Nuclear Energy

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Research-institute-for-SMR-powered-ships-launched

South Korea's Mokpo National University has opened the world's first SMR Ship Research Institute, aiming to develop a global hub for SMR ship research and education. The move comes as Lloyd's Register says the rise of small modular reactors points to a step change for nuclear applications in shipping if regulatory hurdles can be overcome.

Mokpo National University held the opening ceremony of its affiliated research institute, the SMR Ship Research Institute, on 2 July.

The ceremony was attended by more than 100 people, including representatives from Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering Director, Korea Energy University, global shipyards such as Samsung Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Samho, and HD Hyundai Mipo, international classification societies such as the American Bureau of Shipping, Det Norske Veritas, Lloyd's Register, and Korean Register of Shipping, local governments, and representatives and related parties from shipbuilding and marine industry companies and organisations.

Starting from 2050, all ships operating at sea will be required to use only carbon-free fuels, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) convention under the UN. "With such strong marine environmental regulations, ships that use carbon-free fuels and utilise advanced new technologies are in demand, and in particular, small modular reactor (SMR) ship technology is attracting attention as a core technology for the future marine industry," the university noted.

"In order to proactively respond to these demands, Mokpo National University established the SMR Ship Research Institute to build a cooperative network with domestic and international organisations and companies, including universities, research institutes, large shipbuilders, and international classification societies, and to conduct full-scale research," it continued.

The new research institute will focus on developing and commercialising SMR ship technology and also developing and operating world-class educational programmes to train specialised personnel.

"The establishment of the SMR Ship Research Institute marks an important milestone in the innovative convergence of Korea's world-class shipbuilding and nuclear industries, propelling Korea to become a global leader in accelerating carbon neutrality," KHNP President Whang Joo-ho said in a keynote speech. "KHNP will actively cooperate with the SMR Ship Research Institute to participate actively in the development and commercialisation of SMR-powered ships."

Regulatory hurdles

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, Lloyd's Register said in a new report. However, it said regulation and safety considerations must be addressed for its widespread commercial adoption.

The report - titled Fuel for Thought: Nuclear - assesses the opportunity presented by nuclear for commercial maritime given its proven track record in naval applications, with the study pointing to the role of new SMRs in bringing to market suitable low-maintenance reactors to meet the propulsion and energy requirements of commercial ships.

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.

"SMRs represent a leap forward in reactor design, emphasising safety, efficiency, and modularity for streamlined production," Lloyd's Register said. "As SMR technology matures and regulatory clarity increases, ship designs optimised for nuclear propulsion will emerge, ushering in a new era of efficient and environmentally friendly vessels."

Mark Tipping, director Power to X at Lloyd's Register, said the report "represents one of the first easily accessible overviews on the use of nuclear power in shipping, combining information from a wide range of sources into one report tailored for commercial shipping and the wider maritime value chain.

"Whilst its use in commercial shipping has been limited, by overcoming negative perceptions and a lack of investment levels, nuclear propulsion could provide immense value for the maritime sector in its decarbonisation journey, allowing for emissions free vessels with longer life cycles which require minimal refuelling infrastructure, or in best case scenarios limit the need entirely."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/List-of-Norwegian-towns-considering-nuclear-contin

Farsund in Agder county, on the southern tip of Norway, has become the latest municipality to enter into an agreement with Norsk Kjernekraft to jointly carry out initial investigation work on the possible construction of a nuclear power plant.

Norsk Kjernekraft - which aims to build, own and operate smallmodular vreactor (SMR) power plants in Norway in collaboration with power-intensive industry - said the cooperation agreement was adopted with a broad political majority and aims to provide an information base that will enable all stakeholders to better assess the suitability for the establishment of a nuclear power plant in Farsund.

"Following such a process, the municipality can better assess whether they wish to proceed, for example by establishing a separate company together with Norsk Kjernekraft and local/regional industry, as has been done with Halden Kjernekraft AS," the company added.

Norsk Kjernekraft describes Farsund as "a future-oriented coastal municipality" which has several large workplaces within national and international companies, including a large proportion of power-intensive industry and workshop industry. The town is also the county's largest agricultural municipality.

The Mayor of Farsund, Ingrid Williamsen, said: "We will need large amounts of power in the future and so this is an important step on the way. If we should be so lucky that it turns out that Farsund is a suitable location for this type of power, it would be very gratifying."

Earlier this week, Norsk Kjernekraft announced it had signed a similar cooperation agreement with the municipality of Lund in the southern Norwegian county of Rogaland, which is expecting a large increase in power demand due to industrialisation of the area.

Last month, Norsk Kjernekraft submitted a proposal to Norway's Ministry of Energy for an assessment into the construction of a power plant based on multiple SMRs in the north-eastern county of Finnmark. In April last year, the municipality of Vardø in Finnmark proposed nearby Svartnes as a possible site for a nuclear power plant to Norsk Kjernekraft, which aims to build, own and operate SMR power plants in Norway in collaboration with power-intensive industry.

In November, Norsk Kjernekraft submitted a proposal to the ministry for an assessment into the construction of an SMR power plant based in the municipalities of Aure and Heim in south-western Norway. In April this year, it initiated work on the impact assessment of a plot of land in Øygarden municipality, west of Bergen, to assess the possibility of establishing a nuclear power plant comprising up to five SMRs.

A new company, Halden Kjernekraft AS, has also been founded by Norsk Kjernekraft, Østfold Energi and the municipality of Halden to investigate the construction of a nuclear power plant based on SMRs at Halden, where a research reactor once operated.

"The number of municipalities that are now taking the initiative to investigate nuclear power is impressive and increasing rapidly," said Norsk Kjernekraft CEO Jonny Hesthammer. "The Ministry of Energy must prepare for many reports with proposals for study programmes in the near future.

"Municipalities such as Farsund have a large need for power linked to the green transition. They must ensure jobs and long-term value creation, and here nuclear power can become absolutely central. We look forward to a long and constructive collaboration with Farsund municipality."

Last month, the Norwegian government appointed a committee to conduct a broad review and assessment of various aspects of a possible future establishment of nuclear power in the country. It must deliver its report by 1 April 2026.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Niger-government-withdraws-GoviEx-mining-rights

The Vancouver-based company said it has been informed by the Minister of Mines, by letter, "that it no longer has rights over the perimeter of the Madaouela mining permit, which is now in the public domain".

GoviEx Uranium said the decision to withdraw its mining rights "does not follow the withdrawal procedure prescribed under the applicable mining code".

GoviEx began operations in Niger in 2007, and has advanced Madaouela from the initial exploration phase, through a period of "historically low" uranium prices, to the publication of a feasibility study in late 2022, on the way completing some 650,000 metres of drilling to define a potential mineral resource which the company says is now amongst the largest known in the world. "With the recent recovery in uranium prices, the Madaouela Project was poised for development and the Company had started to advance despite the political changes in Niger since the coup d'Etat on 26 July 2023," GoviEx said.

