Nuclear Energy

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Economic-impact-of-nuclear-to-southeast-USA-highli

The nuclear energy industry in southeast USA generates an annual economic impact of almost USD43 billion, supporting 152,598 jobs and generating USD13.7 billion in labour income, says a study released by the Southeast Nuclear Advisory Council (SENAC).

The study - The Economic Impact of the Nuclear Industry in the Southeast United States - was conducted by E4 Carolinas, the trade association for Carolina energy companies and organisations. It presents a comprehensive analysis of the economic impacts of the nuclear energy sector in the five-state region consisting of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Nuclear power constitutes 37% of utility-scale net electricity generation in the region, compared with the national average of 19%. The region hosts 25 of the USA's 93 operational nuclear reactors and has a comprehensive network of companies, research universities, and national laboratories supporting the industry, including community colleges and educational programmes that contribute to a skilled workforce for the nuclear industry.

The study "represents a collaboration between industry leaders, educational institutions, and energy non-profits", SENAC said. "It serves as a baseline for understanding the benefits of nuclear power and its integral role in regional economic growth and the global clean energy transition." The report says nuclear energy generates "an impressive" annual economic impact of USD42.9 billion, with USD3.7 billion in annual tax revenues across the five-state region.

It also found the average employment multiplier effect across the five-state region is 2.8, meaning for every ten jobs directly created by the nuclear industry, an additional 18 jobs are generated elsewhere. The nuclear industry's employment multiplier effect is significantly higher than the average industry in these states.

The study says the average wage in the nuclear industry outpaces regional averages by 65.5%, with an average wage of USD89,972 across the five-state region, "underscoring the sector's role in providing high-quality employment opportunities".

"Because of such strong multiplier effects, future investments in new nuclear power plants have the potential to generate significant economic benefits for a local region," the report concludes. "This study estimates that for every USD100 in revenue generated by a new nuclear power plant in the five-state region, approximately USD200 in total economic output would be created."

As part of its recommendations and conclusions, the study underscores the need for states to establish economic development plans centered around nuclear power, emphasising that the southeastern US is uniquely positioned to capitalise on emerging technologies and opportunities in the nuclear sector. The study also encourages a broader perspective on achieving clean energy goals, suggesting greater consideration of nuclear energy and advocating for its inclusion in clean energy standards and policy discussions.

"This report demonstrates two clear findings: the existing civilian nuclear industry provides a massive economic impact for the southeast region, and by supplying USD3.7 billion in tax revenues, is a critical element in overall state and local finances," said Jeff Merrifield, SENAC Co-Chair, Chair of E4 Carolinas, and a Partner of Pillsbury Law. "Additionally, with the largest nuclear workforce in the US, the southeastern United States, represented by the five states in the report, will be a vital supplier of jobs and technologies to enable the next generation of advanced nuclear energy technologies."

Jim Little, SENAC Co-Chair and Industry Representative, South Carolina Governor's Nuclear Advisory Council, added: "The economic benefits reported here are only part of the picture, as nuclear energy also provides a pathway to meeting the anticipated increased demand for power and reduced carbon emissions, while maintaining the low-cost energy and reliability goals important to our region. The southeastern US is at the forefront of nuclear technology development, particularly in Generation IV nuclear technologies and small modular reactors, heralding a new era of safety and cost-efficiency."

"Intuitively, we always knew there was a large benefit to our local and regional economies attributable to nuclear power," said E4 Carolinas President Ken Canavan. "Thanks to this study, we can unequivocally state that the economic benefits are tremendous and include substantial jobs and tax base, and an annual economic impact of $43 billion for the five-state region."

SENAC is an advisory council created to support the advanced nuclear technology research and planning grant received by E4 Carolinas in 2021 from the US Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration covering five states in the Southeast USA (Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia). SENAC's objective is to bring together industry, academia, and government to connect, promote, educate, and inform the development and deployment of advanced nuclear reactor technology in the region.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Kyoto-Fusioneering-and-UKAEA-sign-collaboration-ag

The UK Atomic Energy Authority and the private Japanese fusion technology company Kyoto Fusioneering have signed an agreement which aims to advance tritium breeding blanket technology from its conceptual stage towards commercialisation.

The Communication Framework Agreement also paves the way for future collaboration on tritium fuel cycle, remote handling and power conversion technologies, the signatories said.

A breeding blanket is a component to be used in fusion machines, mainly used for producing tritium which is one of the fuels of fusion reactors.

Kyoto Fusioneering CEO Satoshi Konishi said: "Kyoto Fusioneering is proud to work closely with UKAEA. We have aspirations to expand the global impact of our technology beyond Japan ... we hope our collaboration will take the best of public and private sector ambitions and capabilities, to deliver a better result than each of us could have achieved alone."

UKAEA Executive Director Stephen Wheeler said: "Fusion energy promises to be a safe, low carbon and sustainable part of the world’s future energy supply. Kyoto Fusioneering has expanded its skills and capabilities in the UK and Japan and this partnership provides us a means to access them in both locations."

The new agreement follows a collaboration agreement between the two signed in March 2023 which included developing a silicon carbide composite system suitable for use as a structural material inside a fusion machine and to understand its stability under simulated fusion conditions. Kyoto Fusioneering has also worked on the development of gyrotron technology for UKAEA's MAST-U fusion machine at its base at Culham, near Oxford.

Kyoto Fusioneering was established in 2019 out of Kyoto University's nuclear fusion research, and specialises in the development of fusion energy plant equipment. The UKAEA is the UK’s national organisation responsible for the research and delivery of sustainable fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Nuclear fusion is the process that powers stars, including the sun. When a mix of two forms of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) is heated to form a controlled plasma at extreme temperatures they fuse together to create helium and release energy which can be harnessed to produce electricity. There are different ways of achieving this but UKAEA’s approach is to hold this hot plasma using strong magnets in a ring-shaped machine called a tokamak, before harnessing the heat to produce electricity along the lines used in existing power stations.

Sofia wants to end dependence on Russia.

Bulgaria’s Kozloduy-5 nuclear power plant has been granted permission for a phased transition to the use of nuclear fuel produced by Westinghouse Electric in Sweden, according to the plant's director Valentin Nikolov.

He told Bulgarian National Radio that that there is no risk of any interruptions in operation due to the switch from the current Russia-made fuel to the Westinghouse fuel.

