Nuclear Energy

Source: https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newspublic-consultation-called-in-france-on-ageing-reactors-11456583

France’s High Committee for transparency and information on nuclear safety (HCTISN - Haut Comité pour la Transparence et l’Information sur la Sécurité Nucléaire) has launched a public consultation on the extended operation of certain reactors beyond 40 years.

This consultation concerns the maintenance of 20 1,300 MWe P4 reactors at eight NPPs commissioned between the mid-1980s and early 1990s. They include Belleville 1&2, Cattenom 1-4, Flamanville 1&2, Golfech1&2, Nogent 1&2, Paluel 1-4, Penly1&2 and St Alban 1&2. They will all undergo extensive examinations by the French nuclear safety regulator (ASN - Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire) and will be modified as required. While French law does not set a maximum operating time for reactors, it requires that they are checked and validated by ASN every 10 years.

HCTISN President Christine Noiville explained that 40 years was considered the overall design life of certain equipment. “Therefore, it is normal at this time to ask whether or not the maintenance of these reactors can be continued under optimal safety conditions. And our question is not: 'is it appropriate to continue the operation or not?' It is 'if the political decision is made to do so, then under what conditions of safety it is' is conceivable’.”

Jean-Claude Delalonde, Chairman of the National Association of Local Information Committees & Commissions (ANCCLI - Association Nationale des Comités et Commissions Locales d'Information) stressed that everyone is invited to express their opinion and share their concerns. "Be assured that, in light of the feedback on the problems of ageing technology, everything is being done to ensure that our nuclear fleet continues to function well."

EDF's Director in charge of nuclear production, Etienne Dutheil said feedback was useful in the case during a similar consultation five years ago for the fourth periodic review of the oldest 900 MWe French reactors. "We had been very strongly questioned by the public on the training of staff and employees and we have made a greater effort to better prepare our staff for these changes and to better integrate training right from the design stage.”

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Russian-2023-uranium-production-exceeds-target

Rosatom's mining division exceeded its uranium production target by 90 tonnes in 2023, it told its annual Stakeholder Dialogue event. Meanwhile, progress is being made on new mining operations.

At the Priargunskoye Industrial Mining and Chemical Union (PIMCU) - the uranium production centre in the Transbaikal/Chita region - heap leaching was used to increase the processing of low-grade ores, while the commissioning of a new treatment block at Mine No 8 supported stable, uninterrupted operation and maintaining production volumes, the company said.

Meanwhile, development of Mine No 6, which will access the the Argunskoye and Zherlovoye deposits, is under way in accordance with the construction programme, the company said. All key works for 2023 were completed on time, and the first uranium from the mine is expected to be produced in 2028. Mine 6 "will become the main source of uranium production for the next 40-50 years", as further ore bodies are developed. These "will increase uranium production and guarantee the raw material independence of the Russian nuclear power industry, even taking into account the decrease in the resource base of mines No 1 and 8", Rosatom said in its Atommedia Online publication.

JSC Khiagda, the subsidiary responsible for in-situ leach (ISL) operations in the Republic of Buryatia, has started the construction of a local sorption unit at the Dybrynskoye orefield and commissioned the first stage of the Kolichkanskoye field in December.

In the Trans-Ural/Kurgan region, JSC Dalur continued to develop the Khokhlovskoye field during 2023, with Atomredmeztoloto (ARMZ) exploration subsidiary Rusburmash drilling 240 wells during the year. The central and western deposits were also developed, and work has been completed on the construction of a pilot site at the Dobrovolnoye deposit in the Kurgan Region.

"PIMCU, Khiagda and Dalur continue to expand the uranium base of the Russian nuclear power industry," said ARMZ First Deputy Director General and Executive Director Viktor Svyatetsky. "For us, it is important not only to strictly implement the plans for the existing supplies of uranium for the production of nuclear fuel. We are also working for the future, since the mining division of Rosatom is solving the most important task - ensuring the country's raw material independence with strategic metals."

ARMZ is the management company of Rosatom's mining division. Its enterprises carry out the full range of uranium mining operations from geological exploration, pilot and design work to reclamation and decommissioning of production facilities. More than 60% of Russian uranium is mined using ISL. Rosatom's mining division is also actively developing its non-uranium businesses, and is implementing projects for the extraction of gold, lithium, rare and rare-earth metals.

According to World Nuclear Association information, Russia produced 2508 tU in 2022, making it the sixth largest producer of uranium in the world, while Russian reactor requirements for 2023 were estimated at 6284 tU.

Source: https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsdukovany-3-closed-for-maintenance-and-refuelling-11456472

Czech power utility CEZ is shutting unit 3 of the Dukovany NPP for scheduled maintenance, equipment inspections and the replacement of part of the fuel with fresh fuel. Since its launch in 1987, this will be the 36th shutdown for fuel change. Since January 2023, Dukovany’s four VVER-440 units have extended their fuel campaigns from 11 to 15 months. The engineers expect the shutdown to end during April, but the exact date of the resumption of production will depend on the results of the inspections and tests.

The work will involve a total of 15,000 tasks including to check, verify and test thousands of devices and components for the next few months of safe and reliable operation of the unit. “In addition to standard maintenance, we also have 54 technical and investment actions as part of the shutdown of the third unit, which will contribute to the further modernisation of part of the equipment to ensure reliability during the next stage of power plant operation,” said Dukovany Director Roman Havlín.

The most time-consuming and technically demanding activities include checking the tightness of the thermocouple surfaces of steam generators, general maintenance of two of the six main circulation pumps, a three-year general overhaul of diesel generator number 9 and inspection of blades and equipment of both turbosets.

In addition, new power engineers will start replacing unit section switchboards with a voltage of 0.38 kV at all four units as part of ensuring at least 60 years of operation, CEZ noted. This will take place in two stages. Completion the first stage is planned for 2028 and will cost CZK400m ($17m). “We will operate our nuclear power plants for at least 60 years, and we are adapting the scope of maintenance and investment to this,” said Bohdan Zronek, member of the CEZ Board and Director of the Nuclear Energy Division.

Vladimir Putin and counterpart Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi attend ceremony by videoconference.

First concrete has been poured for the foundation slab of Unit 4 at the El Dabaa nuclear power station in Egypt, marking the official start of construction, Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.