In May, Niger's Mines Minister Ousmane Abarchi visited Madaouela as part of a tour of exploration and mining projects within the northern Agadez region. He reviewed the ongoing ground works and current mine plans at GoviEx's project. The minister's itinerary also took in Global Atomic's Dasa project, where underground development began in late 2022 and first deliveries of uranium are expected in 2025.

It was just two weeks ago that French company Orano announced the withdrawal by Niger's authorities of the operating permit for its Imouraren uranium mine. Like Orano before it, GoviEx said it is committed to continuing its engagement with government officials and stakeholders, but reserves the right to challenge the decision.

"GoviEx believes that the Government's decision to withdraw the mining rights for the Madaouela Project will have a negative impact on the economic and social development of the region. With a forecast initial capital expenditure of USD343 million, as well as considerable employment opportunities, the project was forecast to create up to 800 jobs over its projected 20-year mine life, with substantial royalty payments and taxes payable to the Government," it said.

The government of Niger holds a 20% stake in COMIMA SA, the Nigerien company set up to develop the Madaouela project.

GoviEx said it continues to progress its mine-permitted Muntanga project in Zambia, for which it expects to publish a feasibility study in the second half of this year.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Framatome-awarded-further-contract-at-Swiss-plant

Framatome has been awarded a contract by Kernkraftwerk Gösgen-Däniken AG (KKG) to modernise the reactor protection system in the emergency control building at the Gösgen nuclear power plant in Switzerland.

A reactor protection system (RPS) is a set of nuclear safety components in a nuclear power plant designed to safely shut down the reactor and prevent the release of radioactive materials. The system can be "tripped" either manually or automatically. Trips occur when the parameters meet or exceed the limit setpoint. A trip of the RPS results in full insertion of all control rods and shutdown of the reactor.

Under the new contract, the RPS at Gösgen's emergency control building will be modernised using Framatome's TELEPERM XS digital instrumentation and control (I&C) platform. The bunkered emergency control room is separate to the main control room. It can be used to safely shut down the plant in the event of an accident, and the residual heat removal can be monitored and operated.

Since 2002, KKG, in cooperation with Framatome, has modernised its I&C systems using a step-by-step approach, transitioning from analog to the latest digital technologies, while increasing performance and safety.

In April 2019, Framatome was awarded a contract by KKG to modernise the reactor protection system at Gösgen. The scope of that contract included modernisation of the entire RPS using Framatome's TELEPERM XS digital I&C platform. In addition, Framatome said important functions would be realised with a diverse hardwired back-up system. Installation and commissioning of the new RPS was carried out during the plant's planned 2022 outage.

The signing of that contract was preceded by the successful modernisation of the plant's four emergency diesel generators, including the upgrade of the entire I&C and electrical systems with Framatome's digital technology. In 2014, Framatome completed the digital modernisation of the plant's reactor control and limitation.

"We are delighted to continue our decades-long partnership with Gösgen NPP," said Frédéric Lelièvre, senior executive vice president of Framatome's Sales, Regional Platforms and I&C Business Unit. "This new contract again illustrates the trust our customer has in our ability to modernise from analog to digital technologies, while continuing to meet the highest standards of safety."

Framatome said its digital TELEPERM XS platform has been installed or is currently being installed in 92 reactors in 17 countries worldwide.

Gösgen is a 1010 MWe pressurised water reactor that began commercial operation in November 1979. KKG operates the plant on behalf of its five owners: Alpiq AG (40%), Axpo Power AG (25%), the City of Zurich (15%), Centralschweizerische Kraftwerke AG (12.5%) and Energie Wasser Bern (7.5%). The plant generates about 13% of Switzerland's electricity needs.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/First-Honeymoon-shipment-bound-for-Europe

Boss Energy is set to make its first delivery of uranium since restarting the project in South Australia after a decade under care-and-maintenance.

The project is still in the commissioning and ramp-up phase - it produced its first post-restart drum of uranium in April - and the ramp-up is running ahead of schedule, the company said. By the end of June, it had produced 57,364 pounds U3O8 (22 tU). With one NIMCIX ion exchange column performing to expectations, and construction of two further columns progressing on track, the company said it expects production to total at least 850,000 pounds U3O8 by the end of June 2025.

"The start-up phase at Honeymoon is proceeding comfortably to plan, with all the key metrics running in line with, or exceeding, the forecasts contained in the Feasibility Study schedule," Boss Managing Director Duncan Craib said. "Construction of the second and third columns is also advancing well, ensuring we are on track to continue increasing our production rates. Total production in FY26 is set to meet or exceed our feasibility study forecasts at 1.63 Mlb. The addition of columns 4, 5 and 6 are forecast to further increase the production rate to nameplate capacity of 2.45 Mlb/annum by year three."

Honeymoon first began operations in 2011 but was put on care-and-maintenance in 2013 by its then-owner Uranium One. It was acquired by Boss in 2015. Boss's board approved a final investment decision to restart operations in June 2022. Mining activities restarted last year.

The company said it will now make its first delivery to European nuclear utilities under its existing sales contracts, with revenue to be received in the current quarter.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/EC-approves-completion-of-Romanian-reactors

The European Commission has issued a positive opinion on the technical and nuclear safety aspects of the construction of units 3 and 4 at Cernavoda nuclear power plant in Romania. Unit 3 is scheduled to start commercial operation in 2030 and unit 4 the following year.

Under the Euratom Treaty, nuclear project developers are required to notify the European Commission of planned investments and to demonstrate compliance with the highest nuclear safety standards.

Energonuclear - a wholly owned subsidiary of utility Nuclearelectrica - notified the Commission about the planned construction of two Canadian-designed Candu-6 pressurised heavy water reactors as Cernavoda 3 and 4 in May 2023.

The positive opinion received from the Commission "is the result of an elaborate analysis of the information provided by the Romanian side, visits to the Cernavoda site and technical discussions over a period of 13 months", Nuclearelectrica noted. "The Commission's assessment is that the project to complete the construction of units 3 and 4 at Cernavoda is in line with the objectives of the Euratom Treaty.

"This positive view is accompanied by the usual recommendations for such projects, which aim at the appropriate application of the Euratom framework in the implementation and during the lifetime of the project. These recommendations will be implemented by the project developer in the next steps."

Nuclearelectrica CEO Cosmin Ghita added: "The adoption of the positive view of the European Commission is a confirmation of our commitment to technical excellence and nuclear safety. We are delighted with this significant progress and we are confident that the project of units 3 and 4 at Cernavoda will make a decisive contribution to Romania’s energy security and sustainability."

