned Kemmerer Training Centre will host all Natrium operation training activities, for both the demonstration project and for future Natrium plants.

The centre will house the Natrium training simulator, laboratories for electrical and instrumentation and control, mechanical and scientific laboratories, training classrooms, and an auditorium.

According to the statement, design of the facility will start immediately, while construction is expected to be completed in the autumn of 2025.

TerraPower, a startup founded by Gates in 2008, broke ground in June 2024 for construction of its first commercial Natrium nuclear plant at Kemmerer, where a coal plant is shutting down.

The Natrium demonstration plant includes three separate project parts: a sodium test and fill facility, the power production or energy island, and the nuclear island with the reactor itself.

First to be built is the test and fill facility, which will be a standalone, non-nuclear building that will provide a testing site for the reactor’s sodium coolant system by receiving, sampling, processing, and storing liquid sodium which will ultimately be delivered to the Natrium reactor.

The Natrium reactor itself is a 345-MW electric sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt energy storage system that is being designed to flexibly operate with renewable power generators.

TerraPower’s chief executive Cristopher Levesque has said that the company is aiming to start nuclear-related works in 2026 subject to receiving a permit from the US regulator. The plant is expected to be completed by 2029-2030.

The Natrium demonstrator is co-funded by the US Department of Energy under its Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) programme.

The lower section of the reactor vessel of the Oak Ridge Research Reactor has been removed and transferred to a cask for eventual shipment and disposal. The reactor was an isotope production and irradiation facility from 1958 and was permanently shut down in July 1987.

UCOR - a partnership of Amentum, Jacobs, and Honeywell, working under contract with the Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management - removed the top portion of the 32-foot (9.8-metre) tall reactor vessel in November last year.

Since then, workers have focused on filtering and draining the reactor pool water to reach irradiated materials and prepare for the lower reactor vessel removal. Rigorous safety measures were in place due to high radiation dose rates, and those rates increased as thousands of gallons of pool water were pumped into tanks outside the facility, lowering the buffer between the radioactive materials and workers.

Workers removed 127,000 gallons (480 cubic metres) of water and sediment to reach the lower portion of the reactor vessel, which sat on the pool floor. They also took out the lead brick shielding in the basement that surrounded the pool. Twenty crew members loaded 157,000 contaminated bricks into containers.

Workers have now used a 72-inch (1.8-metre) diamond wire saw to cut the final pieces that held the lower reactor vessel in place at the bottom of the reactor pool. They used a 20-tonne overhead crane to lift that equipment and load it into a 32,000-pound (14.5-tonne) protective cask to ship it for disposal offsite.

DOE noted that removing the vessel was the first step before preparing the remainder of the facility, also known as Building 3042, for its upcoming demolition.

"Removing the reactor vessel from the Oak Ridge Research Reactor facility has been an incredibly complex task," said Jim Daffron, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) portfolio project director. "Through an immense amount of planning and careful execution, workers were successful and completed the work safely."

Steven Reed, UCOR Oak Ridge Research Reactor project manager, added: "We faced various challenges throughout the pool reactor remediation and cleanup process with our key partner, Energy Solutions, who provided their knowledge and expertise in collaboration, helping us resolve critical issues quickly and safely."

The next steps involved in preparing the reactor for demolition consist of isolating and deactivating 6000 feet (1830 metres) of piping. Workers will also finish draining the pool water and encapsulating the 25-foot (7.6-metre) deep pool with a fixative to reduce contamination migration during demolition.

ORNL was established in 1943 - when it was known as Clinton Laboratories - to conduct pilot-scale production and separation of plutonium for the World War II Manhattan Project. It was also highly involved in reactor design and isotope research and production. The DOE Office of Environmental Management is responsible for cleanup activities related to the historic operations at ORNL, including 16 inactive research reactors and isotope facilities.

The IVV-2M water-moderated research reactor was commissioned in 1966 and has now been given the go-ahead to operate until the end of 2040.

The application to extend its life was submitted by the Institute of Reactor Materials, (JSC IRM), which is part of Russia's Rosatom's scientific division.

According to Rosatom, the IVV-2M research reactor is "designed to solve a wide range of scientific and experimental problems" including materials science research for fuel and innovative materials as well as producing isotopes for use in nuclear medicine and in industry.