A ceremony to mark the pouring of first concrete was attended by videoconference by Russia’s president Vladimir Putin and Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. The event was attended by dignitaries including Egypt’s prime minister Mustafa Madbouly and Rosatom’s director-general Alexey Likhachev.

Rosatom said the four-unit El Dabaa nuclear station, west of Alexandria on Egypt’s northern coast, is the largest nuclear construction project on the African continent.

Likhachev told Tuesday’s ceremony that El Dabaa is the largest cooperation project between the two countries since the construction of the Aswan Dam. He called the project “a significant event in the history of nuclear energy in Egypt and Russian-Egyptian relations”.

Africa’s only other commercial nuclear power station is the two-unit Koeberg near Cape Town in South Africa.

Russia is supplying four Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors for El Dabaa. The first unit is expected to be online in 2026.

Egypt’s regulator the Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority granted permission for construction of El Dabaa-4 in August.

An initial agreement for the project – the first commercial nuclear station in the country – was signed in 2015.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, construction of Unit 1 began in July 2022, of Unit 2 in November 2022 and of Unit 3 in May 2023.

Source: https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsrussias-bn1200-to-begin-construction-in-2027-11456363

Construction of unit 5 at Russia’s Beloyarsk NPP with a BN1200 sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor will begin in 2027, according to plant director Ivan Sidorov. The BN1200 will be the world’s largest fast neutron reactor, replacing Beloyarsk 4 with a BN800 reactor, which previously held that record. Sidorov told the Beloyarsk corporate newspaper, Quick Neutron, that work at unit 5 was on schedule. "The site for the new unit has already been determined, public hearings on the placement have been held. In accordance with the programme, we are doing engineering research, we are drilling wells for them," he said.

Rosatom is developing technologies for the transition to a competitive two-component energy system based on a closed nuclear fuel cycle (ZYTTs - Zamkhutovo Yadernovo Toplivnovo Tsikla). The operation of traditional VVER power reactors will be used to support fast neutron reactors which will reuse reprocessed fuel from the VVERs, significantly increasing the nuclear fuel base, ending the need for large scale uranium mining. The fast reactors will also be able to burn minor actinides (highly radioactive material residues from fuel reprocessing. This will reduce the amount of waste that needs to be managed.

Thanks to fast neutron reactors, the ZYTTs will expand the reproduction of nuclear "hot", plutonium, and the nuclear fuel base will significantly increase, eliminating the need for large-scale extraction of natural uranium. It will also be possible to reduce the amount and biological hazard of radioactive waste remaining after reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) - the most dangerous radionuclides (the so-called minor actinides) are planned to "burn out" in fast neutron reactors. So, it will be possible, as the nuclear scientists figuratively say, to "take out two key splinters" of the current nuclear energy sector, associated with the limited reserves of natural uranium and the delayed problem of SNF.

Currently, the basic technologies for the ZYTTs in Russia are being developed at the Beloyarsk NPP energy complex, in particular at unit 3 with a BN-600 reactor and unit 4 with the larger BN-800. Development of sodium-cooled fast reactor technology is continuing as part of the Proryv (Breakthrough) project. In 2016, the technical design of the BN1200 reactor unit was completed. Then the specialists determined how to improve its technical and economic characteristics and development of the project began. In 2018, technical specifications for the BN-1200M were approved and research and development work was continued to improve technical solutions, safety, and competitiveness of the new power unit.

British government is seeking to attract outside investors to the £20 billion project.

The British government has injected an extra £1.3bn (€1.5bn, $1.6bn) to support the construction of two France-supplied EPR nuclear plants at Sizewell C in southeast England.

The funding is the largest to date and will allow early construction works at the £20bn facility to continue ahead of a final investment decision later this year.

The money comes from existing budgets will support continuing preparatory work such as improvements to roads and rail lines around the Suffolk site, ensuring the necessary local infrastructure is in place before full construction begins, a government statement said.

It said committing further government support at this stage will help the project stay on schedule and keep down overall costs.

Andrew Bowie, minister for nuclear, said the latest funding “sends a strong message to investors that Britain is serious about its low-carbon, homegrown nuclear-powered future”.

The additional funding for the planned nuclear station comes as ministers seek to attract outside investors to the project.

It means the government has now committed £2.5bn to pave the way for the proposed Sizewell C, up from £1.7bn previously.

Sizewell C is being developed by EDF, France’s state-owned utility, and a final investment decision is due later this year.

Formal Green Light For Construction

A development consent order (DCO) triggered by Sizewell C on 15 January gave the formal green light for construction to begin and released £250m funding for initiatives for the local community and environment. A DCO is an application for consent to undertake a “nationally significant infrastructure project – major infrastructure developments that include power plants.

Investing an additional £1.3bn consolidates the government’s position as the majority shareholder in the project, reached in December 2023. It follows a £700m funding pledge in November 2022 and a further £511m agreed last summer.

Earlier this month the government announced the biggest expansion of nuclear power for 70 years, with a nuclear roadmap setting out how the UK will quadruple nuclear power generation to up to 24 GW by 2050, up from about 5.8 GW today.

The roadmap commits to exploring another GW-scale power plant similar in scale to Sizewell C, simplifying regulation and building a fleet of small modular reactors.

It could potentially lead to the construction of about 11 new large-scale reactors by 2050 – enough to meet a quarter of the national electricity demand.

Approval will be given for one or two new reactors every five years from 2030 to 2044, and backing given to another large-scale nuclear station in addition to Hinkley Point C – a project which has seen delays and rising costs – and the planned Sizewell C, each of which will have two France-supplied EPR units.

Background: Falling Output, No New Plants

The share of nuclear energy in the UK’s electricity generation has fallen to around 15% from 27% in the 1990s as older plants have been decommissioned and no new plants have come online.

The output of the UK’s fleet of nine units was 37.3 TWh last year, 15% lower than the year before because of station closures and statutory outages.

Since 2000, the UK has seen permanent reactor shutdowns at Bradwell, Calder Hall, Hinkley Point A, Hinkley Point B, Hunterston, Oldbury, Sizewell, Chapelcross, Dungeness and Wylfa. The last unit to go offline was Hinkley Point B-1 in August 2022.