The EC's positive opinion was also welcomed by Romanian Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja. "Today the European Commission confirms our progress and the construction of the two new reactors moves to the next stage," he said. "Reactors 3 and 4 represent key pillars of the national energy strategy, the two units will make an essential contribution in ensuring energy security at national and regional level. We are talking about production in the clean energy band, with zero emissions. Our country needs big projects, and Romania's expertise in nuclear engineering makes us responsible for carrying on the tradition of 40 years of safe technology."

Cernavoda is the only nuclear power plant in Romania and consists of two 650 MWe Candu-6 reactors. Unit 1 went into commercial operation in 1996 and unit 2 in 2007. Operator Nuclearelectrica plans to extend the operating life of unit 1 to 60 years. Most of the work on units 3 and 4 was done in the 1980s prior to the fall of the government of Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989.

In October 2022, Romania said Canada and the USA were both offering to help with the financing of the construction of Cernavoda 3 and 4, which has an estimated cost of EUR7 billion (USD7.4 billion).

Romania's government adopted a law in March last year approving a support agreement with Nuclearelectrica for the proposed units. The commitments given by the law include the government taking "the necessary steps to finance the construction of the two reactors, including but not limited to the granting of state guarantees to the project's financiers". It will also be responsible for the implementation of the "Contracts for Difference" support mechanism.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Novel-transistor-material-shows-nuclear-potential

Gallium nitride semiconductors can successfully withstand the harsh environment near a nuclear reactor core, researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have found. The discovery could enable electronic components to be placed closer to sensors in an operating reactor leading to more precise and accurate measurements with safety and operational benefits.

Sensors are used to gather information from a reactor and can identify potential equipment failures before they happen, helping prevent costly unscheduled shutdowns. But the complex circuitry the sensors are connected to must be placed away from the reactor core to protect the electronics from heat and radiation. The long cables used to transmit data from the sensors via can pick up additional noise and degrade the signal.

Gallium nitride is a so-called wide-bandgap semiconductor that is more resistant to heat and radiation than silicon, and is commercially available, although not currently widely used. Researchers from the US Department of Energy lab tested its properties by placing gallium nitride transistors close to a research reactor core at The Ohio State University where they successfully withstood high heat and radiation for three consecutive days. The transistors were able to handle a 100 times higher accumulated dose of radiation than standard silicon devices at a sustained temperature of 125°C, performing beyond expectations.

"We fully expected to kill the transistors on the third day, and they survived," said lead researcher Kyle Reed, a member of the Sensors and Electronics group at ORNL, adding that the work makes measuring the conditions inside an operating nuclear reactor "more robust and accurate".

By exposing the transistors to days of high radiation levels in the reactor core itself, the researchers were able to conclude that gallium nitride transistors are capable of surviving at least five years in a reactor, the normal maintenance window for such components.

The research may also be important for advanced microreactors, which due to their compact size will need sensors capable of withstanding more adverse radiation conditions than currently operating reactors. However, the testing at Ohio State University showed that heat was more harmful to gallium nitride than radiation. The researchers are now working to further understand the heat effects.

Better nuclear monitoring means increased safety and reduced operating costs, and reducing the frequency of maintenance outages reduces human safety risks, Dianne Ezell, leader of ORNL’s Nuclear and Extreme Environment Measurements group, said. "Hundreds of thousands of dollars are lost every day a reactor is shut down," she said. "If we're going to make nuclear economically competitive with other energy industries, we've got to keep our costs low," she said. "You're able to avoid putting people in harsh radiation environments or handling radioactive material as often," she added.

The European Commission has issued a positive opinion on the technical and nuclear safety aspects of the project for units 3 and 4 of Romania’s only nuclear power plant, the Romanian Energy Ministry announced on Tuesday.

With the Commission’s green light, the plant, managed by the country’s sole nuclear power producer, the state-owned Nuclear Electric Company, and located in the southeastern town of Cernavodă, will receive two additional CANDU reactors.

Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said on Tuesday that the two new reactors are expected to “make an essential contribution to national and regional energy security by producing clean, zero-emission energy.”

The Commission’s opinion confirms that the project is in line with the objectives of the Euratom Treaty, which requires nuclear developers to notify the Commission in advance of investment projects and demonstrate compliance with the highest nuclear safety standards. It also contains several recommendations typical of such projects.

With four nuclear units soon to be operating, Romania is expected to avoid 20 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year and create more than 19,000 jobs in related industries.

Once the two units come on stream, Romania’s electricity mix will change significantly, with nuclear power expected to account for around 30% of the country’s electricity production over the next decade, up from about 20%, the Nuclear Electric Company added.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/EDF-to-modify-Nuward-design-to-aid-commercialisati

France's EDF plans to optimise the design of its Nuward small modular reactor design, focusing on existing and proven technologies. The move follows feedback from potential European customers in order to guarantee that project deadlines and budgets are met.

The Nuward project was launched in September 2019 by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, EDF, Naval Group and TechnicAtome. The Nuward - consisting of a 340 MWe SMR plant with two pressurised water reactors (PWRs) of 170 MWe each - has been jointly developed using France's experience in PWRs. The technology is expected to replace old high CO2-emitting coal, oil and gas plants around the world and support other applications such as hydrogen production, urban and district heating or desalination.

The Nuward SMR project has now reached the basic design phase, during which the engineering teams were able to progress on the lay-out, systems and equipment of the power plant in more detail.

"Considering the evolving SMR market dynamics and the learnings drawn from the development of Nuward SMR, the EDF Group has proactively decided to pivot its SMR product strategy," EDF said in a statement. "To address the needs expressed by the market timely and competitively, the EDF Group has decided to shift its product strategy towards the development of a design based on proven technology bricks only. This orientation will provide better conditions for success by facilitating technical feasibility."

EDF said that, together with its Nuward subsidiary, it is now "preparing the conditions for a product development leveraging the extensive technical, industrial and commercial experience cumulated so far". It said it will rely on its experience in nuclear and PWR technology.

According to Nuward's previously announced SMR roadmap, the detailed design and formal application for a new nuclear facility is scheduled to begin in 2026, followed by first concrete in France in 2030 with the construction of that first unit anticipated to take about three years.

EDF did not say whether the redesign of the reactor's design would have an impact on the Nuward project's budget and timeline. It issued its statement in response to media reports that had incorrectly stated the company was dropping or suspending the project.

In June 2022, EDF announced that the Nuward design would be the case study for a European early joint regulatory review led by France's Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire with the participation of Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority and the Czech State Office for Nuclear Safety.

The main objectives of the multilateral review were to identify key issues towards the hypothetical licensing of a Nuward SMR in the three countries, and to identify divergences and convergences between the regulatory frameworks in these countries - it was not intended to replace any future licensing review of any participating regulator.

