Nuclear Energy

Japan will need to maximise the use of existing nuclear power plants as AI and data centres are expected to boost electricity demand, the new economy minister said, indicating no major shift in policy under newly appointed prime minister Shigeru Ishiba.

It is natural for Japan to pursue both nuclear and renewable energy to meet growing energy demand without increasing carbon emissions, said Yoji Muto, who was appointed to the role on Tuesday (1 October).

Muto said the new administration will plan restarting as many reactors as possible so long as they are safe.

He also said that Japan will need to protect its nuclear industry by developing next-generation reactors. The government is in the process of revising its energy plan that will dictate the power mix, which is currently 70% fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal, beyond 2030.

Muto’s comments point to a continuation of former prime minister Fumio Kishida’s policy that moved Japan back towards nuclear energy as a major power source.

Ishiba had said during his campaign that Japan should reduce its dependence on nuclear energy, but later said that he would support the restart of existing plants.

Kishida said before he left office that he was working on plans to restart units at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (Tepco) Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power station.

Kashiwazaki Kariwa, the world’s biggest nuclear station with seven units and a net installed capacity of about 7,965 MW, has been offline since 2012 pending safety checks after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

12 Out Of 33 Reactors Have Resumed Operation

Before the Fukushima disaster in 2011 Japan’s fleet of 54 nuclear plants generated about 30% of the country’s electricity, but were all shut down for safety checks following the accident.

Among the 33 operable nuclear reactors in Japan, 12 have now resumed operations after meeting post-Fukushima safety standards. The restarted plants are: Sendai-1 and -2, Genkai-3 and -4, Ikata-3, Mihama-3, Ohi-3 and -4 and Takahama-1, -2, -3 and -4.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear generated about 6.1% of the country’s electricity in 2022. The Tokyo-based Japan Atomic Industry Forum said recently that the fleet generated 81 TWh of electric power in 2023, about 50% higher than 2022.

International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Rafael Grossi has expressed his support for increasing Japan’s nuclear capacity and offered Japan technical assistance as its bids to restart Kashiwazaki Kariwa.

The Board of Directors at the US Export-Import (Exim) Bank has approved a final commitment for a USD98 million loan for pre-project services needed for the development of a first-of-kind NuScale small modular reactor in Romania.

Romania's small modular reactor (SMR) project is aiming for 462 MWe installed capacity, using NuScale technology with six modules at the former coal plant site at Doicești - about 90 kilometres northwest of Bucharest - each with an installed capacity of 77 MWe. The SMR project is estimated to create nearly 200 permanent jobs, 1500 construction jobs and 2300 manufacturing and component assembly jobs, as well as facility operation and maintenance jobs over the 60-year life of the facility.

The partnership between the USA and Romania on SMRs began in March 2019 with a memorandum of understanding between state-owned nuclear power corporation Nuclearelectrica and NuScale to study potential developments. In 2021, NuScale and Nuclearelectrica signed a teaming agreement to deploy a NuScale VOYGR-6 power plant in Romania by the end of the decade. In June 2022, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to begin conducting engineering studies, technical reviews, and licensing and permitting activities for the project.

NuScale Power and RoPower Nuclear - owned jointly by Nuclearelectrica and Nova Power & Gas - completed Phase 1 of a Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) study in late 2023, which analysed the preferred site of the first VOYGR-6 SMR power plant.

In July, Nuclearelectrica and RoPower Nuclear signed the FEED Phase 2 contract with Fluor Corporation of the USA for the Doicești SMR project. Under the FEED 2 contract, Fluor will provide RoPower Nuclear with the design and engineering services required for the implementation of the project, at the end of which there will be an updated cost estimate and schedule as well as the safety and security analyses needed for a final investment decision.

The Exim Bank issued a Letter of Interest in May 2023 for potential support for up to USD99 million to RoPower Nuclear for design studies - alongside expressions of interest from public and private partners from Japan, South Korea and the UAE – together amounting to up to USD275 million in early-stage support. These commitments, along with new pledges by Romania, support procurement of long-lead materials, completion of the FEED analysis, provision of project management experts, and regulatory site activities. In addition, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Exim also issued Letters of Interest for potential support of up to USD1 billion and USD3 billion, respectively, for project deployment.

Exim's Board of Directors has now approved a final commitment for a USD98 million loan under its Engineering Multiplier Program for pre-project services. It is estimated that the transaction would support 400 US jobs.

As well as Nuclearelectrica, RoPower Nuclear, Nova Power & Gas (part of the E-INFRA group and joint owner of RoPower) and Fluor, Samsung C&T Corporation and Sargent & Lundy are also involved in works to facilitate the development and deployment of NuScale SMR power plants in Romania.

The Exim Bank is the USA's official export credit agency with the mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating US exports. To advance American competitiveness and assist US businesses as they compete for global sales, Exim offers financing including export credit insurance, working capital guarantees, loan guarantees, and direct loans.

US nuclear capacity has the potential to triple from about 100 GW in 2024 to about 300 GW by 2050 with a widespread surge in electricity demand after decades of stasis increasing the need for and interest in nuclear, a report by the US Department of Energy says.

According to the report, Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Advanced Nuclear, much of this load growth is being driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres with a particular need for carbon-free 24/7 generation concentrated in a limited footprint.

This provides a set of customers who are “willing and able to support investment in new nuclear generation assets”, the report says.

Combined with incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, which created new incentives for the generation of electricity from nuclear power plants, this demand has created “a step change” in the valuation of the existing fleet and new reactors.

“In 2022, utilities were shutting down nuclear reactors; in 2024, they are extending reactor operations to 80 years, planning to uprate capacity, and restarting formerly closed reactors,” the report says.

But it warns that a committed orderbook of 5-10 deployments of at least one reactor design is the first essential step for catalysing commercial liftoff of advanced designs.

“These 5-10 reactors should be of the same design as construction costs are largely expected to decrease based on repeat building and learning by doing,” it says.

The report says tripling nuclear capacity by 2050 likely will require both Generation III+ and Generation IV advanced nuclear reactor designs.

Gen III+ reactors are evolutions of the existing US operating fleet. They use water as a coolant, use low-enriched uranium as fuel and have passive safety systems.