The government and developer EDF started a process last year to bring private equity investment into the planned Sizewell C project, with EDF saying a sustainable commercial model is needed for a final investment decision.

EDF Energy, the UK-based subsidiary of EDF, said recently it is planning to extend the life of four nuclear power stations in the UK and invest £1.3bn in its nuclear fleet as it aims to maintain UK nuclear output at current levels until at least 2026.

The French energy company said it would make a decision on whether to extend the life of the four advanced gas-cooled reactor stations – Torness, Heysham A and B, and Hartlepool A – by the end of the year. This would require regulatory approval.

EDF Energy operates all of Britain’s five nuclear power stations that generate electricity. A further three are defuelling (Hunterston B, Hinkley Point B and Dungeness B), the first stage of decommissioning.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/MHI-completes-EDF-replacement-steam-generators

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) has marked the completion at its Kobe works of three of the nine replacement steam generators ordered by the French reactor operator.

Steam generators transfer the thermal energy generated in the reactor vessel of a pressurised water reactor (PWR) from the primary (reactor) cooling system to the secondary (turbine) cooling system, producing the steam to drive the electricity generation turbine.

The steam generators - each about 21 metres in height and weighing some 330 tonnes - are pressure-resistant vessels made with strong low-alloy steel (steel with not more than 5% alloying element). Each steam generator contains more than 4,500 heat transfer tubes made of TT690 - a state-of-the-art nickel, chromium, and iron alloy, specially heat-treated for enhanced corrosion resistance. High machining accuracy is required in their manufacture - in the order of 0.01 mm - MHI said.

MHI has now supplied some 31 replacement steam generators for reactors in France, Belgium and the USA. Fifteen of these have been supplied to EDF, which is replacing steam generators at its PWR plants that started operations in the 1980s as part of plans to extend the plants' operating periods beyond 40 years.

MHI was selected to supply the steam generators through an international bidding process and received the order jointly with its long-term collaborator Onet Technologies of Marseilles, France.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/IAEA-concern-over-maintenance-situation-at-Zaporiz

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says "a well-established maintenance plan and its timely implementation are essential to ensure plant safety and security" after its team at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant concluded, following on-site discussions, that there will not be "a comprehensive maintenance plan" implemented in 2024.

In the most recent update at the situation at Ukraine's six unit Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), which has been under Russian military control since early March 2022, the IAEA said that its team at the site had discussed maintenance activities with those running it and were shown the high-level maintenance plan for such work: "The ZNPP informed the IAEA team that the priority is to perform maintenance on the site's safety systems as well as important activities not conducted last year. The annual maintenance plan includes the safety systems, diesel generators, unit transformers and the 750 kV electrical switchyard."

It added: "The IAEA team did not receive a copy of the maintenance plan for a detailed review. However, based on discussions and information provided to the team, the IAEA concludes that the ZNPP will not be implementing a comprehensive maintenance plan during 2024."​

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said: "A well-established maintenance plan and its timely implementation are essential to ensure plant safety and security. This maintenance needs to be performed to ensure nuclear safety, especially in the current situation where the six reactors have been shut down for an extended period. It is important that the IAEA has a thorough understanding of the maintenance plans to be able to fully assess nuclear safety at the ZNPP. We will continue to monitor the maintenance situation closely."

Another issue highlighted was the return of mines in a buffer zone between the internal and external fences of the plant. The mines, in an area inaccessible to ZNPP staff, had been removed in November, and Grossi said that their presence now was "inconsistent with the IAEA safety standards".

The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) said the mines were a further sign of militarisation of the site and the lack of a comprehensive maintenance plan for 2024 would increase safety risks - it said the way to remove such risks was to demilitarise the site and return it to being operated by Ukraine's Energoatom, under the regulatory supervision of SNRIU.

According to the Tass news agency, Russian Permanent Representative to international organisations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, responded to the IAEA concerns about mines at the site by saying: "There is nothing extraordinary about the presence of landmines. It is a common measure of protection of the station from attacks and sabotage. The landmines are located between the outer and inner fences of the power plant. It is a restricted buffer zone. Power plant staff do not go there. The landmines pose a threat only for rats, crows and potential saboteurs."

He added that in accordance with the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, the power plant administration is entitled to decide on protective measures on its own. "These landmines were removed in November. Now, they appeared again. Meaning - there is a need for that," he was reported as saying.

In its round-up the IAEA also said that its teams at Ukraine's three operating nuclear power plants and Chernobyl "continued to report that nuclear safety and security is maintained despite multiple air raid alarms... with the teams at Khmelnitsky and Rivne NPPs required to take shelter on several occasions".

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Invitation-to-express-interest-in-Kozloduy-7-const

Those seeking selection for the engineering, construction, procurement and commissioning of a new AP1000 unit at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant site by 2035, have until 2 February to respond to an invitation for expression of interest.

The initial process is for prequalification of candidates against eligibility and prequalification criteria. The shortlisted candidates will submit their offers in a separate future process, says the document issued by Kozloduy NPP-New Builds Plc.

It says: "The overall objective and result of the current assignment is to have an AP1000 plant procured, constructed, commissioned and operational before 2035. Westinghouse shall hold overall Design Authority responsibility for the AP1000 plant. 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. The division of responsibilities with respect to Design, Engineering, Transport and Logistics, Construction and Erection/Installation, Commissioning and Startup activities are defined in a separate document for Division of Responsibilities, which eventually shall be part of the EP+C Contract."

The prequalification and award criteria include the technical capacity and reputation of the candidate and "experience as leading constructor in contract/s for construction and commissioning of at least two nuclear units, experience in contract/s for detailed design of systems, structures and components within nuclear island or turbine island of nuclear plant for at least two nuclear units and experience in contract/s for supply and installation of important equipment within nuclear island or turbine island of at least two nuclear units".

It also requires provision of evidence of bidders' "sound financial and economic standing". The document specifically excludes candidates from the Russian Federation.

Bulgaria is aiming to have two new Westinghouse AP1000 units at 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. It also quoted him as saying that potential construction companies had been narrowed down to Bechtel, Fluor and Hyundai, and that the Bulgarian state was expected to be the only investor in the project.

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.

Russia building south Asian Country’s first nuclear reactors.

Workers have finished concreting the containment building dome for Unit 2 of the of the Rooppur nuclear power station under construction in Bangladesh, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.