Nikolov said there are no expected delays in the delivery of the new fuel, which is scheduled to be loaded at Kozloduy-5 during a planned outage in May.

According to Nikolov, Bulgaria’s second commercial reactor unit, Kozloduy-6, is scheduled to receive new fuel supplied by France’s Framatome “post-2025”. He said the unit has enough fuel stored to ensure operation until 2029.

There are two Russia-designed 1,000-MW VVER units at Kozloduy in northwest Bulgaria in commercial operation since 1988 and 1993. They are Bulgaria’s only commercial nuclear power plants, although Sofian has announced plans for two new Westinghouse AP1000 units at the site.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Bulgaria accelerated plans to lessen its dependence on Russian nuclear fuel.

The country’s contract with Russia’s state-owned Tvel fuel manufacturer was set to expire at the end of 2024 and will not be extended.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Feasibility-for-AP1000s-at-Borssele-to-be-studied

Westinghouse Electric Company has been awarded a contract by the Dutch government to conduct a technical feasibility study (TFS) on the deployment of two AP1000 reactors at the Borssele nuclear power plant site. It comes as the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate launches a consultation on the siting of the reactors.

Following the award of a contract in December last year to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to conduct a feasibility study into the construction of two Korean-supplied reactors at Borssele, Westinghouse will now evaluate the construction of AP1000 units there. The Dutch government has previously said it also intends to award a third such contract to EDF of France. KHNP was due begin its feasibility study in January and it is expected to last at least six months.

The contract with Westinghouse was signed by Michel Heijdra, Director-General for Climate and Energy at the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, and Elias Gedeon, Westinghouse Senior Vice President of Energy Systems Commercial Operations.

"The TFS represents a significant step forward in the country's ambitious strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, aligning with the European Union's climate goals and the Dutch commitment to carbon-neutral electricity production by 2035," Westinghouse said.

"We are honoured to begin work with the Dutch government on this preliminary yet crucial phase to deliver the world's most advanced, Generation III+ reactor technology," said Westinghouse Energy Systems President David Durham. "With our industry-leading, globally-deployed AP1000 technology, Westinghouse is proud to support the Dutch government and offer reliable, affordable, carbon-free electricity and economic benefits to the Netherlands for decades to come."

In December 2021, the Netherlands' new coalition government placed nuclear power at the heart of its climate and energy policy. Based on preliminary plans, two new reactors will be completed around 2035 and each will have a capacity of 1000-1650 MWe. The two reactors would provide 9-13% of the Netherlands' electricity production in 2035. The cabinet announced in December 2022 that it currently sees Borssele as the most suitable location for the construction of the new reactors.

Intention and proposal for participation

The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate has also announced that its 'proposal for participation' in the construction of the two new reactors will open on 23 February. Interested parties will have until 4 April to contribute ideas about the research for the construction of the reactors.

"This is the first step of the project procedure to arrive at a final choice of location," the ministry said.

"Companies, social organisations, local authorities and anyone who wants to do so can contribute ideas about the locations to be investigated and environmental effects for the construction of two new nuclear power stations," it said. "If the ideas meet the preconditions described in the intention, the ministry will investigate whether these locations are potentially suitable in the next step of the project procedure. In any case, the existing 'guarantee locations' are being investigated. These are Borssele/Vlissingen (the Sloe area), and Maasvlakte I (the port of Rotterdam)."

The ministry will also soon publish its 'intention' for the new reactors, in which it describes how it will involve interested parties and local residents in the project procedure in the future. Interested parties can indicate in which ways they would like to be involved in the next steps.

"The 'intention and proposal for participation' is a formal part of the project procedure for projects of national importance," the ministry said. "Based on a careful procedure, the cabinet will make a final decision on the location in 2025. The project procedure is one of the four work tracks required to make a final decision and start the tender. The first technical feasibility studies, market consultation and first steps for the National-Regional Package were started earlier."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Russia,-Venezuela-to-increase-cooperation-on-peace

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with Venezuelan counterpart Yván Gil that they had discussed expanding bilateral cooperation in a range of areas including energy, medicine, space exploration and agriculture.

Lavrov said: "The peaceful use of nuclear energy, which we also discussed, is also promising."

According to a Russian Foreign Ministry transcript of the press conference, Lavrov then added: "We agreed to increase the pace and volume of cooperation in all these areas. We have a common opinion that this work helps to increase the sustainability of our national economies and strengthen the technological sovereignty of Russia and Venezuela. We are ready to share the experience we have accumulated over recent years with our Venezuelan friends."

Gil, in a post on social media platform X, said it was a successful meeting: "We have agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations between our countries, establishing new mechanisms and avenues for cooperation, especially in the tourism, cultural and economic fields."

According the Venezuelan Presidential press service: "Venezuela and Russia are advancing efficiently in the economic-commercial, scientific-technical and humanitarian-cultural areas, prioritising joint projects in energy, infrastructure, agriculture, medicine, education and culture."

Venezuela and Russia have discussed nuclear energy cooperation in the past, with a civil nuclear cooperation agreement signed in October 2010 providing for the construction of two 1200 MWe reactors and a research reactor to produce radioisotopes. Although it appears that the power plant plan was shelved the following year, cooperation in nuclear education continued for Venezuelan students at Russian universities.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/ITER-s-proposed-new-timeline-to-be-submitted-in-Ju

The revamped project plan for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor - with modifications to its configuration, phased installation and new research schedule - is being finalised ahead of being submitted to the ITER Council in June.

The ground-breaking multinational fusion project has been working on a comprehensive "realistic" timeline to replace the 2016 plan for first plasma at the reactor being built in southern France in 2025.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of problems with the vacuum vessel sector's welding joint region and corrosion-induced cracks in thermal shield piping meant a considerable delay was now needed and Director General Pietro Barabaschi said at October's 29th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference, after a year in post, that even without those factors the previous timeline was not going to have been met. However, he said, a change of culture, to not sweep problems under the carpet, meant ITER was on a "good track" to draw up the new baseline.

Dialogue has also been under way with the French nuclear safety authority, Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire, to create a strategy to address ITER's first-of-a-kind regulatory needs and a revised path to nuclear licensing.