Generation IV reactors will use non-water coolants and fuel that are not currently used by the US fleet and will offer multiple advantages, including expanded use cases such as high temperature heat for industrial applications.

Advanced nuclear includes a range of “proven and innovative” technologies and includes three size categories – large, small, and micro.

Primary Barrier To Deployment Is Cost

Modelling shows the US will need at least 700-900 GW of additional clean firm capacity to reach net-zero and nuclear is seen as one of the few proven options that could deliver this at scale.

The primary barrier to committing to new nuclear projects is cost, or cost overrun risk. Measures including sharing costs to lower barriers to entry, either among private sector companies or with the government, and ensuring on-budget delivery through improved cost estimating and implementing best practices, can help to overcome this, the report finds.

The report says nuclear does not displace or compete with renewables. Decarbonisation will require both new nuclear and renewable capacity.

“Including nuclear and other clean firm resources reduces the cost of decarbonisation by reducing the need for additional variable generation capacity, energy storage, and transmission,” the report says.

The existing US fleet of 94 nuclear reactors at 54 sites provides about 20% of US electricity generation and almost half of domestic carbon-free electricity.

Investing in subsequent licence renewals is essential for maintaining the existing fleet: of the 94 operating US reactors, 84 have licences that will expire before 2050 and 24 have licences that will expire before 2035, the report says.

Power uprates totalling about 2-8 GW could add near-term capacity to existing reactors.

President Alexander Lukashenko told International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi Belarus would not "in our worst nightmare" seize Chernobyl and then be answerable for it.

The two men held talks on Tuesday during a visit by the head of the IAEA to the country, which also included a tour of Belarus's first nuclear power plant, which has been providing 25% of the country's electricity since its second unit entered commercial operation last year.

Lukashenko praised the work of the agency "related to the safety of nuclear power plants, especially those plants that actually ended up in the combat zone - Zaporizhzhia and Kursk" and added "you should know that we are committed to security, peace and we will do everything we can, everything that depends on us, to ensure regional nuclear security".

He then said there had been suggestions Belarus wanted to seize the Chernobyl nuclear power plant site, about 20 kilometres across its border with Ukraine, and said the idea was "complete stupidity ... we did not build, we did not service and we did not blow up. And the main disaster fell on a quarter of our territory. And we are still struggling with the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster". The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was built when Belarus and Ukraine were part of the Soviet Union. Since the accident in 1986, there has been an exclusion zone around the plant including areas on both sides of the border.

The president added that the country was looking forward to continuing to work with thje IAEA in the future on the safety and operation of its nuclear units and said they would be willing to share their experience with the IAEA and any country thinking of embarking on a nuclear energy programme because "we built it, figuratively speaking, from scratch. We had no specialists, no experience, no knowledge in operating a nuclear power plant. But we learned this, trained specialists in time".

The presidential website's report of the meeting quoted Grossi as saying: "I am particularly pleased to hear that at the highest level - at the level of the head of state - the most serious commitment to ensuring nuclear safety is being expressed. This says a lot - first of all, about the professionalism that your country has, having gone through a long path to becoming a power producing nuclear energy ... and it serves as an example of how a country can work with the agency, how closely it can interact with experts and missions of our organisation and show, in particular, the openness of your country" to the issue of nuclear safety.

The official Belta news agency reported Grossi as telling reporters afterwards: "We discussed a number of very important issues in an open and trusting atmosphere. First of all, this concerned the delicate situation in the region, the conflict in Ukraine, the challenges and dangers that the situation in the region poses. I was able to inform Mr President in detail about the work of the IAEA, which our agency has been conducting since the very beginning of the conflict, to ensure nuclear safety at nuclear power plants in Ukraine."

Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Viktor Karankevich, former Energy Minister, said, after the visit to the Belarusian nuclear power plant in Ostrovets: "Interaction with the agency will continue ... we have already started preparing the next IAEA mission on operational safety ... we intend to expand our cooperation in new areas, including in the field of radioactive waste management. The experience and achievements of the world community will be used in the framework of the project to build a national burial site for radioactive waste."

Grossi called it "a great honour and joy for me to finally visit Ostrovets after so many years of working together on this project ... the IAEA was involved in the Belarusian NPP project ... from the very beginning - on issues of choosing the location of the plant, developing rules for interaction in emergency situations, work in the initial operational stage. Now we have the opportunity to talk about supporting the plant ... we are ready to continue our communication within the framework of interaction on waste processing issues".

Nuclear power in Belarus

The existing Belarus nuclear power plant is located in Ostrovets in the Grodno region. A general contract for the construction was signed in 2011, with first concrete in November 2013. Rosatom began construction of unit 2 in May 2014. There are now six VVER-1200 reactors in operation in total, with four in Russia. The first Ostrovets power unit was connected to the grid in November 2020 and, the energy ministry says, the plant will produce about 18.5 TWh of electricity per year, equivalent to 4.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas, with an annual effect on the country's economy of about USD550 million. The second unit was put into commercial operation on 1 November 2023. Together they are generating about one-quarter of the country's electricity.

The country has been considering the option of a second nuclear power plant, with Karankevich saying in December 2023 that experts were looking into the costs and the requirements for future electricity capacity growth, saying: "We intend to reach 44 billion kWh of electricity in 2025. By 2030 we have to reach 47 billion kWh ... as we decide in favour of the second nuclear power plant or the third unit (at Ostrovet), we have to analyse the year 2040 instead of 2030 or 2035." He said that if a second nuclear power plant was built, Belarus would become a world leader in terms of share of its energy which comes from nuclear.

TerraPower Isotopes announced it is producing the actinium-225 at commercial scale. The medical radioisotope is being produced from material recovered from a legacy uranium-233 inventory at a US national laboratory.

In November 2019, nuclear innovation company TerraPower, Isotek Systems and the US Department of Energy (DOE) signed a public-private partnership agreement to use material recovered from the legacy uranium-233 (U-233) inventory at the DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to increase the supply of the medical radioisotope actinium-225 (Ac-225).

AtkinsRéalis subsidiary Isotek - a federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge - is responsible for the removal of the inventory of U-233 currently stored at ORNL. Under the agreement, Isotek extracts thorium-229 (Th-229) from the U-233, which TerraPower then uses for the production of Ac-225.