The first modernisation of the reactor was carried out in the late 1970s with its capacity increased from 10 MW to 15 MW. After its equipment was upgraded in 2007 the service life was extended to April 2025. Work has been taking place since 2010 on the programme to allow the further life extension.

Ivan Russkikh, chief engineer of IRM, said: "The IVV-2M reactor was commissioned on 23 April 1966, at the height of the deployment of the Soviet nuclear programme, when there was still no clear idea of ​​the real service life of such facilities. A service life of 30 years was set for it, which is why it was necessary to go through the extension procedure."

He added that the recent work included strengthened safety measures - "we replaced the control and protection systems, installed modern 'smart' electronics, updated the radiation monitoring systems, reactor cooling, and coolant purification. Even the spent fuel assemblies storage shaft was modernised".

A joint development project agreement has been signed between Lloyd's Register, Core Power and AP Moller - Maersk to conduct a regulatory assessment study to determine the safety and regulatory considerations for a potential nuclear-propelled containership to undertake cargo operations at a port in Europe.

The joint study will investigate the requirements for updated safety rules along with the improved operational and regulatory understanding that is needed for the application of nuclear power in container shipping. In addition, the study will provide insight for members of the maritime value chain who are exploring the business case for nuclear power to help shape their fleet strategy towards achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The study will bring together the expertise of technical and professional services organisation and maritime classification society Lloyd's Register, Core Power's experience of developing advanced nuclear energy technology for maritime applications, a leading Port Authority and Maersk's extensive experience in shipping and logistics.

The shipping industry consumes some 350 million tonnes of fossil fuel annually and accounts for about 3% of total worldwide carbon emissions. In July last year, the shipping industry, via the International Maritime Organization (IMO), approved new targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions, aiming to reach net-zero emissions by, or around, 2050.

"The initiation of this joint study marks the beginning of an exciting journey towards unlocking the potential of nuclear power in the maritime industry, paving the way for emissions-free operations, more agile service networks and greater efficiency through the supply chain," said Lloyd's Register CEO Nick Brown. "A multi-fuel pathway to decarbonising the maritime industry is crucial to ensuring we as an industry meet the IMO's emission reduction targets and nuclear propulsion shows signs of playing a key role in this energy transition."

Last month, Lloyd's Register released a report that concluded nuclear power could transform the maritime industry with emissions-free shipping, whilst extending the life cycle of vessels and removing the uncertainty of fuel and refuelling infrastructure development. However, it said regulation and safety considerations must be addressed for its widespread commercial adoption.

According to the report, the commercial relationships between shipowners and energy producers will be altered as power is likely to be leased from reactor owners, separating the shipowner from the complexities of licensing and operating nuclear technology.

"There's no net-zero without nuclear," Core Power CEO Mikal Bøe said. "A critical key to unlocking the vast potential for nuclear energy to transform how the maritime sector is powered, is the standards framework for commercial insurability of floating nuclear power plants and nuclear-powered ships that would operate in nearshore environments, ports, and waterways. We're immensely pleased to be working with some of Europe's most respected industry participants to set out the conditions for how this can be achieved."

Ole Graa Jakobsen, Head of Fleet Technology at Maersk, added: "Since Maersk launched its energy transition strategy in 2018, we have continuously explored diverse low-emission energy options for our assets. Nuclear power holds a number of challenges related to, for example, safety, waste management, and regulatory acceptance across regions, and so far, the downsides have clearly outweighed the benefits of the technology.

"If these challenges can be addressed by development of the new so-called fourth-generation reactor designs, nuclear power could potentially mature into another possible decarbonisation pathway for the logistics industry 10 to 15 years in the future. Therefore, we continue to monitor and assess this technology, along with all other low-emission solutions."

In December last year, Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc was one of five heads of leading global shipping lines to sign a joint declaration during COP28 in Dubai calling for an end date for fossil-only powered new-builds and urging the IMO to accelerate the transition to green fuels.

At the time, Clerc said the company "wants to accelerate the green transition in shipping and logistics and a crucial next step is to introduce regulatory conditions which ensure that we create the most greenhouse gas emission reductions per invested dollar".

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has appointed a new energy minister, saying there is "plenty of work ... particularly ... regarding our plans to build or not to build a new nuclear power plant".

The newly appointed energy minister, Alexei Kushnarenko, speaking to reporters after the president announced the changes, was quoted by the official Belta news agency as saying: "As far as the Belarusian nuclear power plant is concerned, a group of experts is working on it. I will get actively involved in this work and there is no doubt that I will work out an opinion, which will be presented for consideration."