The company said the operation took 122 days to complete, five days ahead of schedule.

At a nuclear power reactor, the containment acts as a hermetic protection system, designed to withstand high external and internal pressures and protect against radiation release.

In September 2023, the 129-tonne outer steel containment dome was installed at Rooppur-2.

In June 2023, Russia said it had completed concreting of the inner containment dome of Rooppur-2, a necessary step before the installation of the outer containment superstructure.

The VVER-1200 PWR system has a two-part containment by design – one to protect from external physical influence and a second to secure the hermetic tightness around the core reactor equipment.

Russia is building two VVER-1200 pressurised water reactor units at the Rooppur site, about 150 km from the capital Dhaka, under a general contract signed in 2015. Atomstroyexport, a Rosatom subsidiary, is the general contractor for the project.

First concrete for Rooppur-1 was poured in November 2017 and for Rooppur-2 in July 2018.

The first fuel batch was delivered to Rooppur-1 in October 2023, signalling the unit is approaching the start of the commissioning phase.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Concreting-completed-of-Rooppur-2-outer-containmen

The second unit at Bangladesh's first nuclear power plant has had concreting completed on its outer containment shell, in a process which took 122 days.

Seventy five people took part in the work, including 60 from Bangladesh, with 130 cubic metres of concrete required for the last tier - concreting the entire dome on the 46-metre diameter outer containment, with its 50-centimetre-thick shell, took a total of 1233 cubic metres. Rosatom said the process was cut by five days by combining the pouring of the last two tiers.

The outer containment shell is a reinforced concrete structure that protects from external threats such as an earthquake, tsunami or hurricane. The inner containment around the reactor building was installed in June 2022 and concreted in May 2023.

Alexey Deriy, vice president and project director for the construction of the Rooppur NPP, said: "Completion of concreting of the outer containment shell of the reactor building of the second power unit allows us to begin installing the deflector of the passive heat removal system. We have to prepare the embedded parts for installation, revise the sling equipment and collect the necessary documentation for lifting the deflector of the passive heat removal system using a crane."

Rosatom in February 2011 signed an agreement for two reactors to be built at Rooppur for the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission. The initial contract for the project, worth USD12.65 billion, was signed in December 2015. The Rooppur plant, 160 kilometres from the capital Dhaka, will feature two Russian VVER-1200 reactors. Construction of the first unit began in November 2017 and it is scheduled to be commissioned in 2024. Construction of the second unit began in July 2018. They have an initial life-cycle of 60 years, with a further 20-year extension possible.

The first unit reached the same stage - completing the outer containment shell concreting - in March 2023, and Bangladesh officially became a member of the international 'club' of nuclear countries in October when the first fuel for the plant was delivered to the Rooppur site.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/STUK-requests-extension-to-repository-review-deadl

Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) has requested the deadline for its opinion on Posiva Oy's operating licence application for the world's first used fuel repository to be extended until the end of 2024. In September last year, it said it would not complete its review by the end of 2023 as originally planned.

Radioactive waste management company Posiva submitted its application, together with related information, to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (TEM) on 30 December 2021 for an operating licence for the used fuel encapsulation plant and final disposal facility currently under construction at Olkiluoto. The repository is expected to begin operations in the mid-2020s. Posiva is applying for an operating licence for a period from March 2024 to the end of 2070.

The government will make the final decision on Posiva's application, but a positive opinion by STUK is required beforehand. The regulator began its review in May 2022 after concluding Posiva had provided sufficient material. The ministry had requested STUK's opinion on the application by the end of 2023.

However, STUK announced in September that its safety assessment and opinion on the application was taking longer than expected and would not be completed by that deadline.

"Since the processing of the operating licence application dossier is still pending at STUK, STUK has requested TEM extend the deadline of the statement to the end of 2024," STUK has now said.

In its report for the last four months of 2023, STUK says the work "is proceeding without major problems, but at a slightly slower pace than previously anticipated". It added: "STUK has not always been able to make its assessments on the basis of the first pieces of data submitted by Posiva, so Posiva has had to update that data. As a result, the processing of the dossier has taken longer than anticipated."

STUK noted that in addition to preparing the safety assessment, it has also continued to supervise Posiva and the work it has performed. Items supervised include the installation of equipment at the above-ground encapsulation plant for used nuclear fuel, test runs of the equipment and the test run plans, as well as the ongoing rock construction work in the underground final disposal locations. It is also monitoring and inspecting the security arrangements of Posiva's final disposal facility, the safety culture of the organisation and Posiva's readiness to start final disposal operations.

The government granted Posiva a construction licence for the project in November 2015 and construction work on the repository started in December 2016. Once it receives the operating licence, Posiva can start the final disposal of the used fuel generated from the operation of TVO's Olkiluoto and Fortum's Loviisa nuclear power plants. The operation will last for about 100 years before the repository is closed.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/US-Administration-signs-off-on-federal-funding-for

The US Administration has signed the credit award and payment agreement finalising the USD1.1 billion in credit payments awarded under the Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) programme to help keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in operation.

The payments are through the Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) programme, a USD6 billion strategic investment under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help keep the USA's existing reactor fleet in operation. The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) plant was conditionally awarded the credit in November 2022.

"Preserving the nation's nuclear fleet is critical not only to reaching America's clean energy goals, but also to ensuring that homes and businesses across the country have reliable energy," said Maria Robinson, director of the US Department of Energy's Grid Deployment Office. The announcement "demonstrates the Administration's commitment to domestic nuclear energy by preserving existing generation, while we continue to support a stronger nuclear power industry", she added.

The payments will be made in instalments over four years of operation from 2023, with the amounts adjusted to reflect factors including the actual costs of keeping the two-unit plant in operation. The first payment, to be made in 2025, will be based on the operation of the plant in 2023 and 2024.

While nuclear power currently provides nearly 50% of the USA's carbon-free electricity, shifting energy markets and other economic factors have resulted in the early closures of some 13 of the country's commercial reactors since 2012. The CNC programme - part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Joe Biden in November 2021 - aims to address those challenges by allocating credits to "certified" reactors which can show that they are projected to close for economic reasons and that closure will lead to a rise in air pollutants and carbon emissions.