Oak Ridge's U-233 inventory is a legacy of Cold War-era operations and its disposition is the DOE Office of Environmental Management's highest priority at the Tennessee site. It is stored in Building 3019, which has been described as the oldest operating nuclear facility in the world.

TerraPower Isotopes (TPI) - a subsidiary of TerraPower - has now announced it is producing Ac-225 at commercial scale, "providing sustained access to highly pure Ac-225 to the global pharmaceutical community through weekly production runs".

Ac-225 is a short-lived alpha-emitting isotope that can be used in a form of treatment known as targeted alpha therapy. This therapy, in which a molecule such as a monoclonal antibody is combined with an alpha emitter such as Ac-225, has the potential to treat a variety of cancers, targeting solid tumours, metastases, and systemic cancers such as leukemia. However, the scarcity of Ac-225 - sometimes described as one of the world's rarest radioisotopes - is limiting its development and therapeutic use.

"This scale-up of production capacity of TerraPower Isotopes' actinium-225 opens a new chapter in the development of cancer treatment options, and I'm proud to be part of the journey," said Scott Claunch, president of TerraPower Isotopes. "We are proud to be the first company to provide actinium-225 at this scale, transforming how the pharmaceutical industry approaches cancer treatment with targeted alpha therapies."

TPI said it uses a natural decay method to produce Ac-225 that is free of isotopic impurities. "This method increases the efficiency and automation of the process, which enables TPI to produce a significant, consistent supply of the isotope to the market."

It added: "TPI's collaboration with Isotek reduces the cost associated with the ultimate disposal of uranium-233, while enabling a secure supply chain for the actinium-225 isotope."

Australia's only nuclear reactor - the OPAL multi-purpose research reactor - has officially returned to power and recommenced operations, following a months-long planned shutdown to carry out essential maintenance and upgrades including a complex operation to replace the unit's cold neutron source (CNS).

Planning and design activities commenced in 2015, working towards the planned shutdown in March this year. As well as the replacement of the CNS - a three-metre-tall device next to the reactor core which slows down neutrons as they travel from the OPAL reactor through to the large scientific neutron beam instruments - the shutdown also included the replacement of the First Reactor Protection System, a primary system required for reactor safety.

Planning for the project included the construction of a full-scale mock-up of the CNS and reactor environment which allowed team members to undertake comprehensive training in conditions which mimicked the real environment. The mock-up was also used for developing the process for replacing the CNS and the specialist tooling required. Multiple practice runs of the removal and installation of the CNS, and crane manoeuvres using the life-size OPAL mock-up, were carried out over the year before the planned shutdown, and more than 100 bespoke hand-tools were designed and created by ANSTO's engineering workshop to support a unique range of maintenance activities.

Replacement of the CNS was a first-of-a-kind operation for Australia's nuclear science and technology organisation. General Manager for the OPAL Reactor, David Vittorio, said: "Since OPAL commenced operations 17 years ago, we've been in a constant state of forward planning for regular, scheduled maintenance periods to ensure OPAL continues to operate safely, reliably, and efficiently.

"This planned shutdown has been the most significant maintenance and upgrade programme in OPAL's history to date. We're very fortunate to have extensive engineering and maintenance expertise, and decades of experience in running nuclear research reactors to accomplish these types of projects."

The replacement CNS is slightly larger than the original one, and will increase the performance to 8 of the centre's 15 neutron beam instruments. Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering Director Jamie Schulz said: "The neutrons produced by OPAL support our unique facility and scientific instruments, allowing our researchers and industry partners to study the structure and dynamics of samples, such as molecules, polymers, proteins, and viruses."

The 20 MW OPAL reactor was officially opened in 2007 as a replacement for the HIFAR research reactor which operated from 1958 to 2007. It produces medical radioisotopes as well as enabling the supply of more than half of the global demand for irradiated silicon for use in electronics and green technologies. These functions were temporarily paused during the reactor shutdown, and ANSTO worked with alternative suppliers overseas to import critical nuclear medicine products while the reactor was out of service.

The World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) governing body has said it will continue to support all nuclear power plants so none become isolated from "industry interaction needed to support the highest levels of nuclear safety".

The resolution, which came at WANO's 17th Biennial General Meeting in Abu Dhabi in the UAE, also says: "We declare our firm intention to provide a focused support to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Kursk nuclear power plant and other nuclear power facilities located close to areas of military operations, to the extent necessary for maintaining their safe operation, within WANO competence and mandate."

It adds: "We reaffirm that every effort must be taken to ensure no interference in the nuclear operators’ ability to safely perform their work at any nuclear power plant in the world; and ... we are dedicated to maintaining WANO unity in supporting all nuclear power plants in the world, ensuring that no member nuclear power station becomes isolated either from the industry or from industry interaction needed to support the highest levels of nuclear safety."

The resolution concludes: "We urge all members to promptly and thoroughly review key SOER (Significant Operating Experience Reports) recommendations ... to help ensure readiness to maintain nuclear safety in the face of military conflict, severe weather events or other disruptive situations ... we restate our position that nuclear operators cannot be hindered in their ability to safely operate nuclear power plants, and we urge all parties to respect the IAEA's seven indispensable pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security and the five concrete principles and restrain from actions that can initiate or prevent mitigation of a safety event."

The gathering, held every other year, brought together more than 400 delegates from 35 countries. WANO CEO, Naoki Chigusa, said it reinforced "our collective commitment to work as one team in supporting each other on the ongoing journey to achieve higher levels of performance. With around 60 nuclear units under construction worldwide, this year's event included special emphasis on supporting new entrants and emerging technologies".

The assocation also launched its revised strategy Unity Towards Nuclear Excellence with a "renewed focus to support new nuclear units start up safely and reliably over the next decade".

WANO Chairman Tom Mitchell, said: "The great engagement and participation of delegates at this conference underlines the unity of this unique association. It is the key principle that underpins the success of WANO since its establishment."

Outgoing WANO President Mohamed Al Hammadi said: "With renewed momentum in the nuclear sector to deliver new units to generate clean, baseload power, WANO will fulfil an important role in supporting these new units and the wider global fleet. Together, we will continue to build on our successes and remain dedicated to our mission of collaboration knowledge-sharing for nuclear safety and reliability."