Previous Energy Minister Victor Karankevich has been appointed deputy prime minister. His successor was previously CEO of gas and fuel distribution corporation Beltopgaz.

Kushnarenko said the ministry would be geared towards ensuring quality power supplies to consumers "because essentially the energy industry is the blood system of the economy, the most important component in the life support of the population", Belta quoted him as saying.

In comments published on the Energy Department's Telegram account, he said: "The main thing that will be emphasised is the progressive development of the country's fuel and energy complex. Everything necessary is in place for this."

The background

The existing 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 2023. Together they are generating about one-quarter of the country's electricity.

The country has been considering the option of a second nuclear power plant, with Karankevich saying in December 2023 that experts were looking into the costs and the requirements for future electricity capacity growth, saying: "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 (at Ostrovet), we have to analyse the year 2040 instead of 2030 or 2035." He said that if a second nuclear power plant was built, Belarus would become a world leader in terms of share of its energy which comes from nuclear.

Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) has been given planning consent to demolish the turbine hall and electrical annexe at the decommissioned Sizewell A Magnox nuclear power plant in Suffolk, England.

"This is fantastic news," said Sizewell A Site Director Alan Walker. "I'd like to thank everyone involved in helping to deliver our mission to decommission Sizewell A site safely, securely and sustainably. The work brings benefits to the local economy and makes a considerable contribution towards achieving strategic NRS targets to reduce ageing buildings to ground level and remove redundant material."

Alan Cumming, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority group chief assurance and performance officer, added: "We are committed to decommissioning our sites safely, securely and sustainably - freeing up land which can then be reused to deliver benefits for the local community.

"Demolition of the turbine hall will be a tangible step forward in delivering our mission and I want to thank all those involved for their hard work in getting us to the stage and the incredible progress that has been made to far."

Wendy Heath, senior project manager said: "This is one of the largest programmes of work Sizewell A has seen for many years. It will result in a major skyline change for the community and clear an area the size of a professional football pitch for future use by March 2025."

She noted that the removal of all the redundant equipment from the turbine hall began last year and is expected to be completed by the end of this month. More than 5500 tonnes of metal has been safely taken out and recycled.

Sizewell A's two 210 MWe Magnox gas-cooled reactors operated from 1966 until 2006. Defuelling began in 2009, with fuel removed from the reactors placed in the site's used fuel storage ponds before being packaged in transport containers for shipment to the Sellafield complex for reprocessing. The final flask of fuel was shipped to Sellafield in August 2014. Sizewell A was declared completely fuel free in February 2015. The decommissioning milestone marked the removal of 99% of the radioactive hazard from the former Magnox nuclear power station.

Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) has announced the start up of uranium production at its fully permitted and past-producing Christensen Ranch in-situ leach (ISL) operations in Wyoming.

Production commenced in the previously operated Mine Unit 10 at Christensen Ranch on 6 August, the company said. To date, uranium concentrations in the initial production patterns are meeting expectations and are anticipated to rise in the coming weeks, it noted.

UEC said all planned start-up milestones, including the hiring and training of the initial restart personnel for both the Irigaray Central Processing Plant and Christensen Ranch, have been achieved to ensure a successful ramp-up of uranium production.

Extensive preparations, including the re-installation of equipment, re-attachment of piping and a variety of electrical testing, repairs and upgrades to the existing facilities, were completed at the Christensen Ranch wellfields and satellite processing plant last year.

UEC's board of directors approved restarting the Christensen Ranch operation in January.

Uranium recovered from Christensen Ranch will be processed at the Irigaray plant, located about 15 miles (24 kilometres) northwest of Christensen Ranch. Irigaray has a current licensed capacity of 2.5 million pounds U3O8 (962 tU) per year, with a licence amendment currently under regulatory review that is expected to increase capacity to 4.0 million pounds annually. The Irigaray plant is the hub at the centre of the UEC's Wyoming hub-and-spoke project which includes eleven satellite ISL projects, four of which are fully permitted.

The first shipment of yellowcake is anticipated to occur in November or December this year.