Now in an update report on progress, Alberto Loarte, head of the science division at the ITER organisation, said: "The new baseline includes modifications to the configuration of the ITER device and its ancillaries (eg a change from beryllium to tungsten as first wall material, modifications to the heating and current drive mix etc) as well as additional testing of components (eg toroidal field coils) and phased installation (starting with an inertially cooled first wall and installing the final actively water-cooled components later) to minimise operational risks."

He added: "In this new approach, scientific exploitation is divided into three main phases: Augmented First Plasma, DT-1 and DT-2 plus the associated integrated commissioning phases."

ITER is a major international project to build a tokamak fusion device designed to prove the feasibility of fusion as a large-scale and carbon-free source of energy. The goal of ITER is to operate at 500 MW (for at least 400 seconds continuously) with 50 MW of plasma heating power input. It appears that an additional 300 MW of electricity input may be required in operation. No electricity will be generated at ITER.

Thirty-five nations are collaborating to build ITER - the European Union (plus Switzerland) is contributing almost half of the cost of its construction, while the other six members (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the USA) are contributing equally to the rest. Construction began in 2010.

In late 2023 as part of the project revision each ITER member nominated five experts to evaluate the new baseline and research proposals, with the first ITER Research Plan development workshop taking place at ITER headquarters last week. Following presentations and detailed evaluations by the nominated experts and ITER staff, the finding was that "the main elements of the outline Research Plan ... were appropriate, however the groups identified specific aspects of the outline plan which require further review and optimisation".

According to Loarte there will be further analysis of the issues remotely over the next few weeks, followed by a second workshop, with the aim of finalising the new ITER Research Plan so it can be submitted to the ITER Council Science and Technology Advisory Committee for endorsement in May, before the new overall project baseline is submitted to the ITER Council the following month.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/GLE-laser-enrichment-on-track-for-2024-demonstrati

The owners of the Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) joint venture have agreed to double project expenditures in 2024 to accelerate demonstration of the SILEX laser enrichment technology at its Test Loop pilot facility in the USA this year.

Australian company Silex Systems Ltd, which owns 51% of GLE, and Canadian company Cameco, which owns 49%, have approved plans which include an increase in expenditures to up to USD54.5 million in calendar 2024, Silex has announced. In addition to accelerating the technology demonstration project - which GLE anticipates completing this year - this will allow GLE to progress other key commercialisation activities, including site acquisition activities at Paducah, Kentucky, where commercial operations at the planned Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility (PLEF) could begin "as early as 2028", the company said.

"Specifically, GLE's CY2024 plan and budget supports the completion of the technology demonstration project, continued pursuit of government and industry support and funding opportunities, site acquisition activities related to the planned PLEF, preparation of the PLEF NRC license application, completion and commissioning of GLE's new facility in Wilmington, NC, and activities to support manufacturing readiness and supply chain development," Silex CEO Michael Goldsworthy said. "These activities provide the potential for GLE to deploy the SILEX uranium enrichment technology in a timely manner to help address the forecast supply gap in nuclear fuel markets in the coming years."

GLE is the exclusive worldwide licensee of the SILEX laser technology for uranium enrichment. The US Department of Energy agreed in 2016 to sell GLE around 300,000 tonnes of depleted uranium hexafluoride to provide the feedstock for PLEF to produce uranium hexafluoride (UF6) equivalent to natural uranium over three decades, with the output to be sold into the global uranium market. The plant's annual output of up to 5 million pounds of U3O8 (1923 tU) is equivalent to one of today's top-ten uranium mines by production volume, GLE says.

The multipurpose PLEF plant has three commercialisation options: the production of natural grade UF6 (containing 0.7% uranium-235) from the processing of depleted uranium; the production of low enriched uranium (LEU) containing up to 5% U-235 and so-called LEU+ (with U235 assays from 5% to 10%) from natural UF6 to supply enriched uranium fuel for existing reactors; and the production of high assay LEU (HALEU) (up to 20% U-235) to supply fuel for next-generation advanced small modular reactors.

"Subject to the successful completion of the pilot demonstration project, industry and government support, a feasibility assessment for the PLEF and market factors, the SILEX technology could enable GLE to become a major contributor to nuclear fuel production for the world's current and future nuclear reactor fleets," the company said.

The US Department of Energy-owned Paducah site was home to the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, constructed in 1952 to produce enriched uranium. The plant ceased commercial operations in 2013, and the site is now undergoing a remediation programme. The Department of Energy has been pursuing environmental cleanup goals at the Paducah site since 1988, spending more than USD more than $2.5 billion on cleanup projects since 1990.

Company also plans to file application for Dresden reactors.

Baltimore, US-based power utility Constellation has filed a licence renewal application with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its Clinton-1 nuclear power plant in Illinois, seeking a 20-year extension.

The single-unit Clinton plant is a 1,062-MW boiling water reactor (BWR) unit which started commercial operation in 1987. It is currently licensed to operate until April 2027. The licence renewal, if approved, would extend to 2047.

Later this year Constellation is scheduled to file a second licence renewal for its two-unit Dresden nuclear power station, also in Illinois, which would allow Unit 2 to operate until 2049, and Unit 3 to operate until 2051.

Dresden-2 and -3 are BWR units with capacities of 894 MW and 879 MW. They have been in commercial operation since 1970 and 1971.

The move, announced in 2022 along with the plans to extend the life of the Clinton plant, marked a reversal in fortune for both power plants, which were on the road to early retirement due to unfavourable economics less than two years before the announcement.

The continued operation of Clinton has been enabled by state legislation enacted in 2016, and the enactment of the federal nuclear production tax credit in 2022 extended policy support until 2032.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Onagawa-2-restart-expected-in-September

Tohoku Electric Power Company now expects to reconnect unit 2 of its Onagawa nuclear power plant in Japan's northeastern Miyagi Prefecture to the grid in September. In January, the utility said additional safety construction works had delayed the previously planned restart in May.

Tohoku said in January that work to fireproof electric cables at the unit was taking longer than planned and it anticipated a delay of several months regarding the completion date of the safety measures.

"As a result of the completion of a thorough investigation including securing the necessary materials and equipment and workers for the construction work, as well as workability on site, the completion date of the safety measures work at Onagawa Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 has been changed from the previous date of February 2024 to June 2024," Tohoku has now said.