WANO is a not-for-profit international organisation established in 1989 by the world's nuclear power operators to exchange safety knowledge and operating experience among organisations operating commercial nuclear power reactors. It currently has 460 nuclear units as members, with 60 under construction.

The organisation is well known for the on-going support operating nuclear power units provide and receive from each other, and it has created an earlier stage category of membership for an organisation during the tendering, licensing, construction and commissioning phase of a new nuclear power plant, with the intention that they will transfer to a full voting member at the time of pouring of first nuclear concrete on the nuclear island.

France's Framatome has signed a memorandum of understanding with Czech utility ČEZ on the development of fuel for VVER-1000 pressurised water reactors. ČEZ operates two VVER-1000 units at its Temelín plant.

ČEZ - which also operates four VVER-440 reactors at its Dukovany plant - began a process of diversifying its fuel suppliers with a 2018 tender process, with contracts signed in 2022 for Westinghouse and Framatome relating to Temelín, and a 2023 contract with Westinghouse for Dukovany. It has previously received fuel supplied by Russia's TVEL.

"We are pleased to take another step in the development of a Framatome own-design VVER-1000 fuel design, with a view to ensuring the safe, reliable and uninterrupted operation of the VVER nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic and beyond," said Lionel Gaiffe, senior executive vice president of the Fuel Business Unit at Framatome. "Framatome is the fuel supplier which can guarantee a 100% sovereign European technology, with a fully European design and product, and manufacturing facilities and a fuel component supply chain located and operated in the EU."

"The first key step to strengthen the energy security of the Czech Republic taken by ČEZ Group was ensuring fuel deliveries and increasing the number of fuel suppliers," said Bohdan Zronek, director of the nuclear energy division for ČEZ. "Another step is the collaboration on the new fuel development with Framatome. ČEZ Group has long been focused on enhancing the safety and efficiency of its nuclear power plants, as well as ensuring their operation for at least 60 years. These initiatives are part of our strategy that aligns with our strategic direction."

In 2022, ČEZ also decided to increase its fuel reserves stored at its nuclear power plants, to boost energy security and it says the new fuel types meet the requirements of the switch to longer fuel cycles - of 16 months at Dukovany and 18 months at Temelín.

Nineteen VVER reactors - developed during the time of the Soviet Union and historically reliant on Russian fuel supplies - are currently in operation in the EU, including four VVER-1000 reactors in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, and 15 VVER-440 reactors in the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary and Slovakia.

"The international context has accelerated the need for a Framatome sovereign VVER fuel design to reduce the risk of interruption in the supply of critical services and to reduce dependency on imports from outside of Europe," Framatome said.

It said it was advancing the development of a fully European sovereign nuclear fuel product for both VVER-440 and VVER-1000 reactors, with the support and cooperation of European VVER operators. Framatome has been working on its own-design fuel for VVER reactors since 2018. The company has three nuclear fuel fabrication facilities: Romans in France; Lingen in Germany and Richland in the USA.

ČEZ selected Westinghouse in February 2016 to supply six Lead Test Assemblies for the Temelín plant. In August 2018, ČEZ announced plans to test six Westinghouse fuel rods in unit 1 of the plant.

Temelín has a unique fuel design operating currently and therefore careful testing with limited fuel introduction over a period of two years was required to ensure safe compatibility with existing fuel. Westinghouse has developed a modified Robust Westinghouse Fuel Assembly design for use at Temelín. The new design includes fewer spacer grids for the assembly to be compatible with non-Westinghouse fuel, and material upgrades to further improve fuel economy and performance.

Westinghouse Electric Company has announced that it will transform its Operating Plant Services business into two new global business units - Long-Term Operations and Outage & Maintenance Services - as of the beginning of 2025.

The new Long-term Operations (LTO) business unit will develop and deliver innovative solutions across engineered solutions; instrumentation and controls systems; training and resource solutions; and parts that support the global operating fleet of nuclear power plants.

Meanwhile, the new global Outage & Maintenance Services (OMS) business unit will deliver outage, maintenance, inspection, welding and refurbishment services for operating nuclear power plants in the Americas, EMEA and Asia regions.

Westinghouse said the new organisation "reflects the increased market focus on extending the operating life of today's nuclear fleet and delivering optimised performance to existing reactor operators". It added that the new structure will "enhance customer value by elevating these respective segments within the enterprise and better positioning our teams to deliver our technical solutions for our clients worldwide".

The OMS business unit will be headed by Luca Oriani, currently senior vice president of Global Engineering & Components Services, while the LTO business unit will be headed by Marie Blanc. Dan Sumner, current president of the global Operating Plant Services business, plans to leave Westinghouse in early 2025 to pursue a personal project.

Westinghouse President and CEO Patrick Fragman said: "Westinghouse is a global leader in delivering solutions that enable the installed nuclear fleet to operate their plants effectively, safely and as long as possible."

Dutch nuclear energy development and consultancy company ULC-Energy BV has completed a study - supported by C-Job Naval Architects - analysing the design and economic implications of using civil nuclear reactor technology to power a Newcastlemax bulk carrier.

The study compares a nuclear-powered Newcastlemax bulk carrier - a cargo vessel with a maximum beam 50 metres and maximum length overall of 300 metres - with one powered by conventional very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and one powered by green ammonia. In collaboration with independent ship design and engineering company C-Job, the study explores the design impact, greenhouse gas emissions, and commercial performance for each fuel type.

The study concluded that the structural and safety modifications needed to integrate a nuclear reactor into a Newcastlemax bulk carrier would have minimal impact on its cargo capacity. In addition, nuclear propulsion offers the lowest operational cost per tonne shipped, significantly lower than alternatives like ammonia or VLSFO. While the lower fuel costs of a nuclear-powered ship are partly offset by the higher capital expenditures required to construct the vessel, the study found that a nuclear-powered Newcastlemax bulk carrier could sail longer, faster, and cheaper, all without producing greenhouse gas emissions.

Furthermore, it said a nuclear-powered Newcastlemax has nearly zero greenhouse gas emissions, lower even than a ship powered by green ammonia, demonstrating the potential of nuclear propulsion to support the shipping industry's decarbonisation goals.