"The Christensen Ranch ISL Mine has successfully restarted and we are in full growth mode with initial recoveries from Mine Unit 10 to be followed with Mine Units 7 and 8 in the coming months," said Donna Wichers, Vice President of Wyoming Operations. "Additionally, we have drilled, cased and completed 55 wellfield patterns to extend Mine Unit 10 that will commence production in 2025. Further production growth is being developed with delineation drilling and monitor well planning at Mine Unit 11."

UEC President and CEO Amir Adnani added: "I am very proud of the Wyoming team who have executed as planned to achieve the restart of production. This is the moment we have been working towards for over a decade, having acquired and further developed leading US and Canadian assets with an exceptional, deeply experienced operations team. Global uranium market fundamentals are solid, with prospects for extraordinary growth in nuclear power and uranium demand."

UEC took ownership of Irigaray and the orebodies in the Wyoming hub-and-spoke operation, including Christensen Ranch, through its 2021 acquisition of Uranium One Americas Inc from Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom. According to information from the US Energy Information Administration, Christensen Ranch and the Irigaray plant - together known as the Willow Creek project - have been on standby since last operating in 2018.

UEC's Wyoming projects contain total measured and indicated uranium resources of 66.198 million pounds U3O8, with total inferred resources of 15.54 million pounds.

California-based liquid metal fast reactor developer Oklo Inc has signed a preferred supplier agreement with steam turbine and generator technology supplier Siemens Energy for the power conversion system of its Aurora 'powerhouse'.

Under the agreement, Siemens Energy will supply the power conversion and supporting systems, fostering efficiencies through economies of scale. Oklo said that standardising equipment across its powerhouses is expected to result in cost savings in manufacturing, construction, operations, and maintenance. Utilising shared spare parts across deployment is expected to reduce maintenance downtime, enhance reliability, and improve overall performance, it added.

The signing of the agreement follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two companies in December last year that designated Siemens Energy to potentially become Oklo's preferred supplier for rotating equipment of the power conversion system (conventional island) for the Aurora powerhouse. Under that MoU, Siemens Energy would also be positioned to provide consulting to support Oklo in design work on the conventional island.

Oklo said the signing of the preferred supplier agreement was "a key strategic development in its supply chain management". It added: "This agreement underscores Oklo's ambitions to bring cost-efficient advanced fission technology to market. Building on a previously signed Memorandum of Understanding, this binding agreement marks a crucial step in Oklo's vision to enhance production scalability, cost efficiency, and rapid deployment to meet growing customer demand."

Oklo, founded in 2013, plans to commercialise its liquid metal fast reactor technology in the Aurora powerhouse, a fast neutron reactor using heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core to a supercritical carbon dioxide power conversion system to generate electricity.

The reactor uses liquid metal as a coolant. Liquid metal's high boiling point allows the reactor to operate at high temperatures without being pressurised. This design enables the use of commonly available alloys, benefiting from existing large-scale supply chains already producing nearly identical parts.

"We prioritise cost in our engineering process to fully leverage the advantages of fast fission technology," said Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte. "Our technology is based on proven designs, allowing us to utilise small, pre-fabricated, and non-pressurised components made from readily available materials and existing supply chains, further reducing costs and complexity."

Oklo has received a site use permit from the US Department of Energy for a prototype unit to be built at the Idaho National Laboratory.

Global Atomic's Dasa uranium project in Niger has not been affected by political developments over the past year and continues to be supported by the Niger cabinet, the company's President and CEO Stephen Roman said in its quarterly results announcement.

"We continue to make significant progress at our Dasa Uranium Project, currently employing over 450 people at site and expecting to increase that number to 900 once plant construction is in full swing," Roman said. "We have an excellent relationship with the government and have the support of their entire cabinet, as they appreciate the jobs and economic benefit that Dasa will create for Niger."

More than 1200 metres of ramp development has been completed since the November 2022 Opening Blast Ceremony, with 7000 tonnes of development ore hauled to surface to date. Mine development is continuing, and raise boring is now under way for the main components of the mine’s ventilation infrastructure.

Earthworks to prepare the site for construction of the Dasa processing plant, as well as expansion of the Dajy Camp to house employees and construction crews, began in the second quarter of the year. The project's acid plant has been fabricated and is now being shipped to the site.

The company said it expects its bank syndicate to approve the debt financing facility for project construction during the third quarter, but is "actively considering funding options and advancing several options in parallel to determine the preferred funding structure" in the event of potential further delays in the approval the facility.