"In addition, the timing of 'restarting', when the generators will be connected in parallel to start generating power, is expected to be around September 2024." It added: "Our company will continue to make every effort to complete the construction work, with safety as our top priority."

Tohoku applied to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) in December 2013 for a safety assessment of Onagawa 2 - a 796 MWe boiling water reactor (BWR) - to verify countermeasures applied at the plant meet new safety standards. In late November 2019, the NRA approved a draft screening document that concluded the upgraded plant will meet revised safety standards, introduced in January 2013. In February 2020, the NRA approved the final screening report, clearing the way for the unit to resume operation. Tohoku is required to complete the countermeasure upgrades and obtain the approval of local authorities before it will be able to restart Onagawa 2.

The Onagawa plant was the closest nuclear power plant to the epicentre of the earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011, but sustained far less damage than expected. The earthquake knocked out four of the plant's five external power lines, but the remaining line provided sufficient power for its three BWRs to be brought to cold shutdown. Onagawa 1 briefly suffered a fire in the non-nuclear turbine building. The plant was largely unaffected by the tsunami as it sits on an elevated embankment more than 14 metres above sea level, but the basement floors of unit 2 were flooded.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Reactor-testing-of-HTGR-fuel-confirms-functionalit

Samples of the fuel began tests in two research reactors in 2022, with Rosatom reporting they "fundamentally confirmed the functionality of the fuel design" for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR).

In a report on progress, the Russian nuclear corporation said: "By the end of 2023, in the IVV-2M reactor, one of the batches of laboratory samples of microfuel elements developed and manufactured by JSC VNIINM (part of TVEL), and fuel compacts developed and manufactured by JSC NII NPO Luch (part of Rosatom's scientific division), achieved burnup of 11-12% of heavy atoms. This practically corresponds to the design burnup values ​​for HTGR fuel."

The temperature of the HTGR fuel was maintained between 1000-1200 °C during the process. The results of the experiments are being taken into account in developing an HTGR design and also in developing a pilot production process for HTGR fuel.

It said: "Based on the totality of accumulated experimental data (including those obtained online throughout the entire reactor experiment), Rosatom specialists have fundamentally confirmed the functionality of the developed HTGR fuel design (TRI-structural ISOtropic particle fuel, TRISO fuel)."

It added that "in the work programme for 2024-2025 it is planned to carry out at the experimental sites of the Rosatom scientific division a complex of post-reactor studies of irradiated samples of HTGR fuel, as well as reactor experiments in the limiting and emergency modes of its operation".

The HTGR project is aimed at a future nuclear power plant "as part of an investment project to create domestic technologies for large-scale production and consumption of hydrogen and hydrogen-containing products".

According to the World Nuclear Association's information paper, HTGR fuel "is in the form of TRISO particles less than a millimetre in diameter. Each has a kernel of uranium oxycarbide, with the uranium enriched up to 17% U-235. This is surrounded by layers of carbon and silicon carbide, giving a containment for fission products which is stable to 1600°C or more. These particles may be arranged: in blocks as hexagonal 'prisms' of graphite, or in billiard ball-sized pebbles of graphite encased in silicon carbide".

Concrete pouring for a 10 MW research reactor has begun at Isfahan, the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) has announced. The organisation has also declared operational a new emergency control room simulator for unit 1 at the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

"The concrete placing operation of the main structure of the 10MW research reactor was started with the presence of Mr Eslami, the head of the AEOI, in the Isfahan nuclear site," the AEOI said. "The research reactor is a pool-type multi-purpose research reactor and will be built for various uses and purposes in the fields of industry and health."

According to an AEOI announcement on 5 February, the research reactor will use fuel enriched to 20% uranium-235 and is designed to produce a high-flux source of neutrons. Its main uses will be for the testing of fuel and nuclear materials, production of industrial radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals, and development of neutron beam lines for various uses such as radiography, diffraction, material analysis, production of silicon semiconductors and cold neutron sources, and education and research.

Bushehr simulator operational

In a separate announcement, the AEOI said the emergency control room (ECR) simulator at Bushehr 1 is now operational, and is scheduled for full training use within the next few months.

The ECR is used by plant operators should the main control room (MCR) of the plant, a Russian-designed VVER-1000 pressurised water reactor, become unavailable. The ECR "is intended for activating the safety systems, bringing the reactor to sub-critical state and maintaining it for an unlimited period of time, removal of residual heat from the reactor, and monitoring important reactor parameters in case of MCR failure", the AEOI said.

All the components of the ECR simulator as well as the software needed to connect it to the plant's full scope simulator have been developed domestically, AEOI head Mohammad Eslami said.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/British-company-pioneers-new-nuclear-welding-techn

Sheffield Forgemasters has completed weld-assembly of a full-sized small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear vessel demonstrator assembly using Local Electron-Beam Welding (LEBW). It said the technique took less than 24 hours to complete four, thick, nuclear-grade welds, typically requiring a year of work to complete.

"With a diameter of three metres and a wall thickness of 200mm, construction of the vessel showcases the reliability and capabilities of LEBW, setting a dramatic new standard for weld-joining thick-walled components, previously untrialled in a demonstrator model," the company said.

Sheffield Forgemasters deployed specially developed parameters, meticulously fine-tuned during the welding development stage, including innovative sloping-in and sloping-out techniques to start and finish the weld, ensuring a clean and complete weld-join.

"We are delighted to have reached a significant milestone in assembling a nuclear vessel demonstrator, using electron beam welding for the first time at this scale, with 100% success and no defects," said Jesus Talamantes-Silva, research, design and technology director at Sheffield Forgemasters.

Michael Blackmore, senior development engineer and project lead, added: "The implication of this technology within the nuclear industry is monumental, potentially taking high-cost welding processes out of the equation.

"Not only does this reduce the need for weld-inspections, because the weld-join replicates the parent material, but it could also dramatically speed up the roll-out of SMR reactors across the UK and beyond, that's how disruptive the LEBW breakthrough is."

Sheffield Forgemasters - the only company in the UK with the capability to manufacture the large forgings required for SMRs - said the demonstration of LEBW technology's potential opens new horizons for "more efficient, low-cost and less time-heavy nuclear assemblies" and also has far-reaching implications for other projects which require thick-walled welded assemblies.