Three more regulator - Poland's National Atomic Energy Agency, the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority and the Netherlands' Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection - joined the second phase of the review.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/International-team-reviews-Uganda-s-uranium-explor

The team of experts assessed Uganda's capabilities to develop a uranium exploration programme and eventually to mine uranium for a domestic nuclear power programme.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)-led Integrated Uranium Production Cycle Review (IUPCR) mission, conducted with the support of the IAEA's technical cooperation programme, evaluated the status of the infrastructure Uganda will need to support uranium exploration as the first phase of a uranium production cycle programme. It was carried out at the request of the Ugandan government.

The team of experts from Argentina, Australia, France, Namibia and the IAEA reviewed 16 key aspects, including human resource capacity and the regulatory framework, and recommended steps that can be taken to bring Uganda closer to realising its nuclear energy goals, which include a domestic supply of uranium. Eighty-two participants, mainly from Uganda’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, were involved in mission activities.

Only about half of Ugandans currently have access to electricity. The government has set a goal of achieving an electricity access rate of more than 99% by 2030, and is aiming for nuclear power generation by 2031, with the help of domestically sourced uranium.

IUPCR missions form part of the IAEA's Milestones Approach for countries that are newcomers to nuclear energy. The missions assist IAEA member countries in the development of infrastructure for national uranium production programmes, through all phases of the uranium production cycle. The Agency said this was the first mission of its kind.

Several areas in Uganda have been identified as potentially uranium-rich, though no proven resources are currently known.

"The potential discovery of a uranium deposit and subsequent development of uranium resources in Uganda presents an exciting opportunity for the country to support its ambition to introduce nuclear power into its energy mix," said Adrienne Hanly, the IAEA's Technical Lead for Uranium Resources and Production. "While significant work remains to be done, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development now has a solid understanding of what is required to succeed in evaluation of the country’s uranium occurrences and the next steps needed to get there."

The IUPCR team recommended that Uganda should ensure the development of skilled personnel for uranium exploration and establish a robust and well-funded exploration programme to accelerate the discovery, assessment and development of potential uranium resources.

"The government of Uganda is committed to adopting international best practices and this IAEA mission will ensure uranium exploration is done according to international standards," Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nakabirwa Sentamu said.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Korean-city-to-study-feasibility-of-i-SMR-deployme

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Daegu Metropolitan City for the construction of a small modular reactor power plant at a high-tech industrial complex near Daegu-Gyeongbuk New Airport.

The MoU was signed on 17 June at Daegu City Hall by Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo and KHNP CEO Whang Joo-ho. The MoU includes a feasibility study covering site suitability, economic viability, and enhancing resident acceptance, in a bid to build and commercialise a 680 MWe SMR power plant equivalent to the capacity of four 170 MW-per-unit modules.

Daegu City, in North Gyeongsang Province, said it plans to conduct a preliminary feasibility study with KHNP and private construction companies by 2026, obtain standard design approval from the government in 2028, and begin commercial development in 2033.

To this end, a newly-created SMR construction special purpose corporation (SPC) will purchase about 160,000 square metres of land out in the Gunwi Advanced Industrial Complex and proceed with construction. The total project cost of KRW4 trillion (USD2.9 billion) will be entirely financed by the SPC.

On 31 May, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) allocated 0.7 GWe for SMRs by 2035 through the 11th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand. It announced a specific scheme to introduce one unit consisting of four 170 MWe modules.

"This agreement is the first case since the introduction of the first SMR in the 11th basic power plan was announced in May, and this is the first time that a metropolitan government has directly started SMR construction," Daegu City noted.

The city said it has been discussing with MOTIE, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and i-SMR Technology Development Agency for the past two years to build the first SMR in South Korea at the Gunwi New Airport Advanced Industrial Complex.

Daegu Metropolitan City said it plans to build an "SMR industrial ecosystem" by attracting power-intensive industries such as AI semiconductors and data centres to the new airport high-tech industrial complex, and will also prepare various support measures such as supplying district heating to parts of Daegu, increasing local income, resident welfare, and subsidising electricity rates.

The Korean-designed i-SMR is an integrated pressurised water reactor type nuclear power plant with an electrical output of 170 MWe. It is being developed according to a development roadmap, with the goal of completing the standard design by the end of 2025 and obtaining standard design approval in 2028. According to KHNP, it requires just one-third of the investment, and can be constructed in half the time compared with large reactors.

KHNP has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Nusantara Power - a power generation subsidiary of Indonesian Electric Power Corporation - on mutual cooperation for the introduction and construction of the i-SMR in Indonesia. Through this MoU, the two companies will cooperate in various fields, including: joint basic research on the economic feasibility and technology for deployment of the i-SMR in Indonesia; development of local specialised technology through R&D cooperation; and collaboration through human/technology exchanges in the nuclear field through the formation of a working group.

KHNP has also signed an MoU on mutual cooperation with the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission for the deployment of the i-SMR in Jordan. The two organisations agreed to cooperate in comprehensive technology and information exchange on the i-SMR and to jointly conduct a feasibility study. Jordan is currently considering the introduction of SMRs after 2030 in preparation of expected increased electricity demand.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Testing-complete-at-molten-salt-demo

The first iteration of an engineering test system for Kairos Power's Hermes low-power reactor, is now being decommissioned after more than 2,000 hours of pumped salt operations. Construction of the next iteration - which will demonstrate the modular design of the reactor - is already under way.

Engineering Test Unit (ETU 1.0) is the first of three systems that are being built to inform the design, construction, and operation of Hermes, which will advance the development of Kairos's fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) technology. Hermes, which is being supported by the US Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), will use a TRISO fuel pebble bed design with a molten fluoride salt coolant to achieve a thermal power level of 35 megawatts.

ETU 1.0 is the first in a series of multiple prototypes that are being designed and built as part of Kairos' "rapid iterative development". A full-scale, electrically heated prototype of Hermes, ETU 1.0 served as a vehicle for Kairos Power to exercise the supply chain and establish new capabilities, including the production of high-purity fluoride-lithium-beryllium salt coolant known as FLiBe, and specialised reactor components.

ETU 1.0, at Albuquerque, New Mexico, started operations in December 2023. Using 12 tonnes of FLiBe produced by Kairos in partnership with Materion Corporation at its Molten Salt Purification Plant in Elmore, Ohio, the system was filled with 30,000 surrogate fuel pebbles and more than 300 graphite reflector blocks to replicate conditions inside the Hermes reactor core. Over six months, it carried out more than 2000 hours of pumped salt operations including regular operation and tests designed to simulate failure scenarios. At its peak, the system reached 675°C and a salt flow rate of 3000 gallons (more than 11,300 litres) per minute.

The test unit was monitored around the clock, providing more than 10 terabytes of performance data in addition to information from the analysis of salt samples and inspections of 1673 surrogate fuel pebbles.

"With our iterative approach, Kairos Power aims to learn by building, and we’ve learned a tremendous amount from building and operating ETU," said Edward Blandford, Kairos Power Chief Technology Officer and co-founder.