"The Dasa Project is unique as the highest-grade uranium project in Africa and the only greenfield uranium project being actively developed today … This project will get funded and will get built," Roman said.

Earlier this year the government of Niger withdrew GoviEx Uranium's mining rights for the Madouela uranium project and Orano's operating permit for its Imouraren uranium mine, but Global Atomic said that, with the exception of logistics delays, project development has not been affected by the political developments in Niger since July 2023. The government is "very supportive", with Mines Minister Ousmane Abarchi saying during a recent visit that the project is "very important" to the government which wants it to be "the start of new Niger mining practice with expectations on state income, employment and environment management".

The current mine plan has been developed to coincide with the start-up of the processing plant at the beginning of 2026, with a target surface stockpile of 2 to 3 months production available for the processing plant at any time. Processing plant equipment is expected to begin arriving at site in the fourth quarter of this year, with erection of the processing plant and site infrastructure taking place over the following year and processing of ore through the plant expected to begin in January 2026.

The reactor pressure vessel top cover has been hoisted into place at unit 1 of the San'ao nuclear power plant in China's Zhejiang province, while the first steam generator has been installed at unit 8 of the Tianwan plant in Jiangsu province.

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said the vessel cover was installed at San'ao 1 on 6 August in an operation lasting about two hours.

"The successful completion of the first buckling of the reactor pressure vessel cover is another demonstration of the nuclear power construction capabilities of [CNNC subsidiary] CNNC No.5, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent cold test work, and also marks that the construction of the No.1 unit of the CGN San'ao Nuclear Power Project has entered a new stage," the company said.

San'ao 1 is the first of six Chinese-designed HPR1000 (Hualong One) pressurised water reactors planned at the site.

In May 2015, the National Energy Administration approved the project to carry out site protection and related demonstration work at San'ao. On 2 September 2020, the executive meeting of the State Council approved the construction of units 1 and 2 as the first phase of the plant. China's National Nuclear Safety Administration issued a construction permit for the two units on 30 December that year and first concrete for unit 1 was poured the following day. The first concrete for San'ao 2 was poured on 30 December 2021.

The reactor pressure vessel for unit 2, including the top cover, was delivered to the construction site earlier this month.

San'ao 1 and 2 are scheduled to begin supplying electricity in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

Tianwan steam generator in place

The first of four steam generators was hoisted into place at Tianwan unit 8 on 11 August, CNNC subsidiary China Nuclear Power Engineering Co (CNPEC) announced.

The steam generator is the main equipment of the primary circuit system. Its single unit weight is about 330 tonnes, its length over 14 metres, and its maximum diameter is 4.5 metres.

As a heat transfer device, it is used to transfer the heat in the primary circuit coolant to the feed water of the secondary circuit, so that it can generate saturated steam for driving the steam turbine generator. At the same time, as part of the primary circuit pressure boundary, it bears the pressure of the primary circuit coolant.

The Tianwan nuclear power plant is owned and operated by Jiangsu Nuclear Power Company, a joint venture between China National Nuclear Corporation (50%), China Power Investment Corporation (30%) and Jiangsu Guoxin Group (20%). In June 2018, Russia and China signed four agreements, including for the construction of two VVER-1200 reactors as units 7 and 8 of the Tianwan plant. They are scheduled to be commissioned in 2026-2027.

The steam generators for Tianwan 8 were produced at the Atommash production site in Volgodonsk in southern Russia and travelled thousands of miles - including two months at sea - to the end location on the Chinese coast.

The first drilling by Alligator Energy at its Big Lake Project in South Australia has resulted in the first significant greenfield discovery of uranium in South Australia since 2007, the company said.

The Queensland-based company said the “significant new uranium discovery” is the first proof of concept that significant uranium is present within the Lake Eyre basin sediments that lie above the hydrocarbon-rich Cooper Basin.

“The thickness extent of mineralisation layers ranging up to 20 metres in these discovery holes is impressive for this style of mineralisation,” said chief executive officer Greg Hall.

“The discovery appears to validate the uranium formation model developed by the previous Big Lake geologists from whom Alligator acquired the initial tenement, and we acknowledge their work.”

Alligator owns 100% of the Big Lake project where it is targeting discovery of Australia’s next in-situ recovery uranium field.

Drilling resumed at Big Lake on 8 August after a three-week break due to rain affecting access.