"We thank the government's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for enabling the project through its Nuclear Innovation Programme," said Jacob Pope, development engineer and LEBW machine tool installation lead. "We also thank our esteemed partner, Cambridge Vacuum Engineering, for their invaluable support throughout this endeavour. Their remote and on-site assistance played an instrumental role in the success of this milestone, highlighting the collaborative spirit that drives us forward."

"Future company activities include an upcoming joint industrial project supported by key participants from the USA and UK," Sheffield Forgemasters said. "The objective is to initiate a code case or multiple cases to facilitate the deployment of this technology in accordance with the standards set by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)."

In December, Sheffield Forgemasters said it was on track to regain ASME status as a supplier of heavy forgings and castings to the civil nuclear market, to position it for the proposed large-scale expansion of nuclear capacity in the country.

The company, which was acquired by the UK's Ministry of Defence in 2021, says an ASME Section III Division I NCA 3300, NCA 4000 and NQA-1 Code survey and audit, recommended it for Material Organisation (MO), and welding (NPT) accreditations. ASME MO and NPT status means it can supply castings and forgings (material) for civil nuclear applications and also be qualified to carry out weld construction activities on these materials.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Hyundai-E-C-set-to-build-new-Kozloduy-units

South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction is the only one of the five candidates deemed to have met the requirements for the construction and commissioning of two new Westinghouse AP1000 units at Bulgaria's Kozloduy nuclear power plant.

The project company Kozloduy NPP - New Builds Plc, had issued a call for expressions of interest in participating in the procedure for determining a shortlist of potential construction companies for engineering, construction, delivery and commissioning of a nuclear power plant​, by 2 February. It says the candidates expressing an interest were Fluor BV, Bechtel Nuclear Power Company Limited, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, a consortium led by China National Nuclear Corporation Overseas and partner China Energy Engineering Group Tianjin Electric Power Construction Co, as well as China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited.

The initial part of the selection process was to check that those expressing an interest met the qualifying criteria. These include demonstrating construction experience and the commissioning of at least two nuclear units as well as "to have solid experience in the nuclear and turbine island of at least two units or have supplied and installed equipment for two units within the last 15 years - applicants must also demonstrate at least USD6 billion in turnover and profit for the five years period from 2018 to 2022". Candidates from the Russian Federation were specifically excluded.

Kozloduy NPP - New Builds said that, after a commission carried out the pre-qualifying review, "the commission proposed for a shortlist of potential construction companies for engineering, construction, procurement and commissioning of a nuclear power plant at the approved site in Kozloduy with AP1000 technology, on the 'pass/fail' principle: Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co". It added that the commission's report had been accepted and approved by the project company.

Hyundai E&C looks set now to go forward to submit an offer in the next stage of the process.

Bulgaria is aiming to have two new Westinghouse AP1000 units at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. Deputy Energy Minister Nikolay Nikolov told Bulgaria's official BTA news agency in December that the aim was to achieve a price of about EUR6 billion (USD6.5 billion) for each of the units.

Kozloduy units 1-4 were VVER-440 models which the European Commission had classified as non-upgradeable and Bulgaria agreed to close them during negotiations to join the European Union in 2007. Units 5 and 6 feature VVER-1000 reactors that were connected to the grid in 1987 and 1991, respectively. Both units have been through refurbishment and life extension programmes to enable extension of operation from 30 to 60 years.

When the decision to move ahead with AP1000 units at Kozloduy was given approval by the country's council of ministers in October, the target date for the completion of the first unit was 2033, with the second unit to follow "two or three years after the first one". The 2300 MWe capacity of the two new units would exceed the 1760 MWe capacity of the closed first four units. The Bulgarian government has also said that further units will be needed to replace units 5 and 6 by 2050.

Westinghouse will hold overall Design Authority responsibility for the AP1000 plant, the expression of interest document said, adding: "The responsibilities for the design of individual AP1000 plant systems and buildings shall be delegated by Westinghouse. The responsibility for the design of Modules, Constructions Assemblies and Platforms is aligned with the party that is responsible for the design of the building in which the item is located."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Preparations-begin-for-new-Chinese-plant

A ground-breaking ceremony has been held to mark the start of construction of the first phase of the Jinqimen nuclear power plant in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced.

The construction of two 1200 MWe Hualong One reactors as Phase I of the Jinqimen plant was approved by China's State Council at a meeting on 29 December last year.

CNNC noted that units 1 and 2 of the Jinqimen plant have been included in the national plan and have undergone a comprehensive safety assessment review.

CNNC subsidiary CNNC Zhejiang Energy Co Ltd will be responsible for project investment, construction and operations management of the new plant, which will eventually house six Hualong One units.

Once all six units have been completed, the total installed capacity of the Jinqimen plant will be about 7.2 GWe, and the annual grid-connected electricity will be some 55 TWh, which according to CNNC is equivalent to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 50 million tonnes.

The first two demonstration units of CNNC's version of the Hualong One design at the Fuqing plant in Fujian Province have both already started up. Unit 5 entered commercial operation on 30 January 2021, with unit 6 following on 25 March 2022. CNNC is also building two Hualong Ones as units 1 and 2 of the Zhangzhou plant, also in Fujian Province, construction of which began in October 2019 and September 2020, respectively. Construction of two Hualong Ones as units 3 and 4 of the Changjiang plant, in Hainan Province, has also been under way since March 2021 and December 2021, respectively.

Two Hualong One (HPR1000) reactors have also been constructed as units 2 and 3 of the Karachi plant in Pakistan's Sindh Province, marking the first exports of CNNC's Hualong One design. Construction of unit 2 began in 2015 and unit 3 in 2016. These entered commercial operation in May 2021 and April 2022, respectively. A further Hualong One is planned as unit 5 of Pakistan's Chashma nuclear power plant in Punjab Province.

Bucharest also planning two new Candu plants at site.

Italy’s Ansaldo Energia has signed an agreement to carry out work to extend the life of Unit 1 at the Cernavodă nuclear power station in Romania as part of a consortium with Canada’s Candu Energy and South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power.

The company said it had secured a financing line of up to €2bn ($2.1bn) from state export credit agency Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero (Sace).

The memorandum of understanding with Romania’s state nuclear operator Nuclearelectrica was signed as Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu travelled to Rome for a bilateral summit.