"This latest study from ULC-Energy furthers our mission to deliver unique, fundamentals-based analysis on the integration of nuclear technologies into various industries," said ULC-Energy CEO Dirk Rabelink.

Niels De Vries, head of energy at C-Job, added: "The study is another remarkable milestone for the adoption of nuclear power in marine vessels. It shows how C-Job can work in a flexible manner with its clients and combine knowledge in designs that create significant value. Furthermore, it is another great example of the capability of C-Job with system integration and risk-based design to ultimately make shipping more sustainable. We valued the collaboration with ULC-Energy, specialists on nuclear technology and fuel, and look forward to working together on future projects."

The study acknowledged that civil nuclear maritime propulsion faces licensing, operational, and other challenges. "Given that most nuclear reactor designs being considered for maritime use are still in the conceptual phase, current estimates for the capital costs of such ships are limited; however, accuracy will improve as projects mature," ULC-Energy said.

"One possible drawback in the use of a nuclear propulsion system is the cost of its installation," according to C-Job. "However, this is offset by the low operational expenditures and by the fact that a reactor can be used for its entire service life, either in a second ship or by extending the service life of the first ship."

In February, ULC-Energy completed a study commissioned by global mining company BHP to investigate the potential use of civil nuclear technologies to power commercial maritime vessels. That study compared key characteristics of various civil reactor designs against the requirements for the potential use in commercial maritime shipping and evaluated a range of regulatory, operational and commercial challenges, such as port access, licensing and vessel classification, capital costs, and crew training and certification.

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

Unprecedented load growth, renewed interest in AP1000s, and increased recognition of the value of the existing nuclear fleet - including plans to restart closed reactors - have prompted the US Department of Energy to issue an updated version of its Pathways to Commercial Liftoff - Advanced Nuclear report.

Pathways to Commercial Liftoff is a series of reports launched by the Department of Energy (DOE) to provide public and private sector capital allocators with a perspective as to how and when various technologies could reach full-scale commercial adoption, including a common analytical fact base and critical signposts for investment decisions. The first four Liftoff Reports - designed as "living documents" to be updated as the commercialisation outlook on each technology evolves - on clean hydrogen, advanced nuclear, and long duration energy storage, were published in March last year.

The DOE launched the updated Advanced Nuclear report on Monday at the same time as it announced nearly USD3 billion in federal loan guarantees and grants to support the repowering of the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan, which shut down in 2022.

Since the publication of the last iteration of the report, a widespread surge in electricity demand after decades of stasis has increased the need for and interest in nuclear, the report says. Much of this load growth is being driven by artificial intelligence and data centres with a particular need for carbon-free 24/7 generation concentrated in a limited footprint.

"In 2022, utilities were shutting down nuclear reactors; in 2024, they are extending reactor operations to 80 years, planning to uprate capacity, and restarting formerly closed reactors," the report notes.

Nuclear provides a differentiated value proposition for a decarbonised grid, the report finds. It generates carbon-free electricity, provides firm power that complements renewables, has low land-use requirements, and has lower transmission requirements than distributed or site-constrained generation sources, as well as offering high-paying jobs and significant regional economic benefits.

The report identifies a committed orderbook of 5-10 deployments of "at least one reactor design" as the first essential step for catalysing commercial liftoff. If those 5-10 reactors are of the same design, construction costs are largely expected to decrease based on repeat building and learning by doing.

The primary barrier to committing to new nuclear projects cited by many potential customers is cost, or cost overrun risk, but measures including sharing costs to lower barriers to entry, either among private sector companies or with the government, and ensuring on-budget delivery through improved cost estimating and implementing best practices, can help to overcome this, the report finds.

Another barrier identified in the report is the lack of "nuclear and megaproject delivery infrastructure" in the USA, and it says this must be addressed: "The integrated project delivery model aligns incentives between owners and contractors to deliver projects on-time and on-budget. Funding constructability research could target the drivers of cost overruns and improve project delivery".

Economies of scale

When it comes to costs, the report finds, large reactors provide "powerful economies of scale", with generating costs at multi-units plants 30% cheaper per MWh than single unit plants. This makes large reactors a good solution for bulk electricity generation.

Because civil works construction drives capital costs, the value proposition for small modular reactors (SMRs) centres around maximising design standardisation and factory production, and while SMRs may be more expensive than large reactors in terms of dollars per MW and dollars per MWh, they potentially offer a smaller overall project costs and "may be the right fit for certain applications", such as replacing smaller retiring coal plants or industrial processes requiring high temperature heat, the report finds.

Microreactors, too, could serve a variety of use cases where their compact size, transportability, and reliability are highly valued, the report finds. However, to justify investment in manufacturing facilities, microreactor designers may require a committed orderbook of some 30-50 reactors, it says - but notes that an orderbook of 50 reactors "would only amount to 500 MW total for 10 MW reactors, which could be achievable for a single industrial customer".

Since the first edition of the Liftoff report was issued, Vogtle units 3 and 4 have entered commercial operation. The two AP1000s were the first new nuclear units to be constructed in the USA in more than 30 years, and Vogtle is now the largest generator of clean energy in the USA - but lessons have been learned, the report notes.

"Delivering the first projects reasonably on-time and on-budget will be essential for achieving liftoff of the next wave of nuclear in the US; Vogtle provides essential lessons for project delivery," the report says. It also says that the costs of those two units "is not the correct anchor point for estimating additional AP1000s given costs that should not be incurred again".

"The nuclear industry is building momentum to break the commercial stalemate as utilities and other potential customers see the successful operation of Vogtle Units 3 and 4, anticipate sustained electrical load growth, and internalise IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) benefits. However, the industry must overcome remaining barriers to achieve liftoff," the report says.

"New nuclear has a critical role in decarbonisation, strengthening energy security, reliability, and affordability while providing high-quality, high-paying jobs and facilitating an equitable energy transition. Industry, investors, government, and the broader stakeholder ecosystem each has a role to play in ensuring new nuclear achieves commercial liftoff and rises to meet the challenge in time."

The report is a collaborative effort of the US DOE Loans Programs Office, Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, Office of Nuclear Energy, Office of Technology Transitions, Office of Policy, and Argonne National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory.