Alligator Energy said last month it had made progress at key uranium projects in Australia, advancing lease applications, exploration drilling, magnetic and radiometric surveying and beginning the inaugural drilling programme at Big Lake.

“The team at Alligator remains exceptionally busy on preparations ahead of the anticipated final approvals for the field recovery trial, our first foray into the Cooper Basin targeting the potential to be a new uranium-bearing basin at Big Lake and finalising plans for our 2024 drilling programme at Nabarlek North,” Hall said.

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada and the Canada Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) are seeking public comments on Bruce Power's Initial Project Description (IPD) for a potential new nuclear power station at its existing site on the shores of Lake Huron.

Bruce Power formally notified Canadian regulators of its intention to launch an Impact Assessment (IA) process for up to 4800 MWe of new capacity at the Bruce site in October last year: the project is known as Bruce C. The Bruce C IPD - which has now been made available by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) - is part of that process. The IAAC and the CNSC are inviting Indigenous Peoples and the public to review the summary of the IPD and to provide feedback by 12 September.

"Bruce Power is evaluating the feasibility of expanding its nuclear fleet, to create an option for future electricity planning," the company said in the IPD. The project description uses a technology-neutral approach through use of a bounding Plant Parameter Envelope, or PPE, as the project basis: the final choice of technology will be made at a future point in time.

The bounding PPE currently includes the available information on four reactor designs: Atkins Réalis's MONARK pressurised heavy water reactor; Électricité de France's European Pressurised Water Reactor (known as the EPR); Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy's Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR); GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's BWRX-300; and Westinghouse's AP1000 pressurised water reactor. With the exception of the BWRX-300 small modular reactor, all these designs are large-capacity reactors.

The Bruce site, 18 kilometres north of the town of Kincardine in Bruce County, is home to eight operating Candu units: units 1-4 are known together as Bruce A and units 5-8 as Bruce B. The new project will be sited within the existing 932-hectare site, with new intake and discharge structures in Lake Huron. Alternative cooling strategies will be evaluated as part of the impact assessment process.

The company withdrew a previous application for up to four new reactors at the site in 2009 to focus on the refurbishment of the existing units, a process known as Major Component Replacement (MCR). The first to undergo the process, Bruce 6, returned to commercial operation last September, and work is progressing ahead of schedule on unit 3. In total, six of the eight units will undergo MCR in a project that will span the next 10 years and add 30-35 years to each plant's operating life.

"While our priority remains the safe, on-schedule completion of our Major Component Replacement projects, completing the IA (Impact Assessment) creates a valuable option for the future, and we are committed to proceeding in this process in a proactive, open, and transparent manner to engage Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and the broader public,” said Bruce Power Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice-President James Scongack. The company is "uniquely positioned for potential expansion with decades of experience, a well-studied site with space for expansion, and an experienced workforce," he added.

According to the IPD, Bruce Power envisages the Impact Assessment process will take about 3-4 years to complete. Site preparation would then take around three years, from 2028-2031, with construction and commissioning taking around 14 years (2031-2045) with an operational lifespan of 60-100 years dependent on the technology selected.

In February, the Canadian government announced the provision of CAD50 million (about USD36 million) of funding to support pre-development work for the Bruce C project.

A Swedish government study has proposed that state aid be given to companies for investments in new nuclear power following an application procedure. It says a new legislative act should regulate conditions for receiving the support, the support measures, and what an application must contain.

In October 2022, Sweden's incoming centre-right coalition government adopted a positive stance towards nuclear energy. In November 2023, it unveiled a roadmap which envisages the construction of new nuclear generating capacity equivalent to at least two large-scale reactors by 2035, with up to 10 new large-scale reactors coming online by 2045.

On 20 December last year, the government appointed Mats Dillén to produce and submit proposals for models for financing and risk sharing for the construction of new nuclear power reactors. According to the mandate, the proposed models must be designed so that nuclear power with a total output of at least 2500 MWe - equivalent to the output of two large-scale reactors - must be in place by 2035 at the latest.

In designing the financing and risk sharing model, the investigation was required to describe and analyse models that have been used in other countries, mainly focusing on Europe. The proposal must be compatible with current rules on state aid and competition. Furthermore, the investigation shall submit necessary legislative proposals.

Dillén has now presented the findings of the study.

The report says the investigation "identified conditions which give rise to a discrepancy between a private investor's business case for new nuclear power and the socioeconomic equivalent. It is concluded that efficiency reasons give a rationale for the state to support investments in nuclear power".