In a statement, Ansaldo Energia said its Ansaldo Nucleare subsidiary would handle engineering and procurement for extending the life of the Cernavodă-1 plant, a a 650-MW Candu 6 unit, began commercial operation in 1996. A second unit at the suite, the identical Cernavodă-2, began commercial operation in 2007.

In 2017 Nuclearelectrica began a refurbishment project of Cernavodă-1 worth an estimated €1.85bn with the aim of extending its lifespan by 30 years.

As part of the latest deal, Ansaldo Nucleare will also help Nuclearelectrica complete the planned Units 3 and 4 at Cernavodă, in southeast Romania, the Italian company said.

Last year the Romanian government and Nuclearelectrica announced their intention to build two more Candu reactors at Cernavodă, Romania’s only commercial nuclear power station.

Four operational Candu reactors at the station would take nuclear power’s share of Romania’s electricity production to 36%, up from around 19% today.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Improved-fortunes-for-French-nuclear-sector

France's nuclear industry giants - EDF, Framatome and Orano - have each reported improved results for 2023, compared with 2022, and expect continued growth in 2024, partly due to France's plan to build new reactors.

EDF - which was renationalised last year - recorded sales of EUR139.7 billion (USD150 billion) and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of EUR39.9 billion in 2023. The group's net income totalled EUR10 billion, following record annual losses of EUR17.9 billion in 2022.

The company said its "exceptional" results were "driven by a very good operational performance, achieving a significant 41.4 TWh increase in nuclear generation in France in a context of historically high prices". It added: "Coming after the sudden drop in nuclear power output in France in 2022 due to the stress corrosion phenomenon and exceptional regulatory measures to limit price rises for consumers, these results have reduced net financial debt."

In France, nuclear power output totalled 320.4 TWh, in the upper end of the range announced for the year. EDF said: "This turnaround was achieved by good management of the stress corrosion repairs and reactor outages, thanks to efficiency and reactivity of the teams to improve the fleet availability."

As of the beginning of January 2024, 46 French reactors were online, representing total capacity of 50 GWe. Of the 16 reactors most sensitive to stress corrosion, 15 had been repaired by the end of 2023, and the final one will be repaired during its ten-year inspection, which starts this month. Additionally, the 2023 programme of checks on welds repaired during reactor construction has been completed.

EDF estimates that its nuclear output in France will be 315-345 TWh in 2024 and 335-365 TWh in 2025 and 2026.

EDF's UK nuclear fleet generated 37 TWh of electricity last year, providing about 13% of Britain's total power demand. Output was 15% lower than in 2022 due to station closures and statutory outages but nearly four times the forecast when EDF acquired the fleet in 2009.

In the UK, EBITDA was GBP3.4 billion (USD4.3 billion) and net investment was GBP3.6 billion, meaning investment was greater than EBITDA for the sixth year running. EDF said it will invest a further GBP1.3 billion in the five generating stations over the next three years in a concerted effort to keep nuclear output stable after several years of decline due to older stations retiring. This comes on top of GBP7.5 billion of investment since EDF acquired the fleet 15 years ago.

"The strong operating performance of EDF in the UK and the support of the Group enabled us to continue to invest significantly in Britain in 2023," said Simone Rossi, CEO of EDF in the UK. "EDF is a long-term partner to Britain, and I am proud of our role over 25 years strengthening the country's energy security and cutting carbon emissions."

With regards to its new build projects, EDF noted that at the Flamanville 3 EPR projects in France the tests to requalify the entire installation were successfully completed, in preparation for fuel loading in March. Meanwhile, at the Hinkley Point C project in the UK, EDF announced last month that the plant was now unlikely to be operational before 2030, with the overall cost revised to between GBP31 and GBP34 billion (in 2015 prices). It noted an impairment of EUR12.9 billion was booked, mainly relating to Hinkley Point C assets but also including EDF Energy goodwill, partly as a result of aging plants. It added that since the start of 2024 construction at Hinkley Point C was being financed by the shareholders on a voluntary basis, and EDF is currently financing all costs.

"2023 marks the return of the company's operational performance at a better level, after a year of industrial difficulties and exceptional regulation unfavourable effects in 2022," said EDF Chairman and CEO Luc Rémont. "With these good results, EDF has met its financial targets and reduced its financial debt. They also reflect the hard work put in by all EDF's teams to turn generation levels around, and provide appropriate sales offers for customers, and innovative solutions in response to the needs of the electricity system.

"Finally, 2023 saw the start of key actions for the company’s future, with an intensive focus on change and efficiency improvements so we can remain the leader in carbon-free, competitive electricity production that is available at all times. I am certain that all these steps will continue to bring benefits over the next few years."

In February 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the time was right for a nuclear renaissance in France, saying the operation of all existing reactors should be extended without compromising safety and unveiling a proposed programme for six new EPR2 reactors, with an option for a further eight EPR2 reactors to follow. EDF and Framatome are developing the EPR2 as a simplified version of the EPR design which incorporates design, construction and commissioning experience feedback from the EPR reactor, as well as operating experience from the nuclear reactors currently in service. EDF proposes to build three pairs of EPR2 reactors, in order, at Penly, Gravelines and Bugey.

EPR projects help Framatome

Meanwhile, nuclear engineering group Framatome reported revenue of almost EUR4.1 billion in 2023, with an organic increase of 9.1% compared with 2022. It said this growth was driven by the development of EPR projects in France and the UK and by an increase in service activities for EDF in France. EBITDA was EUR598 million, an increase of 4.7% compared with 2022.

"The execution of projects was well controlled, and optimisation of overhead costs continued," it said. "Production in plants was in line with customer commitments despite supply chain tensions."

Framatome noted its Installed Base Business Unit executed several primary component replacement operations for EDF on the French fleet and for Eskom in South Africa. It also strengthened its position on the highly competitive North American market, while equipment was successfully delivered to the Angra 3 project in Brazil and to Bruce Power in Canada. Framatome's Instrumentation and Control Business Unit continued to grow, driven by new build and modernisation projects in France, the UK and Central Europe. Losses were recorded in North America and have given rise to remedial actions, it said. The Projects and Components Business Unit activities were supported by the completion of weld repair work on the main secondary circuit and hot tests on the Flamanville 3 EPR. In the UK, several of the primary components for Hinkley Point C were delivered and the fabrication of forged parts and equipment for the Sizewell C project is well under way.