PG&E had agreed in 2016 that the two-unit Diablo Canyon plant would close at the end of its current licences - in 2024 for unit 1 and 2025 for unit 2. At that time, it was thought that the plant's output would no longer be required as California focused on an energy policy centred on efficiency, renewables and storage. However, in September 2022 - as California's energy grid saw its highest-ever peak demand during a record-breaking heatwave - the state passed a law allowing the two nuclear units that provide 9% of California's power generation to continue operation.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Global-survey-finds-high-public-support-for-nuclea

One-and-a-half times more people support the use of nuclear energy than oppose it, according to a multinational public opinion poll conducted by market research firm Savanta on behalf of energy consultancy Radiant Energy Group.

The Public Attitudes toward Clean Energy (PACE) index is described as "the world's largest publicly-released international study on what people think about nuclear energy", with data collected from more than 20,000 respondents from 20 countries.

"The PACE index was set up to track support/opposition for clean energy sources, what drives those attitudes, and how institutions can better cater to what the public wants," Radiant Energy said.

The survey found that, across the 20 countries surveyed, 28% of respondents oppose the use of nuclear energy while 46% support it. Of the 20 countries surveyed, 17 have net support for nuclear energy's use. Support was found to be more than three times higher than opposition in the world's two most populated countries, China and India.

Preference for nuclear energy was found to be larger than for onshore wind, biomass from trees, or gas with carbon capture and storage. Twenty five percent of those surveyed said their country should focus on nuclear energy, behind only the 33% preference for large-scale solar farms.

Nuclear is seen as the most reliable thermal source of energy, with 66% of respondents saying nuclear is reliable. The survey found that people who view nuclear energy as reliable have over four times more support for its use.

However more than half (53%) of respondents thought nuclear energy created a fair amount or a great deal of greenhouse gas emissions.

The cost of nuclear is seen as low by more people than the cost of wind or solar in countries that have previously phased out nuclear’s use. In Germany, Japan, South Korea and Sweden - countries that have had the largest politically-mandated nuclear phase-outs - nuclear energy is the most positively viewed technology for reducing energy bills.

Globally, 79% of respondents said they are concerned about nuclear safety. Within this group, a majority of 40% nonetheless support the use of nuclear energy while 33% oppose it.

"While support/opposition metrics provide a view of public sentiment they are a bad proxy for how the public wants governments to act," Radiant Energy noted. "Within the group of respondents who say they tend to oppose nuclear energy's use, 54% do nonetheless support government policy to keep operating existing nuclear plants and 17% wish to build more nuclear plants."

Within nuclear-powered countries, more than three times more respondents want to keep using nuclear power than phase it out. Within the four countries without existing commercial reactors, twice as many respondents want to construct new nuclear power plants rather than ban their use.

"This year may have marked a turning point for the nuclear energy industry," said Richard Ollington, Partner at Radiant Energy. "The COP28 pledge to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 meets the public’s overwhelming demand for new nuclear to be built. The nuclear industry, as well as the governments and banks that support it, should carefully listen to what the public wants and start delivering beyond what the public expects."

Radiant Energy Founder and CEO Mark Nelson added: "Governments that abandon nuclear energy are now facing a backlash from their voting citizens. It is striking that the four countries with the biggest nuclear phase-outs are now countries where the public overwhelmingly sees nuclear as being low cost, more so than even wind and solar."

Savanta questioned 20,122 adults from 20 countries between 17 October and 14 November last year. The survey was conducted online. The countries selected include all G7 and BRICS countries, the world's top 14 countries by 2022 nuclear electricity generation, the UAE, and four countries without nuclear electricity generation from across the world: Australia, Italy, Norway and the Philippines. Eighty five percent of the global population powered by nuclear were represented in the survey.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Temelin-cuts-energy-use-by-equivalent-of-a-small-t

Czech nuclear power plant operator ČEZ says that introducing new data-based techniques - encompassing things like air temperature, humidity and the temperature of cooling water - to find the optimal setting of the largest circulation pumps, cut the Temelín nuclear power plant's electricity consumption by 5400 MWh in 2023.

The director of the power plant, Jan Kruml, said: "We started working with big data for operating modes in 2021 for the first block. We have been using the method fully for both blocks since last year. Thanks to this, we managed to save more than 5000 MWh of electricity."

The circulation pumps ensure the circulation of water through the cooling towers and condensers in the engine room and using the new methods decide the best setting, using the variety of different data points. ČEZ says that operators update the setting twice a day based on the weather forecast.

Bohdan Zronek, ČEZ board member and director of the nuclear energy division, said: "The efficiency of the operation of our power plants is not only about increasing output or managed shutdowns. It is also about the savings that can be obtained through optimal traffic management. Last year's savings in Temelín alone would be enough to cover the annual consumption of approximately 1500 Czech households."

Two VVER-1000 units are in operation at Temelín, which came into service in 2000 and 2002 respectively. ČEZ says that the plant consumed 803,000 MWh of electricity during 2023, about 5% of the electricity it produced.

The Czech Republic already uses nuclear power for 34% of its electricity, generating this from four reactors at Dukovany as well as those at Temelín. ČEZ is currently weighing final bids from Westinghouse, EDF and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power for the construction of a new reactor at Dukovany. Near Temelín, an area has been designated the South Bohemia Nuclear Park and earmarked for small reactors to operate in the early 2030s. The company said last year that with the planned new build programme it expected to almost double its nuclear workforce in the coming years.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Danish-university-to-create-new-nuclear-research-c

The Technical University of Denmark is establishing a new interdisciplinary centre that will consolidate and strengthen research in nuclear power technologies.

Although research into nuclear power has been limited in Denmark over the past 40 years, The Technical University of Denmark (Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, DTU) has maintained several research environments that work with nuclear physics and nuclear technologies, thus maintaining professional expertise in the field.

Under the leadership of Bent Lauritzen, a senior researcher at DTU Physics, the new centre - to be named DTU Nuclear Energy Technology - will strengthen the collaboration between relevant research environments, currently located at the departments 0f DTU Physics, DTU Energy, DTU Chemistry and DTU Construct.

DTU Nuclear Energy Technology will ensure that Denmark continues to have strong competencies in the field and cooperate with Danish and international companies working to develop new reactor types, the university said.