By analysing the financing models used in other countries, with a focus on European projects, the investigation concludes that: models that allocate most of the risks to the electricity producer provide strong incentives for cost-efficiency but comes with a high capital cost; the trend is for European states to bear more risk in nuclear power projects to reduce the cost of capital and enable investments in new nuclear power; government involvement in nuclear power projects comes with a cost of monitoring; and in designing a financing and risk sharing model, there are potential benefits in using forms of support that have already been approved by the European Commission, for a more efficient state aid assessment process.

Proposed model

The proposed model aims to: provide electricity production at a low cost in relation to the investment cost of new nuclear power; ensure that there are strong incentives for cost-efficiency during the construction phase and to preserve incentives to respond to market price signals during the operational phase; design support measures that address identified market failures; provide a sufficient expected return for private actors to be willing to invest in new nuclear power; and live up to the criteria outlined for state aid approval.

The financing and risk sharing model consists of three main components that lead to a lower cost of capital that facilitates new investments in nuclear power at a low cost. The components are: state loans to finance investments in new nuclear power, which lowers the cost of capital; a two-way contract-for-difference signed between the state and the nuclear power producer; and a risk and gain-share mechanism that gives investors a minimum return on equity.

The investigation proposes that the contract-for-difference for new nuclear is financed by all electricity customers. The cost is expected to amount to under SEK0.02 (USD0.002) per kWh.

"The financing and risk sharing model contains several parameters that need to be determined and regulated in civil law agreements between the state and the project owners," the report says. "Ultimately, the parameters will be decided through negotiations between the state and investors in new nuclear power. At that time more precise cost estimates should be available based on tenders from selected suppliers. Moreover, both model design and parameter values will need to be justified in a future state aid assessment."

The investigation concluded that a new legislative act should regulate conditions for receiving the support, the support measures, and what an application must contain. The act is proposed to enter into force by 6 May 2025.

"Regarding the directive's instructions to propose a timeline and activity plan for implementing the model, as well as highlighting other measures that could reduce costs and shorten permitting and construction processes, the investigation has concluded that these tasks are best handled by other investigations that have been initiated by government," the report adds.

"It is about 40 years since the last nuclear power plant was built in Sweden," it notes. "The first new reactors are expected to be relatively expensive due to the lack of current experience and the need to build up supply chains. The model is intended to finance a nuclear programme of 4000–6000 MW, corresponding to about four large-scale reactors. After that, it is expected that the costs and risks associated with building new nuclear will decrease, and with that the need for government support."

In January this year, Swedish Energy & Industry Minister Ebba Busch announced the appointment of Carl Berglöf as national nuclear power coordinator as the country embarks on a programme to expand its nuclear generating capacity. As part of the role, he will be expected to continuously support the government in following up and analysing how the work with the expansion of nuclear power is progressing and identifying the need for supplementary measures. The assignment must be finalised by the end of 2026.

Czech state-controlled utility ČEZ said its Dukovany-2 nuclear reactor plant will start operating with an increased capacity as the result of an opitmisation programme which began in 2020.

ČEZ said in a statement that the Dukovany-2 VVER/V213 unit will now have an output of 512 MW (gross) compared to the previous capacity of 500 MW.

According to the statement, water temperature at the reactor outlet was increased by about 2°C from 298.4 °C to 300.4 °C, which, under optimal conditions, means a higher electrical output of 12 MW.

There are four VVER/V213 units that have been in commercial operation at Dukovany in the south of the Czech Republic since the mid-1980s.

The units’ initial design gross output was 440 MW each, but a modernisation programme in the early 2000s led to their successful uprate to 500 MW (gross) by 2009.

In April 2024, ČEZ announced Dukovany-3 had reached a record output of 513 MW (gross) for the first time.

The company said a similar capacity increase for Unit 1 is scheduled by the end of 2024, while Unit 4 will follow in 2025.

ČEZ said the Dukovany units have also since 2023 switched to a 16-month refuelling cycle from an 11-month one which also coincided with the introduction of “new-generation” fuel.

In Jan 2024, ČEZ announced plans to invest more than CZK 3.3bn ($140m, €130m) in the Dukovany nuclear power station over the year – about CZK 1bn more than in 2023 with investments primarily aimed at ensuring the station’s four units can continue to operate until around 2047.