"2022 was also marked by the ramp-up of design engineering work for the first serial production forgings of the EPR2 programme," Framatome said. Investments have been launched within the scope of the ramp-up in production of an industrial programme linked to the EPR2 programme in France. These investments relate to manufacturing and assembly activities for the primary and auxiliary equipment components.

Orano optimistic for 2024

Fuel cycle company Orano reported revenue of EUR4.8 billion in 2023, up 13.1% on a like-for-like basis, supported by rising market prices and increased front-end and back-end activity. EBITDA was EUR1.2 billion, up from EUR1.0 billion the previous year.

"Thanks to its good results and in particular its continuous deleveraging over the past 6 years, Orano has put itself in working order to support the new nuclear energy prospects and meet the climate and sovereignty challenges," said Orano CEO Nicolas Maes. "The decision to increase our enrichment production capacity is a concrete illustration of this, and foreshadows other development projects in our nuclear base, and our new activities in nuclear medicine and the battery value chain.

"Therefore, 2024 marks the start of a new cycle of development and investment in areas that are more essential and meaningful than ever."

• Source: https://www.ad.nl/westland/westland-houdt-rekening-met-kerncentrale-als-buurman~a8cdc09f/
• Zonder paywall: https://archive.ph/W3ZDZ

De gemeente Westland gaat haar bevolking uitgebreid informeren over de mogelijke komst van een kerncentrale ‘als buurman’. Binnenkort besluit het ministerie van Economische Zaken voor een nieuwbouwlocatie van twee kerncentrales. Voorkeur heeft het Zeeuwse Borssele maar de locatie Maasvlakte 1 wordt gezien als redelijk alternatief.

Westland heeft overigens niets te vertellen over de uitkomst van de beslissing, maar wordt wel gehoord. Zij wordt bij het informatieproces betrokken omdat de Maasvlakte deels grenst aan de gemeente. De afstand tussen de alternatieve locatie en de gemeente Westland is kort; vanaf het strand van ’s-Gravenzande zijn de havenkranen op de Maasvlakte goed zichtbaar.

Westland helpt bij het informeren van bewoners, bedrijven en organisaties. Zij mag met het ministerie in deze procedure meedenken over de communicatiestrategie. In de week van 18 maart wordt in Vlaardingen een informatie-avond gehouden waarbij ook Westlanders worden uitgenodigd. De precieze datum is nog onbekend.

Andere locaties

Tijdens deze avond volgt uitleg. Met nadruk zal worden gemeld dat de Maasvlakte 1 vooralsnog alleen als alternatief wordt gezien voor Borssele. Ook zal tijdens de bijeenkomst worden gevraagd of de aanwezigen mogelijk andere locaties in gedachten hebben voor een kerncentrale. Economische Zaken wil op een later moment desgewenst ook een informatie-avond houden voor Westlandse raadsleden. Onduidelijk is of daarbij ook bewoners aanwezig mogen zijn. In het verdere verloop van de procedure zijn er nog mogelijkheden voor bezwaarschriften. Past daarna volgt een definitieve beslissing.

Site holds 85% of all UK’s nuclear waste, much of which is stored in ageing facilities.

Britain’s public spending watchdog has launched an investigation into risks and costs at Sellafield, the UK’s largest and most challenging nuclear site.

The National Audit Office (NAO), which scrutinises the use of public funds, has announced it will examine whether the site, in Cumbria, northwest England, is managing and prioritising the risks and hazards of the site effectively as well as deploying resources appropriately and continuing to improve its project management.

The findings of its investigation are expected to be published this autumn.

The NAO said Sellafield is the UK’s most complex and challenging nuclear site. It holds around 85% of all the UK’s nuclear waste, much of which is stored in ageing facilities.

Unlike modern nuclear facilities, many of the buildings at Sellafield were built with limited consideration of how they would ultimately be decommissioned.

“Cleaning up the site is a long-term endeavour, likely to last well into the next century. It is expected to cost £84 billion (in discounted prices), though this cost estimate is highly uncertain,” the NAO said.

Sellafield Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, manages the site, spending £2.5bn last year.

The NAO has reported regularly on the challenges the NDA faces at Sellafield, most recently in 2018 when it concluded that “work to reduce risk and high hazard at Sellafield has taken an encouraging turn for the better.” However, more work was required to measure, evaluate and communicate progress more effectively.

In December the UK’s nuclear regulator said it was giving Sellafield Ltd “robust scrutiny” amid concerns that the organisation’s computer systems were not secure enough.

The Office for Nuclear Regulation’s comments came after it was forced to deny claims the site had suffered a serious security breach at the hands of Russia and China-linked hackers.

A report in The Guardian newspaper alleged that state-backed criminals had infiltrated “the highest echelons” of Sellafield’s IT systems and left behind so-called sleeper malware – malicious software that is hidden and later used for spying or carrying out crippling attacks.

Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site. Primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nuclear power generation from 1956 to 2003 and nuclear fuel reprocessing from 1952 to 2022.

Source: https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/nuclear-fuel-services-awarded-122-million-contract-by-tva-for-uranium-downblending/

ERWIN, Tenn. (WJHL) — Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) was awarded a $122 million contract extension by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for the downblending of highly enriched uranium into low enriched uranium.

According to NFS’ parent company, BWX Technologies, the Erwin facility will continue downblending operations for TVA in support of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s defense programs objectives from July 2025 through June 2027.

“We are proud of the role we play in national defense and pleased that we can continue our work with the TVA and NNSA in support of this mission,” Ronald K. Dailey, NFS president, said in a release. “This contract extension also enables operations and engineering continuity with our uranium conversion and purification contract with NNSA.”

Downblending involves mixing highly enriched uranium with natural uranium, creating low enriched uranium for commercial and national defense purposes.

According to the company, NFS has been downblending highly enriched uranium since 1995, when it was awarded a government contract to downblend a stockpile of highly enriched uranium as part of Project Saphire, a secret joint operation between the U.S. and Kazakhstan to remove highly enriched uranium from the former Soviet state.

Last year, Nuclear Fuel Services was awarded a $300 million U.S. Navy contract for the production of nuclear reactor fuel for submarines and aircraft carriers.

In 2022 reactor production was lowest for 30 years.

Electricite de France returned to profit last year after a record loss in 2022 as the state-owned company benefited from rebounding nuclear output and higher power prices.