The next iteration - ETU 2.0 - is being built in Albuquerque. ETU 3.0 will be built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, adjacent to the site where the Hermes reactor will eventually be built. Kairos Power plans to have the reactor, which will lay the groundwork for commercialising the 140 MWe KP-FHR, operational as early as 2026.

Russia has delivered the core catcher for Unit 3 of the El Dabaa nuclear power station under construction in Egypt, the main contractor, Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.

The core catcher – also known as a core melt localisation device or core trap – is designed to catch the molten core material, or corium, of a nuclear reactor in the event of a nuclear meltdown and to prevent it from escaping the containment.

The component is among the largest in a nuclear reactor system, weighing about 170 tonnes and with a height and diameter around six metres. Rosatom said the core catcher is the first large component to be delivered onsite in Egypt.

Rosatom said the ship carrying the core catcher left the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk at the end of June for the journey south to Egypt and arrived six days later.

El Dabaa, Egypt’s first nuclear station, will have four Russia-supplied Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors, with the first unit expected to be online in 2026.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Italy-s-electricity-could-be-20-from-nuclear-by-20

Italy's Minister for Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, has set out the possible scale of capacity if the country decides to resume a nuclear power programme.

Fratin, pictured above, speaking at the Global Energy Transition Congress in Milan, Italy, said: "By launching Italy’s platform for sustainable nuclear power, we have started an evaluation process, of course after 2030, on the possible resumption of nuclear power in Italy. We intend to do so by implementing the new sustainable nuclear technologies currently being developed, in particular small modular fission reactors and, in the long-term, through fusion power.

"Nuclear and fusion will complement the increasing penetration of energy production from renewable sources and other low carbon solutions. We expect to be able to reach about 8 GW from nuclear power by 2050, covering more than 10% of the nation’s electricity demand. This percentage may increase to over 20-22% by fully exploiting the potential of nuclear power in our country."

Italy's government included the potential nuclear capacity - the conservative 11% of capacity option and the ambitious 16 GW/20-22% of capacity - in its National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan which was submitted to the European Commission on Monday. That document also says Italy aims to have 131 GW of power from renewables by 2030 - 79 GW solar, 28 GW wind, 19 GW hydro, 3 GW bioenergy and 1 GW from geothermal sources.

A spokesman for Italian-founded innovative reactor developer Newcleo called the announcements a "good step forward" and noted the focus was on the potential of small and advanced modular reactors and also that a key part of the Italian government's submission was that the estimated cost of achieving climate goals by including nuclear was EUR17 billion (USD18.2 billion) lower than achieving it without the contribution from nuclear.

The background

Italy operated a total of four nuclear power plants starting in the early 1960s but decided to phase out nuclear power in a referendum that followed the 1986 Chernobyl accident. It closed its last two operating plants, Caorso and Trino Vercellese, in 1990.

In late March 2011, following the Fukushima Daiichi accident, the Italian government approved a moratorium of at least one year on construction of nuclear power plants in the country, which had been looking to restart its long-abandoned nuclear programme.

The public mood has changed since then, and in May 2023, the Italian Parliament approved a motion to urge the government to consider incorporating nuclear power into the country's energy mix. In September, the first meeting was held of the National Platform for a Sustainable Nuclear, set up by the government to define a time frame for the possible resumption of nuclear energy in Italy and identify opportunities for the country's industrial chain already operating in the sector.

There are a variety of emerging plans for nuclear energy in Italy, including Edison last October announcing its ambition to construct two nuclear power plants based on EDF's SMR technology between 2030 and 2040 "if the conditions are created for its return to Italy".

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Talen-refutes-objection-to-Susquehanna-data-centre

A protest lodged against a precedent-setting interconnection service agreement to co-locate a data centre with a nuclear power plant is a "misguided attempt" to stifle innovation, Talen Energy Corporation said.

Exelon Corporation and American Electric Power (AEP) lodged their protest with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on 24 June, saying that the regulator must either hold a hearing, or, failing that, reject the Interconnection Service Agreement (ISA) between transmission provider PJM Interconnection, Talen subsidiary Susquehanna Nuclear, operator of the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, and PPL Electric Utilities Corporation.

Earlier this year, Talen announced the sale of its 960 MW Cumulus data centre campus - which is directly connected to the two-unit Susquehanna plant - to Amazon Web Services (AWS), with a long-term agreement to provide power from Talen's Susquehanna nuclear power plant.

PJM is the regional transmission organisation that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Its request to amend an existing Interconnection Service Agreement to increase from 300 MW to 480 MW the amount of load it is allowed to transfer from Susquehanna as "co-located load" was filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on 3 June. (Co-located load refers to end-use customer load that is physically connected to the facilities of an existing or planned customer facility at the point of interconnection to the PJM transmission system).

The amendment states that 480 MW of load may be physically transferred to a co-located load’s transmission facilities without a material impact on the transmission system, and also notes that Susquehanna has proposed modifications to allow it to physically transfer 960 MW of power.

"Too many questions of fact remain unresolved in what is, by the filing's own admission, an ISA that establishes novel configuration," Exelon and AEP say in their filing, which they say "raises more questions than it answers" and could potentially have a huge impact on customer rates, as well as raising reliability and planning concerns.

"The co-located load should not be allowed to operate as a free rider, making use of, and receiving the benefits of, a transmission system paid for by transmission ratepayers," they said. "We have no objection to co-location per se, but such load should pay its fair share of system use and other charges, just like other loads and customers."

Talen has acknowledged that its Interconnection Service Agreement is precedent-setting but also said that the protest is unfounded.

"The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence and data centres has fundamentally changed the demand for power and leads to an inflection point for the power industry," the company said. "Talen's co-location arrangement with AWS brings one solution to this new demand, on a timeline that serves the customer quickly. We believe powering the data centre economy will require an all-of-the-above approach, which includes both metered and behind-the-meter solutions.

"Exelon and AEP's protest of the Susquehanna ISA is a misguided attempt to stifle this innovation by interfering with an ISA amendment agreed to and supported by all impacted parties - which Exelon and AEP decidedly are not."

Talen goes on to say the facts cited by Exelon AEP are "demonstrably false", the legal positions are "demonstrably infirm", and "nearly all the issues raised by Exelon and AEP are not subject to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission oversight, because transmission is not implicated".

Nuclear power is increasingly being eyed by energy-intensive data centres as a means of meeting their energy demand while achieving zero-carbon objectives, whether through co-location of resources, or energy-matching deals such as last year's agreement between Constellation and Microsoft to match the energy needs of Microsoft's data centre in Boydton, Virginia, with Constellation's carbon-free energy with 35% of the environmental attributes coming from nuclear power. Earlier this year, North American steel manufacturer Nucor Corporation and US tech giants Google and Microsoft Corporation announced plans to work together across the electricity ecosystem to develop new business models and aggregate their demand for advanced clean electricity technologies, including advanced nuclear.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/French-regulatory-review-of-Newcleo-SMR-progresses

Innovative reactor developer Newcleo announced it has completed the preparatory stage set up by the French authorities for developers of small modular reactor projects to facilitate, secure and accelerate the review of licence applications.