The US Department of Energy has finalised a USD1.52 billion loan guarantee for Holtec International's project to recommission the single-unit pressurised water reactor, and the Department of Agriculture has issued USD1.3 billion in grants to two rural electric cooperatives that will purchase power from the restarted plant.

The Department of Energy (DOE) conditionally committed to the loan guarantee in March. Today's announcement is the first closing of a loan guarantee through the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) programme under Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Section 1706, first authorised and appropriated under the US Inflation Reduction Act. The EIR programme can finance "projects that retool, repower, repurpose, or replace energy infrastructure that has ceased operations or enable operating energy infrastructure to avoid, reduce, utilize, or sequester air pollutants or greenhouse gas emissions". According to the DOE, USD52.8 billion in Section 1706 (EIR) projects have been submitted to date or are expected to be submitted in the next 120 days.

"This project will bring a retired nuclear power plant back to life for the first time in American history and deliver reliable, affordable clean power to rural areas in Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois - showing how the Inflation Reduction Act is revitalising communities across the Midwest," said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy. "Today's investments will create good-paying, union jobs - many of them for workers who've been at the plant for more than two decades."

The single-unit pressurised water reactor, on the shores of Lake Michigan, ceased operations in May 2022. Holtec agreed to purchase the 800 MWe unit from then-owner and operator Entergy in 2018, ahead of the scheduled closure, for decommissioning, completing the acquisition in June 2022. But the company then announced plans to apply for federal funding to enable it to reopen the plant.

Last year, Holtec signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Michigan non-profit Wolverine Power Cooperative to purchase two-thirds of the power generated from a reopened Palisades, with Wolverine's partner Hoosier Energy, which supplies member electric cooperatives across Indiana and Illinois, purchasing the balance. Shortly afterwards - in October 2023 - Holtec formally began the process of seeking reauthorisation from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to restart Palisades.

Earlier this month, Wolverine and Hoosier were among 16 rural electrical cooperatives announced by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to receive a share of more than USD7.3 billion in financing for rural electric cooperatives to build clean energy for rural communities across the country through its Empowering Rural America (New ERA) programme. Today, the USDA announced the award of more than USD650 million to Wolverine and USD675 million to Hoosier. Hoosier is to use the funding to help it procure 369 MWe of nuclear energy through the restart of Palisades and 250 MWe of renewable energy annually, while Wolverine will use its New ERA investment to purchase 435 MW of power from the plant.

According to Wolverine, the project to restart Palisades will reduce carbon emissions by nearly 2 million tonnes annually, putting the cooperative’s members on track to reach 100 percent carbon-free energy before 2030, as well as "restoring and maintaining" a highly-skilled workforce of 600 and supporting key initiatives that will benefit local communities for decades to come.

In an update published on 18 September, Holtec said the programme to restart Palisades is now in the inspections and maintenance phase and on schedule. The company has previously said it is aiming to repower the plant by the end of 2025.

"This loan is more than just a financial transaction: it is a signal of confidence in the vital role that nuclear energy will play in securing a clean, sustainable, and reliable energy future," Kris Singh, founder and CEO of Holtec International, said. Singh's words were reported by Power magazine.

A new survey has shown that more than half of the Swiss population supports the government's plan to remove the country's ban on the construction of new nuclear power plants.

The online survey was conducted by the Leewas Institute on behalf of 20 Minuten and Tamedia, and was reported by SonntagsZeitung. Some 19,552 people took part in the survey, carried out on 19-22 September.

The survey found that 53% of respondents were in favour of the construction of new nuclear power plants, with 43% opposed and 4% undecided. This was a turnaround compared with a survey conducted from 6-10 September, in which 51% were against new nuclear power plants.

In late August, the Swiss government announced it will seek to lift the country's ban on the construction of new nuclear power plants, which has been in place since 1 January 2018. The Federal Department of Energy and Communications will submit an amendment to the Nuclear Energy Act to the Federal Council by the end of 2024, and the consultation will last until the end of March 2025. Parliament will then discuss the initiative and the counter-proposal.

A new Swiss energy policy was sought in response to the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan. Two months later, both the Swiss parliament and government decided to exit nuclear power production. The Energy Strategy 2050 initiative drawn up by the Federal Council came into force in 2018 and calls for a gradual withdrawal from nuclear energy. It also foresees expanded use of renewables and hydro power but anticipates increased reliance on fossil fuels and electricity imports as an interim measure.

The Federal Council noted that "in recent years, the situation on the electricity market and in energy policy has changed fundamentally" due to: climate targets and electricity demand; new gas-fired power plants no longer being an option; and geopolitical uncertainties.

Switzerland currently has four nuclear reactors generating about one-third of its electricity. They all have an unlimited operating licence and can be operated as long as they are safe.

Germany based radioactive waste management and nuclear decommissioning company Nukem Technologies Engineering Services has been acquired by Tokyo-based IT company Muroosystems, marking a new chapter free from Russian ownership.

The company said it had successfully closed its acquisition by Muroosystems following the signing of a purchase agreement in May. It said the move marks “a pivotal moment” for the company.

The decision to sell Nukem, based in Karlstein am Main, was made in 2022 in view of the difficult geopolitical situation and the challenges involved in continuing the company under a Russian owner, Nukem said in a statement.

Nukem Technologies had been owned by Russia’s state nuclear equipment manufacturer Atomstroyexport.

“Since then, extensive negotiations have taken place with potential buyers who recognised the immense value of Nukem’s products and its highly skilled team,” the statement said.

“The completion of the acquisition heralds a new beginning for Nukem during these turbulent times. This transition allows Nukem to re-enter markets that were previously inaccessible under the former ownership structure, ensuring that the company’s expertise and long-standing experience can once again be fully leveraged.”

Nukem said that as part of the closing process, all necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained and commitments to third parties have been diligently fulfilled. The effective date of the economic transfer of the company to the new owner is 25 September 2024.

Nukem managing director Thomas Seipolt said: “With Muroosystems, we will continue to build on our strong foundation in nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management while seeking new growth opportunities.

“We are particularly excited about expanding into innovative areas like nuclear fusion technology, which aligns with the global shift toward sustainable energy solutions.”