The company said it recorded a 2023 net profit of €10bn ($10.7bn), compared to a loss of €17.9bn in 2022.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) was €39.9bn, up from a loss of €4.9bn. Net debt at the end of 2023 was €54.4bn.

The group booked a €7.9bn impairment charge after tax related to its UK operations, including the long-delayed Hinkley Point C nuclear station, Britain’s first new nuclear facility in more than two decades.

“EDF has managed a turnaround in 2023, notably thanks to a rebound of its nuclear output,” chief executive officer Luc Remont said in a statement. “With these good results, EDF has met its financial targets and reduced its financial debt.”

Earlier this month grid operator RTE said French nuclear production increased 41.5 TWh in 2023 rising to 320.4 TWh, after a year in which nuclear production was the lowest since 1992.

Nuclear availability in France fell to a 30-year low in 2022 after stress corrosion problems near welds took a number of reactors offline.

According to a schedule made public last year by regulator ASN, 90% of welds identified as a priority by EDF were to be checked before the end of 2023, and all of them will be checked by the first quarter of 2024.

The problems were first discovered at the Civaux nuclear power station December 2021.

An unconfirmed report said EDF shut down its nuclear reactors for a total of 8,515 days in 2022, an increase of 46.5% from 2021.

RTE data showed nuclear production in France at about 62% on 12 February, followed by hydroelectric with 18% and gas at 11%. Solar accounted for 5% and wind for 3%.

Paris Bullish About Nuclear

International Atomic Energy Agency data puts nuclear’s share of electricity production in France at 62.6% in 2022.

France’s share of generation from its fleet of 56 nuclear plants is about 70% – the highest in the world – and Paris is bullish about the industry’s future.

France has announced plans for six new EPR2 plants – two each at the existing Penly and Gravelines nuclear power station sites in northern France and two at the Bugey nuclear station site in eastern France. Reports have put the cost of the six-unit construction programme at an estimated €52bn.

President Emmanuel Macron announced plans in February 2022 for a “rebirth” of France’s nuclear industry with the possible construction of 14 EPR2 units and operating extensions for older nuclear plants from 40 years to 50 years or more.

The only commercial nuclear power plant under construction in France is the Flamanvlle-3 EPR, which has seen delays and cost overruns.

We hit a milestone today! We're the first community on feddit.nl that reaches the 1000th posts. I've been posting, by far, most of those of course. In the mean time we're well underway to the 500 subscribers. I hope more will join in on making this a more lively pro-nuclear community on Lemmy ☺️

Source: https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsinnovative-equipment-for-handling-spent-nuclear-fuel-sent-to-akkuyu-npp-11519933

JSC Ruspolimet in Vyksa (Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region) has shipped the lead transport and packaging container TUK-137T.A1 manufactured for the Akkuyu NPP under construction in Turkiye. The equipment was manufactured by Ruspolimet for Tekhsnabexport (Tenex), Rosatom’s sales and trading division.

The TUK-137T.A1 is a new generation container designed to handle used nuclear fuel after it is unloaded from the used fuel pool. The packaging tank will be used for the placement of 18 used assemblies for their transportation and storage. The container has passed the necessary tests at the manufacturer and is certified by the Russian regulator, Rostechnadzor, for compliance with domestic safety requirements (NP-053-16) and international IAEA standards (SSR-6, Rev. 1).

The development and production of innovative containers of the TUK-137T family is part of the development of the Rosatom product line for a balanced nuclear fuel cycle (NFC). This offers customer countries a safe and cost-effective system for handling used fuel and the products of its processing. A balanced NFC provides for effective recycling of regenerated nuclear materials and a significant decrease in the volume and activity of radwaste through the reprocessing of used fuel and fractionation of high-level waste (HLW).

Tenex, established in 1963, is the world's largest supplier of nuclear fuel cycle products providing a significant part of the requirements of foreign design reactors for uranium enrichment services. For more than 60 years, Tenex has represented Russia’s nuclear industry as a key supplier in the global market. Tenex is Russia’s industry integrator for the development of international business in the field of handling used fuel and is responsible for the development and promotion of products related to its transportation, storage and processing as well as for regenerated NFC materials and conditioning of HLW.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/GNF-gets-approval-to-manufacture-higher-enrichment

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved GE Vernova's nuclear fuel business to manufacture, ship and analyse the performance of nuclear fuel with uranium-235 enrichments of up to 8%.

The NRC's licence amendment approval means that Global Nuclear Fuel's plant in Wilmington, North Carolina, is the first commercial facility in the USA licensed to fabricate fuel enrichments containing up to 8% by weight uranium-235 (U-235).

The regulator has issued a Certificate of Compliance allowing GNF to ship nuclear fuel bundles containing uranium enriched up to 8% using the company's RAJ-II shipping container. It has also approved licensing topical reports for advanced nuclear methods that enable GNF to analyse fuel with enrichments greater than 5% by weight.

U-235 is the main fissile isotope of uranium. Natural uranium contains about 0.7% U-235. Standard fuel used in today's operating light water reactors contains uranium enriched at various levels up to about 4.8% U-235, known as low-enriched uranium. But fuel containing slightly higher levels of enrichment - up to 10% U-235 - can potentially offer improved nuclear fuel cycle economics for currently operating reactors. Such fuel is sometimes referred to as higher-enriched fuel or LEU+.

Uranium fuel containing between 5% and 20% U-235 is known as high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel, or HALEU. Such fuels will be required to fuel many of the advanced reactors and small modular reactors that are now being developed.

"These regulatory milestones build on our long history of designing and fabricating fuel for the nuclear industry," Mike Chilton, GNF executive vice president, said. "We will continue to innovate to help our customers run their plants even more efficiently and be ready to support the next generation of reactor technology with reliable, flexible fuel products as the industry progresses to the use of higher enrichments."

These approvals were made possible in part by work GNF and GE Vernova's Advanced Research business have conducted for the US Department of Energy's Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) Program, the company said. Framatome, GE/GNF and Westinghouse have all been developing ATF concepts with DOE support. The NRC last year issued the first authorisation for US commercial reactor to use fuel with over 5% enrichment, allowing Southern Nuclear to use advanced nuclear fuel enriched up to 6% U-235 at Vogtle unit 2.