The purpose of the new centre will be to: attract and support academic talent to strengthen research in nuclear energy technologies; expand capacities for teaching and supervision of students, including PhD students; create experimental facilities for such areas as characterisation of materials and simulation of new reactor technologies; and strengthen collaboration with Danish and international companies.

"The climate crisis has reached an extent that makes it crucial that we research all technologies that may be relevant in phasing out fossil energy sources," said DTU President Anders Bjarklev. "Regardless of whether nuclear power has a future in Denmark, it is important for DTU to have research in the field because we have an obligation to contribute research-based knowledge to society and our students. Our ambition with the creation of the new centre is to strengthen the part of the research that is specifically aimed at nuclear energy technologies."

DTU noted that the development of nuclear technologies has "advanced significantly", especially over the last 15 years or so. "In addition to the establishment of new, so-called Generation IV power plants as a further development of large, traditional nuclear power plants, work is being done to develop small, modular reactors," it said. "These differ from traditional plants both in terms of size, performance, and structure. A number of universities and companies worldwide - including two Danish startups - are working on developing and commercialising these small modular reactors."

"The technological breakthroughs that are happening in nuclear power these years are hugely interesting in terms of research," Lauritzen said. "New reactor technologies may well turn out to be able to contribute significantly to the world's energy supply, and this is what our research must help clarify. It is crucial that we, as a technical university, are ready to seize new technological opportunities when they arise."

Denmark had three nuclear research reactors, which started up between 1957 and 1960, at the Risø National Laboratory north of Roskilde on the island of Zeeland. DR-1, a 2kWt homogeneous unit from 1957, stopped operating in 2001 and was fully decommissioned in 2006. A 5 MWt pool reactor (DR-2) closed in 1975, and a 10 MWt heavy water reactor (DR-3) closed in 2000. Fuel fabrication facilities for DR-2 and DR-3 were closed in 2002.

The Risø National Laboratory was incorporated into DTU and is now known as the Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy. Although fission research at Risø has stopped, nuclear research (including fusion) still continues and its Hevesy Laboratory houses a cyclotron, which is used for radioactive isotope production.

In 1985, the Danish parliament passed a resolution that nuclear power plants would not be built in the country and there is currently no move to reverse this situation.

Company has plans to deploy nuclear plant in Texas and Washington states.

Canada-based advanced small modular reactor developer X-energy announced that it has successfully completed key milestones in the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC) pre-licensing vendor design review for its Xe-100 nuclear power plant.

The Toronto company submitted the design of its Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor to CNSC for a combined Phase 1 and 2 review process.

CNSC has now completed these phases and concluded there are no fundamental barriers to licensing the Xe-100, an outcome that “increases confidence in proceeding with formal licence applications in Canada”, X-energy said.

The vendor design review is an optional service provided by CNSC so staff can provide feedback early in the design process for a reactor technology. It is not an application for a licence to prepare a site or to build or operate a nuclear power facility, and it does mean that the project will go ahead.

The completion of the pre-licensing milestone underscores the regulatory and commercial readiness of the Xe-100 and demonstrates the opportunity to bring our advanced high-temperature gas reactor technology to the Canadian market,” said J. Clay Sell, X-energy’s chief executive officer.

“The work performed through the vendor design review and our engagements with the CNSC well position X-energy for future licensing applications. This is a great step forward for our high-temperature gas reactor technology and our future industrial and power generation deployments across Canada.”

The Xe-100 is an 80 MW high-temperature reactor that can be scaled into a “four-pack” 320 MW power plant, fuelled by the company's proprietary Triso-X tri-structural isotropic particle fuel.

Plans for initial deployment of the Xe-100 at US chemical company Dow’s Seadrift facility in Texas and a new commercial facility to manufacture Triso-X are receiving support from the US Department of Energy’s advanced reactor demonstration program.

X-energy has also signed a joint development agreement with utility Energy Northwest for the deployment of up to 12 Xe-100 plants in central Washington State.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10870837

"President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday finalized approval of $1.1 billion to help keep California’s last operating nuclear power plant running. "

Because renewable energy sources are too expensive?

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Newcleo-consults-NTS-on-transport-of-MOX

UK-headquartered innovative reactor developer Newcleo has commissioned Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS) to carry out feasibility studies in several areas of nuclear transport requirements, including for the transport of mixed plutonium-uranium oxide (MOX) fuel.

As part of this work, NTS will support Newcleo through investigating packaging solutions for nuclear fuel; physical security for nuclear fuel; and transport routing and asset options.

Newcleo's proposed small modular lead-cooled fast reactors would use MOX fuel. Newcleo is planning a 30 MWe lead-cooled fast neutron test reactor in France in 2030, with a 200 MWe first-of-a-kind commercial unit planned for the UK in 2032.

In June 2022, Newcleo announced it had contracted France's Orano for feasibility studies on the establishment of a MOX production plant.

"I am delighted to embark on these studies with NTS, which will cover a range of nuclear materials that are part of the Newcleo fuel cycle, including MOX fuel," said Andrew Murdoch, Newcleo Managing Director, UK Operations. "Newcleo's MOX fuel manufacturing facilities will be located in France, and movement of MOX fuel to our reactor sites, including those in the UK, will need to be managed to the highest standards of safety and security in line with stringent regulation.

"We look forward to collaborating with NTS and benefitting from their significant expertise as we build a new competitive industrial standard for nuclear in the UK and beyond."

NTS - part of the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority - oversees three specialist nuclear vessels, a fleet of over 100 locomotives, and a 700+ strong team. It operates Direct Rail Services and Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited, which deliver rail and shipping activities.

"Our work in undertaking a number of feasibility studies for Newcleo is a great example of NTS, as specialists in the transportation of nuclear fuel, using our expertise to advise external partners on how best to address their individual transport challenges," said NTS CEO Seth Kybird. "This collaboration will help to support the delivery of energy ambitions both within the UK and overseas."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/UEC-to-restart-Wyoming-uranium-operation

First uranium production at Christensen Ranch is expected in August after Uranium Energy Corp's (UEC) board of directors approved restarting the fully permitted and past-producing in-situ leach (ISL) operation - the output will be sold at prevailing spot market prices.