Nobuaki Ninomiya, an executive board member at Muroosystems, said that by integrating advanced nuclear-related technologies with Muroosystems’ expertise in IT, “we will create new synergies that will boost our competitiveness in developing next-generation energy solutions”.

He said: “In the future, we plan to solidify our business base in Europe and actively expand into the Asian market.”

Muroosystems, established in 2006, focuses on IT solutions centred around decentralized data centres and engages in power development projects primarily based on renewable energy.

First safety-related concrete has been poured for the nuclear island at Unit 4 of the Zhangzhou nuclear power station in Fujian province, eastern China, state company China National Nuclear Corporation announced.

Zhangzhou-4 is the fourth Hualong One plant under construction at the site, which will eventually house six Hualong One reactors.

Construction of Zhangzhou-1 began in October 2019, of Zhangzhou-2 in September 2020 and of Zhangzhou-3 in February 2024. Zhangzhou-1 is the first unit scheduled to begin commercial operation, potentially by the end of the year.

The Hualong One, or HPR1000, is an indigenous pressurised water reactor unit that incorporates elements of CNNC’s ACP1000 and China General Nuclear’s ACPR1000+ reactor designs.

“The Zhangzhou nuclear power plant is the starting point for the mass production of Hualong One,” CNNC said. “So far, four units have started construction, and safety and quality are all under good control.

Unit 1 is expected to be put into operation and generate electricity in 2024; unit 2 is fully advancing the relevant work before cold testing; unit 3 started construction on 22 February this year; and the preliminary work of units 5 and 6 is progressing in an orderly manner.”

The Zhangzhou project is owned by CNNC-Guodian Zhangzhou Energy Company, a joint venture between CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corporation (49%).

China has 56 commercial reactors in operation, the same number as France and second only to the US, which has 94. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency it has 28 commercial nuclear power units under construction.

Of those 28 plants, 17 are Hualong One units under construction at eight sites – one unit each at Ningde, Shidaowan and Fangchenggang; two units each at Changjiang, Lufeng, Taipingling, Sanaocun and Jinqimen; and four units at Zhangzhou.

There are also two Hualong One plants in operation outside China, both in Pakistan at the Kanupp nuclear station, also known as Karachi.

Nuclear power still provides just about 5% of China’s electricity generation, compared to 65% in France and 18% in the US.

The inner containment building for unit 2 of Egypt's El Dabaa nuclear power plant has begun to take shape, with work also under way on the reactor vessel for the fourth unit.

The inner containment building is a cylindrical reinforced concrete structure which houses the nuclear reactor and the primary circuit equipment of the nuclear power plant. It has a domed roof and will be surrounded by a similar shaped, but larger, outer containment building.

The inner containment building consists of 12 leaf-type segments, each weighing between 60 and 80 tonnes, with the first segment installed on Thursday, 26 September. The installation of the first tier of the inner containment building for unit 1 took place between March and May this year.

Mohamed Dwiddar, project manager of the El Dabaa nuclear power plant, described it as "a new milestone in the continuous progress of the construction works - this achievement is a result of the combined efforts of the Egyptian team represented by the Nuclear Power Plants Authority in its capacity of the owner, and the Russian team represented by Atomstroyexport".

ASE JSC's Alexey Kononenko, director of the El Dabaa NPP Construction Project, said: "Today we are moving on to a new stage of the construction works ... our international team has done a tremendous job for this purpose ... it is a great pleasure to acknowledge the close cooperation between both the Russian and Egyptian parties - currently, we are building all four units of the NPP simultaneously, ensuring overall development of the construction site of the nuclear power plant”.

Among the work taking place for the other units, this week also saw Rosatom's AEM-Special Steels machine building division begin work on the reactor vessel for El Dabaa's unit 4.

The metallurgists smelted 192 tonnes of metal. After casting, the metal was treated outside the furnace and then cooled in a vacuum chamber for two days to 550-650 degrees Celsius, Rosatom said, adding: "To give the billet the desired shape and dimensions, the ingot is then transferred to the forging, pressing and mechanical-thermal shops."

El Dabaa will be Egypt's first nuclear power plant, and the first in Africa since South Africa's Koeberg was built nearly 40 years ago. The Rosatom-led project is about 320 kilometres north-west of Cairo and will comprise four VVER-1200 units, like those already in operation at the Leningrad and Novovoronezh nuclear power plants in Russia, and the Ostrovets plant in Belarus.

Rosatom will not only build the plant, but will also supply Russian nuclear fuel for its entire life cycle. It will also assist Egyptian partners in training personnel and plant maintenance for the first 10 years of its operation. Rosatom is also contracted to build a special storage facility and supply containers for storing used nuclear fuel. Construction of the nuclear power plant began in July 2022.

Newcleo, the developer of small modular lead-cooled fast reactors, has relocated its headquarters from London to Paris in a move which opens up "access to a broader range of European funding opportunities".

In a statement announcing the move, Newcleo said: "The company is now better placed to secure significant investments and grants from European institutions and institutional investors ... with the newly appointed European Commissioner for energy given a specific mandate to accelerate the development of small modular reactors, Newcleo's relocation comes at a crucial time."

The company, launched in 2021, currently has more than 850 employees at 19 locations across France, Italy, the UK, Switzerland and Slovakia.

Newcleo says its "ambitious timelines" include the development of a precursor reactor in Italy by 2026, the establishment of a MOX manufacturing plant in France by 2030, the construction of a prototype 30 MWe lead-cooled fast neutron test reactor in France by 2031 "and the delivery of commercial reactors starting from 2033".

A spokesperson told World Nuclear News the headquarters move does not involve any staff transfers. The company has previously said it aimed for its first-of-a-kind commercial reactor to be in the UK - the spokesperson said it "continues to target a first UK reactor by 2033".

Newcleo's founder, chairman and CEO Stefano Buono said: "Relocating our headquarters to Paris is a strategic milestone in accelerating our mission to deliver the next generation of sustainable nuclear energy. We are now better positioned to deepen our European partnerships and tap into funding resources from institutional and industrial investors. This move aligns with our commitment to making a global impact by closing the nuclear fuel cycle and providing a clean, safe, and reliable energy source."