The first step of London-headquartered Newcleo's delivery roadmap will be the design and construction of the first-of-a-kind 30 MWe lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) to be deployed in France by 2030, followed by a 200 MWe commercial unit in the UK by 2033.

At the same time, Newcleo will directly invest in a mixed uranium/plutonium oxide (MOX) plant to fuel its reactors. In June 2022, Newcleo announced it had contracted France's Orano for feasibility studies on the establishment of a MOX production plant.

Newcleo said that during the preparatory stage, the French nuclear regulator Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN) and the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) assessed the maturity of its project and discussed all safety options for its LFR projects and the associated nuclear fuel manufacturing plant. The conclusion of this preparatory stage follows numerous technical meetings involving approximately 20 specialised experts from the authorities, as well as the development of a range of preparatory documents covering various technical topics.

The completion of the preparatory phase on 26 June will be followed by the submission of official technical options for both the LFR and the MOX manufacturing plant. The French authorities will then establish a written advice which, along with other considerations derived from the preparatory phase discussions, will allow a faster process to grant the necessary authorisation decrees to Newcleo.

"We are all thrilled that our project has reached this key milestone in the rigorous process leading Newcleo to obtain the required authorisations for the launch of this new sustainable nuclear sector," said Newcleo Global Licensing Director Stéphane Calpena. "The constructive discussions we have had with experts from the French authorities have been invaluable, enabling us to guide our design choices and associated safety requirements to meet the exceptionally high standards that French nuclear energy is known for."

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

Newcleo was a winner of the 'Innovative nuclear reactors' call for projects under the 'France 2030' investment plan implemented by Bpifrance and financed by the European Union - Next Generation EU as part of France's economic recovery plan (Plan France Relance).

Newcleo said its LFR AS-30 reactor design has been optimised over the last 20 years leading to the concept of an ultra-compact and transportable 200 MWe module with improvements in energy density compared with other technologies. Costs are kept low by means of simplicity, compactness, modularity, atmospheric pressure operation and elevated output temperature.

In order to best prepare for possible requests for authorisation to construct SMR projects, and with a view to mobilising resources proportionate to the level of maturity of each project, a progressive framework of technical exchanges in four phases has been put in place.

Newcleo's LFR is one of about ten SMR designs being evaluated by ASN and IRSN. Four vendors are currently in the initial stage, referred to as prospective monitoring (Blue Capsule, Hexana, Out and Stellaria). Newcleo has now joined Naarea, Calogena and Thorizon in step 2, the preparatory review. Nuward is in the third step, the pre-instruction stage where ASN will deliver an opinion on the main safety options to be used in its SMR design, while Jimmy is in step 4, where it has requested a "creation authorisation decree" from ASN to construct an SMR intended to supply industrial heat to a Cristal Union Group plant located on the Bazancourt site.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Another-Norwegian-town-looks-to-host-nuclear-plant

Norsk Kjernekraft has signed a cooperation agreement with the municipality of Lund on establishing a nuclear power plant in the town in the southern Norwegian county of Rogaland. The town is expecting a large increase in power demand due to industrialisation of the area.

The collaboration agreement enables the first steps towards the realisation of nuclear power in the municipality, among other things, suitable areas must be identified and then an impact assessment must begin.

A number of plans for sustainable industrialisation in the region have come closer to being realised, Norsk Kjernekraft said: "These activities will require large amounts of stable and emission-free power, and it is in this connection that Lund's mayor Gro Helleland has advocated that this energy must also be obtained through the least possible use of nature."

Helleland said: "When it became clear that all these industrial plans in our region would require enormous amounts of energy, it became natural for us to obtain more information about the various alternatives that existed. Gradually it became clear that modern nuclear power, so-called small modular reactors (SMRs), not only has the lowest lifetime emissions of greenhouse gases, but will also use far less nature than the alternatives."

"Through Regionråd Dalane [a political council for the four Dalane municipalities], we are working together with Rogaland county on a regional growth agreement, where the goal of the agreement is anchored in the Regional Plan for green industry," she continued. "I clearly see the connection between the main goal there of increased value creation and jobs in green industry that contribute to a nature-neutral, low-emission society, and the establishment of nuclear power."

Norsk Kjernekraft CEO Jonny Hesthammer commented: "It is important that the local population is involved in this work from the start so that any projects that are taken forward can achieve sufficient democratic anchoring.

"Norway has major challenges in reaching its climate targets and at the same time safeguarding natural diversity when new emission-free power is to be established. We are therefore convinced that a safe and extremely area-efficient energy source such as nuclear power will be able to contribute to a good solution."

Norsk Kjernekraft said it will be necessary to construct several small nuclear power plants in different parts of the country. "That Lund, as the first municipality in Rogaland, takes the initiative for such a collaboration with Norsk Kjernekraft is therefore very important," it said.

Last month, Norsk Kjernekraft submitted a proposal to Norway's Ministry of Energy for an assessment into the construction of a power plant based on multiple SMRs in the north-eastern county of Finnmark. In April last year, the municipality of Vardø in Finnmark proposed nearby Svartnes as a possible site for a nuclear power plant to Norsk Kjernekraft, which aims to build, own and operate SMR power plants in Norway in collaboration with power-intensive industry.

In November, Norsk Kjernekraft submitted a proposal to the ministry for an assessment into the construction of an SMR power plant based in the municipalities of Aure and Heim in south-western Norway. In April this year, it initiated work on the impact assessment of a plot of land in Øygarden municipality, west of Bergen, to assess the possibility of establishing a nuclear power plant comprising up to five SMRs.

A new company, Halden Kjernekraft AS, has also been founded by Norsk Kjernekraft, Østfold Energi and the municipality of Halden to investigate the construction of a nuclear power plant based on SMRs at Halden, where a research reactor once operated.

The installation of the steam generators has been completed at Unit 4 of the Kudankulam nuclear power station in Tamil Nadu state, southern India, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.

All four steam generators – each about 14 metres long with a diameter of four metres and weighing 340 tonnes – were installed using the ‘open top’ method, first used at Kudankulam-3.

This method allows large equipment to be loaded into the reactor building using a heavy-duty crane before the reactor dome is closed. Rosatom said it can significantly cut the time taken to carry out the installation.

Construction of the Generation III Kudankulam-4, a 917-MW VVER pressurised water reactor unit supplied by Russia, began in October 2017.

There are three other units of the same design under construction at the site. Construction of Kudankulam-3 began in 2017 and of Kudankulam-5 and -6 in 2021.

Kudankulam-1 and -2, also both VVER V-412 units, have been in commercial operation since December 2014 and March 2017.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Companies-sign-agreements-to-support-Polish-SMR-de

Polish company ORLEN Synthos Green Energy (OSGE) has signed a teaming agreement and two bilateral agreements with North American companies to support the planned deployment of a fleet of BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) in Poland.