Uranium recovered from Christensen Ranch will be processed at the fully operational Irigaray Central Processing Plant. Irigaray, with a licensed capacity of 2.5 million pounds U3O8 (962 tU) per year, is the hub at the centre of the company's Wyoming hub-and-spoke project which includes eleven satellite ISL projects, four of which are fully permitted.

First production will be funded with existing cash on the company's balance sheet and, in line with UEC's strategy to remain 100% unhedged, will be sold at prevailing spot market prices, the company said.

"This is the moment we have been working towards for over a decade," UEC President and CEO Amir Adnani said. "Uranium market fundamentals are the best the industry has witnessed, and various supply shocks have accelerated the bull market with recent prices eclipsing the USD100 per pound level. With this exciting backdrop, we are pleased to announce our production restart in Wyoming."

Initiatives to resume production are also being advanced at the company's South Texas hub-and-spoke platform, he added.

Extensive preparations, including the re-installation of equipment, re-attachment of piping and a variety of electrical testing, repairs and upgrades to the existing facilities, were completed at the Christensen Ranch wellfields and satellite processing plant last year. Work has also progressed on a detailed wellfield startup plan, drilling to identify additional resources, and submittal of an application to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to expand the Irigaray processing plant's licensed capacity to 4 million pounds U3O8 per year.

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

Operations will initially resume at mine units 7, 8 and 10, UEC said. The company will "in the coming months" provide further information on expected volumes for the first year of production, but is currently focused on the hiring and training of additional operations personnel to augment the company's existing team. It anticipates that new hires will be from local communities.

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

Source: https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsnuclear-expert-advises-against-replacing-russian-fuel-rods-at-paks-11443001

It is neither sensible nor safe to replace the Russian nuclear fuel used in the VVER-440 reactors at Hungary’s Paks NPP with fuel from another supplier, Hungarian nuclear engineer Zsolt Hárfás said in an interview with Magyar Nemzet. “An often asked question is whether fresh Russian nuclear fuel used in the VVER-440 reactors at the Paks NPP can be quickly replaced by fuel from alternative producers. The short answer is ‘no’ because currently none of the Western manufacturers has an officially approved fuel assembly suitable for VVER-440 units,” he said.

He explained that the reason for this is nuclear safety. It takes at least five to seven years for a NPP operator to switch to new nuclear fuel from another manufacturer. “This is the case even if the new fuel has already been developed,” he pointed out. This is the time it takes for operational testing, measurements, including the removal of the used fuel and associated measures, and the licensing process by the nuclear authority. “This process cannot be compared to switching from Russian gas to, for example, US LNG overnight,” he stressed.

Although diversification may be an important consideration, this should only be considered if, in addition to the priority of nuclear safety, the alternative manufacturer is able to guarantee the same or better quality, not to mention the other conditions such as reliability and price. “There is currently no manufacturer other than Russia that has licensed fuel that meets these conditions,” he said.

While Westinghouse has been mentioned as a possible alternative, Hárfás said he did not consider the company to be professional In the context of the war in Ukraine and with EU support, it is trying to supplant Rosatom in the Central European nuclear fuel market. However, he noted that its VVER-440 fuel was not yet licensed and that the costs of its ongoing development would be passed on to future customers.

He emphasised that Rosatom has been a reliable supplier and has continued to meet its international obligations and deliveries on a continuous and timely basis despite the Ukrainian conflict. Fuel for Paks had arrived regularly and the plant now has enough fresh fuel reserves for about three years instead two as before. Hárfás added that Rosatom is constantly improving its fuels. At Paks the four units are now operating on a 15-month fuel cycle instead of 12 months as a result of these improvements.

He noted that new Russian third-generation fuel had recently been installed for the first time at unit 4 of the Czech Republic’s Dukovany NPP and that the fuel had been specially developed for the plant. He added that improved Russian fuel developed for the Czech plants had improved the physical and thermal-hydraulic properties of the fuel, increasing efficiency by providing greater performance and extending the length of the fuel cycle of Dukovany to 16 months. He pointed out that this, as well as the transition of the Czech Temelin NPP’s VVER-1000 units to a 18-month fuel cycle using Russian fuel, means that the two NPPs can now produce 2 TWh more electricity a year.

Lead-cooled nuclear plant part of pilot demonstration energy complex.

The 165-tonne steel reactor base plate has been installed at Russia’s Brest-OD-300 pilot demonstration power plant at the site of the Siberian Chemical Combine in Seversk, southwest Siberia, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.

Construction workers have also loaded the first part of the reactor pressure vessel into the reactor shaft, an enclosing structure that forms an additional barrier of protection, Rosatom said.

It said the work marks the start of major installation work at the world’s first Generation IV fast neutron reactor plant with a lead coolant.

In 2021 Rosatom announced that the concrete base slab had been completed for the plant. Construction of the plant began with pouring of first concrete in June 2021.

The 300-MW Brest-OD-300 is part of a pilot demonstration energy complex which comes under Russia’s “Breakthrough” project for the development of closed nuclear fuel cycle technology.

A closed nuclear fuel cycle means spent fuel is reprocessed and partly reused. Closing the nuclear fuel cycle would ease concerns over limited uranium resources and contribute towards making nuclear energy sustainable over the long term.

According to Rosatom, the Brest-OD-300 plant will form an integral part of the so-called Pilot Demonstration Energy Complex, a cluster of three main interconnected facilities – a nuclear fuel production plant, the reactor unit itself and a facility for irradiated fuel reprocessing.

The reactor unit is expected to become operational in 2026. The fuel production facility will be built by 2023 and the construction of the irradiated fuel reprocessing plant is scheduled to start by 2024.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/UK-invests-in-new-neutron-facility

The UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has announced plans for a new neutron measurement facility at its site in Teddington, south-west London. The new accelerator system will be six times as powerful as the one it is replacing.

NPL said the new facility "will play a critical role in the safe and secure operation and continued development of the UK's nuclear energy, defence and fusion research sectors". It will provide "all-important traceability in terms of established safety protocols and stringent regulatory compliance that ensures new-build reactors can help drive the rapid and safe expansion of nuclear power in the UK".

It noted that the new system allows the UK government to continue to "provide an enduring and resilient measurement infrastructure, ensuring that measurements can always be made in the UK with integrity and consistency", as set out in the government's 2022 UK Measurement Strategy for the National Measurement System.