OSGE said the cooperation agreements with Aecon Group Inc and AtkinsRéalis company Candu Energy Inc, and the teaming agreement with Aecon, AtkinsRéalis and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, were signed at a ceremony in Warsaw, attended by Canada's Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng and Ambassador of Canada to the Republic of Poland Catherine Godin.

OSGE - a joint venture between chemical producers SGE and PKN Orlen - plans to deploy the first of a fleet of BWRX-300s before the end of this decade and received the go-ahead to begin environmental and siting research for a planned small modular reactor (SMR) project in Stawy Monowskie, in Małopolska, earlier this year.

"We are positioning ourselves as the partner of choice for utilities worldwide on deploying nuclear power technology," AtkinsRéalis President and CEO Ian Edwards said. "As Poland undertakes a visionary modernisation of its power grid, moving away from coal and toward nuclear power via both large and small reactors, we’re thrilled to offer our expertise to provide Poland with clean, reliable, and safe electricity for generations."

Construction and infrastructure company Aecon is the Canadian constructor of the first-of-a-kind BWRX-300 reactor which is to be built at Ontario Power Generation's Darlington New Nuclear Project, and is also delivering the ongoing nuclear refurbishment projects at Ontario Power Generation and Bruce Power's CANDU plants in partnership with AtkinsRéalis.

"We’re pleased to bring our full spectrum of construction solutions to support OSGE in collaboratively planning the deployment of the next generation of nuclear technology, contributing to the supply of clean, reliable and affordable electricity in Poland,” said Aecon Executive Vice President, Nuclear and Civil Thomas Clochard.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Simulator-launched-for-development-of-Korea-s-i-SM

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power announced it has built an initial version of a simulator at the KHNP Central Research Institute to verify the operational suitability of the Innovative Small Modular Reactor (i-SMR).

The i-SMR is an integrated pressurised water reactor type nuclear power plant with an electrical output of 170 MWe. It is being developed according to a development roadmap, with the goal of completing the standard design by the end of 2025 and obtaining standard design approval in 2028.The i-SMR operation verification simulator will be used to verify design and operation suitability, and the verification results derived from the simulator operation process will be reflected in the standard design process, KHNP said.

It noted that the simulator developed to date is an early version that reflects the concept and basic design of the i-SMR.

The concept and basic design of the i-SMR was completed at the end of last year, and standard design will be carried out by December 2025. After 2025, update work will be carried out to reflect the standard design in the simulator, and development is accelerating with the goal of completing the simulator in the first half of 2027.

Once the simulator is completed, KHNP plans to use it to continue verifying the operational suitability of the i-SMR standard design, and plans to use the verification results as additional data for standard design approval.

"We will focus our existing experience in developing large-scale nuclear power plant simulators and the capabilities of researchers at KHNP to help obtain i-SMR standard design approval by creating a high-fidelity simulator," said Shin Ho-chul, head of the KHNP Central Research Institute.

KHNP has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Nusantara Power - a power generation subsidiary of Indonesian Electric Power Corporation - on mutual cooperation for the introduction and construction of the i-SMR in Indonesia. Through this MoU, the two companies will cooperate in various fields, including: joint basic research on the economic feasibility and technology for deployment of the i-SMR in Indonesia; development of local specialised technology through R&D cooperation; and collaboration through human/technology exchanges in the nuclear field through the formation of a working group.

KHNP has also signed an MoU on mutual cooperation with the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission for the deployment of the i-SMR in Jordan. The two organisations agreed to cooperate in comprehensive technology and information exchange on the i-SMR and to jointly conduct a feasibility study. Jordan is currently considering the introduction of SMRs after 2030 in preparation of expected increased electricity demand.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Grossi-puts-case-at-World-Bank-for-financing-nucle

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi urges the World Bank and other multinational development banks to start financing new nuclear energy projects as part of efforts to achieve deep and rapid decarbonisation.

In his comments to members of the World Bank board, in Washington, USA, last week, Grossi said: "From Africa to Asia, countries seeking to add nuclear to their energy mix need technical and financial support. With its technical expertise, the IAEA accompanies them throughout their nuclear journeys, helping them to establish the infrastructure for a safe, secure and sustainable nuclear power programme. But financing remains a hurdle. While the private sector will need to increasingly contribute to financing, multilateral development banks such as the World Bank can advance sustainable development by assessing nuclear project bankability and contributing lending at affordable rates."

Although some multinational development banks have provided lending for decommissioning or upgrades to existing plants, they do not contribute to the financing of new-build projects. The pledge to aim for a tripling of nuclear energy capacity, backed by more than 20 countries at COP28 in December, included inviting "shareholders of the World Bank, international financial institutions, and regional development banks to encourage the inclusion of nuclear energy in their organisations’ energy lending policies as needed, and to actively support nuclear power when they have such a mandate, and encourage regional bodies that have the mandate to do so to consider providing financial support to nuclear energy".

The International Energy Agency says nuclear energy capacity should more than double by 2050 to meet climate targets, and the IAEA has estimated that doing so would mean more than doubling annual investment in nuclear power to USD100 billion.

Discussing the issue with the members of the World Bank board, Grossi said that the IAEA "stands ready" to provide any technical assistance required by multinational lenders in relation to nuclear infrastructure development, nuclear safety, security and safeguards.

The IAEA says there are about 30 countries considering or embarking on nuclear power, with about two-thirds of them in the developing world and financing remains a major hurdle for many.

Danish thorium molten salt reactor (TMSR) developer Copenhagen Atomics has signed an experimental collaboration agreement with Switzerland’s Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), to validate the TMSR technology.

The partnership between Copenhagen Atomics and PSI aims to conduct a thorium molten salt critical experiment in 2026, a statement said.

Copenhagen Atomics said the experiment will provide valuable experience for the design, construction, licensing, operation and decommissioning of the new MSR technology and collect data for commercial deployment.

The collaboration agreement runs initially for four years and will position Europe at the forefront of advanced reactors, Copenhagen Atomics said.

It said TMSR technology has huge potential to become one of the world’s most abundant energy sources. To date, the bulk of TMSR experiments have taken place in China, so this represents “a major step forward for the tech in Europe”, Copenhagen Atomics said.

The company said the use of thorium over uranium has several advantages. Thorium, a naturally occurring radioactive metal that is found in soil, rock and water, is much more abundant than uranium and there is enough thorium in the Earth’s crust to “cover the entire lifetime of the human race”.

According to Copenhagen Atomics, thorium offers a lower price per kWh of energy generated and produces less long-lived nuclear waste than uranium.

In 2023 Copenhagen Atomics said it had raised €20m ($21.4m) to accelerate the development of its TMSR technology.