The facility consists of a new particle accelerator and is one of only a few known facilities worldwide that offers precision traceable neutron standards.

The new accelerator system will be a 2.0 MV Coaxial VHC Tandetron manufactured by High Voltage Engineering Europa BV of the Netherlands, the same company that manufactured the current KN3000 Van de Graaff accelerator over 60 years ago.

NPL said the upgraded neutron facility addresses a number of current, future and emerging needs in the nuclear sector, including: the characterisation of new instrumentation and detectors required to ensure the UK's nuclear infrastructure and future reactors operate safely and efficiently; providing the expertise and facilities to enable the characterisation of neutron diagnostics, neutronics benchmark and validation experiments and nuclear cross section and decay-data measurement, to support the work at UK-based world-leading fusion research organisations and their supply chains; producing both monoenergetic and thermal neutron fields for UK Defence and Security; and the characterisation and calibration of new area survey instruments and personal dosemeter products to assure the safety of workers within the nuclear sector.

The upgrade has been funded by the former Department for Business for Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) PSRE Infrastructure Fund.

"By extending the UK's capability in neutron standards and device calibration which leads to improved accuracy and direct measurement in place of extrapolated data and therefore helping to accelerate work on advanced nuclear technologies, we are ensuring the UK is leading in this field," said NPL CEO Peter Thompson.

"This is an exciting time for UK nuclear science and this facility is a concrete example of that," added Michael Bunce, Senior Scientist and Technical Lead at NPL. "With this machine we will be able to continue to provide standards to UK and international customers with greater efficiency and reliability whilst extending our research into new areas such as nuclear data measurements in support of fusion."

Last week, the British government launched a roadmap for reaching its ambition for the UK to have 24 GWe of nuclear generating capacity by 2050, representing about 25% of the country's projected electricity demand. The plans include next steps for exploring a large-scale nuclear power plant as well as small modular reactors. The roadmap also includes a government ambition to secure 3–7 GW worth of investment decisions every five years from 2030 to 2044 on new nuclear projects.

Nuclear Minister Andrew Bowie said: "We are reviving our nuclear industry to deliver net-zero and secure our energy independence, with plans to build new large and small-scale reactors. These upgrades to National Physical Laboratory's neutron facility will enable the safe and efficient operation of our new projects, as we ramp up clean and reliable nuclear power."

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Dutch-initiative-to-boost-nuclear-workforce

With the Netherlands planning an expansion of its use of nuclear energy, various parties in the Dutch nuclear and education sectors have signed a declaration of intent aimed at boosting vocational education in nuclear technology.

Nuclear power currently has a small role in the Dutch electricity supply, with the 485 MWe (net) Borssele pressurised water reactor providing about 3% of total generation. The plant has been in operation since 1973 and is scheduled to close in 2033. Research is being conducted into keeping the reactor in operation for longer. At the end of 2022, the Dutch government announced the Borssele site as the preferred location for two new power reactors. In addition, the new PALLAS reactor for the production of medical isotopes is under construction.

"For the realisation of all these ambitions, the influx of employees with sufficient knowledge of the nuclear industry needs to be improved and increased," the partners said in a joint statement. "This requires strengthening the relationship between the nuclear sector and educational institutions, in which vocational education plays a crucial role."

A declaration of intent has now been signed by industry participants COVRA, EPZ, NRG-Pallas and Urenco and educational institutions Scalda, Horizon College/Regio College, Vonk, ROC van Twente and TU Delft.

The aim is to jointly develop a new nuclear curriculum in order to increase the interest of students for careers in the nuclear sector. The organisations will develop a multi-year plan for cooperation and will jointly explore funding opportunities.

"The collaborating partners will focus on new education packages in the field of nuclear technology and radiation protection, coordinated internship programmes and better career orientation to make students enthusiastic about a career in the nuclear sector," the partners said. "The initiators are of course open to expanding cooperation with other vocational institutions, companies and organisations."

NRG-Pallas and TU Delft are already cooperating on the Nuclear Academy programme, which is funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. The programme focuses on strengthening nuclear knowledge and skills in the Netherlands on various levels.

Source: https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Lotus-eyes-2025-for-Kayelekera-restart

Lotus Resources has entered the final phase of planning to restart the Kayelekera uranium mine in Malawi in late 2025. The Australian company is also working to optimise resources at Letlhakane in Botswana, with a resource update planned for the first half of this year.

Managing Director Keith Bowes said the company is focused on restarting Kayelekera "as soon as practicable" to benefit from "strong and increasing" uranium prices. "As such, Lotus is testing the market for debt and is focused on undertaking the necessary planned activities to prepare Kayelekera for a potential restart of production in late 2025 when the supply gap for the nuclear utilities is forecast," he said.

This target date will depend on a number of conditions being met and the successful conclusion of various actions before or as part of a final investment decision (FID), the company said. These include: finalising financing and offtake for the project; signing a power supply and power implementation agreement with Malawian electricity utility ESCOM; a front-end engineering and design programme leading directly into the detailed engineering design phase for the execution of the restart plan, which will amongst other things enable a budget to be prepared for the restart and validate timelines; and the completion of negotiations on a mine development agreement and associated fiscal regime with the Government of Malawi.

These workstreams have been prioritised so that an FID can be made as soon as possible, the company said.

Kayelekera, which is 85% owned by Lotus, has a current resource of 51.1 million pounds U3O8 (19,655 tU). The project, which Lotus acquired from Paladin Energy in 2020, produced around 11 million pounds U3O8 between 2009 and 2014, when it was placed on care and maintenance.

Letlhakane update

Work at Letlhakane - acquired through Lotus's 2023 merger with A-Cap Energy - will aim to determine if a more effective processing route can be identified to improve the project economics of the 2015 feasibility study, which had envisaged a heap leach process. This will include updating the Letlhakane mineral resource model and undertaking preliminary test work to determine the potential of upgrading Letlhakane ore, Bowes said.

"While Letlhakane is considered the longer term asset, Lotus remains focused on restarting the Kayelekera Project as soon as practicable to benefit from the current strong and increasing uranium prices. As such, Lotus is testing the market for debt and is focused on undertaking the necessary planned activities to prepare Kayelekera for a potential restart of production in late 2025 when the supply gap for the nuclear utilities is forecast," he added.