Co-founder Thomas Jam Pedersen said the funding would support plans to have the first commercial reactors online in 2028.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/PPL-expands-Kentucky-nuclear-feasibility-study

US utility PPL Corporation announced that two of its subsidiaries will build on an earlier assessment of nuclear feasibility at the Ghent coal-fired power plant site in Kentucky by exploring additional locations and partnerships that could support nuclear energy in the state.

Ghent is a four-unit, coal-fired power plant with a combined net generating capacity of 1919 MWe and is planned for phased retirement, with units 1 and 2 retiring first and units 3 and 4 retiring afterwards. The plant is located within five miles of several industrial companies that consume large amounts of electricity and may be potential process heat customers. PPL owns about 2300 acres of land around and including the Ghent plant site.

The earlier study, funded by a grant under the Department of Energy's (DOE's) GAIN - Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear - initiative and published in March, found that the Ghent site is suitable for a small modular reactor (SMR) plant. However, the site was found to have potential size constraints for a larger conventional reactor.

GAIN - Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear - is an initiative launched in 2016 by the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy which helps businesses overcome critical technological and commercialisation challenges of nuclear energy technologies through a voucher system, giving stakeholders access to the DOE's R&D facilities and infrastructure to support the cost-effective development of innovative nuclear energy technologies. All awardees are responsible for a minimum 20% cost-share, which could be an in-kind contribution.

As with earlier feasibility assessments at PPL subsidiaries Louisville Gas & Electric Company's and Kentucky Utilities Company's Ghent site, PPL's research and development team plans to partner with GAIN and nuclear design engineering company X-energy in the next phase of assessments.

X-energy says its Xe-100 is a Generation IV advanced reactor design based on decades of high temperature gas-cooled reactor operation, research, and development. Designed to operate as a standard 320 MWe four-pack power plant or scaled in units of 80 MWe, it is engineered to deliver reliable and load-following grid-scale power to electricity systems and to pair seamlessly with renewables. At 200 MWt of 565°C steam, the Xe-100 is also suitable for other power applications including mining and heavy industry.

Phase two of the study will explore alternative locations and industrial partnerships that could enable energy-intensive customers - including manufacturers and data centres - to achieve their zero-carbon objectives while maintaining reliability and affordability, PPL said.

"We understand that achieving our goal of net-zero carbon emissions will be challenging, and we continue to pursue an all-of-the-above technology strategy to replace aging generation with a cleaner, more diverse energy mix capable of safely, reliably and affordably meeting our customers' future energy needs and supporting continued economic growth," said PPL President and CEO Vincent Sorgi.

"Nuclear energy is a carbon-free solution that has the potential to meet our customers' needs and support manufacturing and data centre growth, particularly if technology such as nuclear SMRs become more cost-competitive," he added. "These in-depth studies are important to determining whether nuclear energy at our locations may be a viable solution moving forward."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/IAEA-concern-at-damage-to-Zaporizhzhia-radiation-m

An external radiation monitoring station was reported to have been destroyed by shelling and fire, with four of the 14 pre-conflict stations currently unavailable, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) has six units and is Europe's largest. It has been under Russian military control since early March 2022 and is located on the frontline of Russian and Ukrainian forces. In an effort to try to reduce the risks to nuclear safety of the situation there have been IAEA experts stationed at the site since September 2022.

The current rotation of agency experts were told by the operators of the plant that it lost connection to the monitoring station, which is about 16 kilometres away, on Monday afternoon. The agency says that during the conflict several radiation monitoring stations within 30 kilometres of the plant have been out of service for varying periods of time.

Last week there was a 16-hour loss of power in the associated city of Energodar, where many of the nuclear power plant staff and their families live, which the IAEA said "caused a temporary halt in the operation of some of the environmental radiological monitoring stations after they ran out of back-up battery".

Grossi said: "The loss of one radiation monitoring station does not have a direct impact on safety at the ZNPP, but it forms part of a continuous erosion of a range of safety measures during the war that remains a deep source of concern.

"The functioning of off-site radiation monitoring equipment is an essential part of nuclear safety around the world. These systems are important for continuously monitoring radiation levels and, in the case of an emergency, for quickly assessing the ongoing and potential radiological impact and what protective actions may need to be taken."

Ukraine is among 51 countries which participate in the IAEA's International Radiation Monitoring System which collects monitoring data from more than 6000 monitoring stations operating across the world.

In the IAEA's latest update on the safety and security situation for Ukraine's nuclear power plants, it said that staff at Zaporizhzhia continued to hear regular explosions some distance from the plant. Among their activities this week they had witnessed the testing of an emergency diesel generator, to check it started up within 11 seconds of the loss of off-site power, and had also visited the site's temporary on-site emergency centre.

There are also IAEA teams at Ukraine's other nuclear power plants, with those at the South Ukraine nuclear power plant reporting there had been military action in their region, although they were told that neither their hotel nor the plant itself had been targeted. The IAEA also reported that it had arranged two more deliveries of equipment to Ukraine in the past week - taking the total since February 2022 to 51 - to support the country in maintaining nuclear safety and security.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Uzbekistan-SMR-plant-construction-site-preparation

Infrastructure work for a six-unit small modular reactor nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan is expected to begin in the autumn, after the signing of a protocol on the entry into force of the construction contract signed last month.

The signing ceremony was held during a visit by representatives of the UzAtom Atomic Energy Agency and Rosatom to the site of the proposed plant and an inspection of where land surveying and the setting up of a construction camp and infrastructure facilities are to begin from September.

Andrey Petrov, deputy director general of Rosatom, said: "Our large-scale project for the construction ... is picking up momentum to provide the region with clean energy. We know our Uzbek partners as efficient, talented managers, and now we are starting joint activities at the construction site. I am sure that we will fulfill together all contractual obligations on time and in proper quality."

The creation of a residential settlement for construction and project teams were among the priority tasks discussed and agreed during the visit to the site in the Jizzarkh region of Uzbekistan.

The contract signed on 27 May, during a visit to the country by Russian President Vladimir Putin, is for the construction of a 330 MW capacity nuclear power plant. The project is based on six units of the RITM-200N water-cooled reactor, which is adapted from nuclear powered icebreakers' technology, with thermal power of 190 MW or 55 MWe and with an intended service life of 60 years. The first unit is scheduled to go critical in late 2029 with units commissioned one by one.

It is the first export order for Russia's SMR. The first land-based version is currently being built in Yakut in Russia, with the launch of the first unit expected to take place in 2027. Rosatom says that its combination of active and passive safety systems mean the SMR plants will achieve the highest possible safety standards.

In 2017, Uzbekistan signed an agreement with Russia to construct two VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors and, following the signing of the SMR plant agreement last month, Rosatom's Director General Alexei Likhachev said, in an interview with the Rossiya-1 TV channel, that there were still proposals for building a large nuclear power plant - with a capacity of around 2.5 GW - in Uzbekistan.