The company also announced it was closing the "UK phase of its Series A capital raise and will reopen it in France later this year to further facilitate investments from French and European parties. At the date of the tranche closing, the company has raised a total of over EUR535 million (USD596 million) from institutional and individual investors, of which EUR135 million has been subscribed and paid from the UK Series A tranche".

Newcleo says its investor base now includes more than 700 shareholders, including funding from Inarcassa (the Italian National Pension and Security Fund for Engineers and Architects), Walter Tosto, Ingérop, "family offices and individual investors active in AI and data centres development".

In April, the UK's Nuclear Industry Association applied for a justifcation decision for Newcleo's LFR-AS-200 lead-cooled fast reactor, the first time such an application had been made for an advanced nuclear technology in the UK. Last month, the company signed a cooperation agreement with Slovak nuclear engineering and services firm VUJE covering an assessement of deploying Newcleo's LFR technology in Slovakia and exploring fuel cycle solutions to potentially re-use Slovakia's used nuclear fuel inventory, collaborating on research and development activities and developing skills and capabilities in advanced nuclear technologies.

The first safety-related concrete has been poured for the nuclear island of unit 4 at the Zhangzhou nuclear power plant in Fujian province, China National Nuclear Corporation announced. The plant will eventually house six Hualong One reactors.

In May 2014, the local government gave approval for Phase I of the Zhangzhou plant, comprising two AP1000 units. The National Nuclear Safety Administration gave approval in December 2015 for the AP1000 units and confirmed site selection in October 2016. Construction of Phase I had originally been expected to start in May 2017. However, CNNC subsequently decided to use the HPR1000 (Hualong One) design instead. Two more Hualong One units are planned for Phase II of the plant and a further two proposed for Phase III.

Construction of Zhangzhou 1 began in October 2019, with that of unit 2 starting in September 2020.

CNNC issued the environmental impact assessment for Zhangzhou units 3 and 4 in October 2020. In September 2022, China's State Council approved the construction of two Hualong One units as Phase II of the Zhangzhou plant.

"The Zhangzhou nuclear power plant is the starting point for the mass production of Hualong One," CNNC said. "So far, four units have started construction, and safety and quality are all under good control.

"Unit 1 is expected to be put into operation and generate electricity in 2024; unit 2 is fully advancing the relevant work before cold testing; unit 3 started construction on 22 February this year; and the preliminary work of units 5 and 6 is progressing in an orderly manner."

The Zhangzhou project is owned by CNNC-Guodian Zhangzhou Energy Company, a joint venture between CNNC (51%) and China Guodian Corporation (49%).

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. Two Hualong One reactors have also been constructed as units 2 and 3 of the Karachi plant in Pakistan's Sindh province. These entered commercial operation in May 2021 and April 2022, respectively.

In addition to Zhangzhou units 1-4, CNNC is also building two Hualong One reactors as units 3 and 4 of the Changjiang plant, in Hainan province, construction of which began in March 2021 and December 2021, respectively.

It is also preparing to start construction of Phase I of the Jinqimen plant in Zhejiang province, which will feature two Hualong One reactors.

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy announced on September 24 four new Gain vouchers to help companies advance microreactor technologies, identify potential sites capable of hosting a nuclear-powered data centre, and prevent corrosion in molten salt reactors.

Gain is the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear. Like all Gain vouchers, these – the fourth and final round for fiscal year 2024 – do not give companies direct financial awards.

Instead, they provide access to the nuclear research capabilities and expertise of the DOE’s national laboratories. All awardees are responsible for a minimum 20% cost share, which could be an in-kind contribution.

The awardees are:

Tennessee-based ANA, who will partner with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to identify potential sites in the US that could host advanced nuclear capacity and data centres.

Antares Nuclear of California will work with ORNL to perform an independent technical audit of the company’s heat pipe–cooled microreactor, called Antares R1, to verify core neutronics and thermal hydraulics.

Nano Nuclear Energy of New York will collaborate with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to evaluate the novel heat exchanger design of Zeus, its modular microreactor, through computational modelling and sensitivity analysis.

Missouri-based Sigma-Aldrich will work with INL to begin to standardize test methods for detecting oxide impurities in salts to prevent corrosion issues in molten salt nuclear reactors and other high-temperature industrial applications.

The DOE also announced this week that it had awarded 19 Nuclear Science User Facilities Rapid Turnaround Experiment (RTE) projects totalling approximately $1m (€900,000).

The awards were granted to 19 principal investigators from different institutions including universities and industry. Each project supports the advancement of nuclear energy.

The DOE said these RTE projects aim to improve the understanding of material behaviour under irradiation, which is crucial for the development of more resilient materials for nuclear applications.

Research topics covered by the awards include irradiation effects on high entropy carbide ceramics, multi-principal element alloys, zirconium alloys, reactor pressure vessel steels, steel cladding, ceramic-based waste forms and structural characterisation of irradiated metallic fuels.

Nucleoeléctrica Argentina says it has secured the necessary funds to carry out the Atucha 1 life extension project.

The President of the company, Alberto Lamagna, made the announcement ahead of its planned shutdown on 29 September, after 50 years of operation.

Atucha I, a 362 MWe pressurised heavy water reactor, entered commercial operation in 1974 and had a design life in its operating licence of 32 equivalent years of full power. The first extension, with an amendment to the operating licence, began in 2018 when that 32-year mark was reached.

Argentina's Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARN) said during this first extension phase that Nucleoelectrica "had to carry out studies and establish programmes that would ensure ... that the systems and components adequately preserve the functionalities for which they were designed, thus guaranteeing operation under the safety conditions with which the plant was licensed. The studies and maintenance tasks necessary to meet this requirement had to obtain approval from the ARN".

The duration of the amended operating licence was for the equivalent of 5 years operation at full power, or 10 years from 2014, which ends on 29 September. Following the shutdown, ARN said, the next stage of the Long Term Operation (LTO) project will see it "verify in detail the implementation of the updates and improvements required ... to raise the design bases of the facility to a higher level of security than that with which it was originally licensed".

Nucleoeléctrica Argentina put the refurbishment programme's cost at USD463 million in 2023 when it launched a fundraising round of bond sales to cover the LTO cost and construction of a dry storage facility for used fuel.

Lamagna said: "The project will allow Atucha I to operate for 20 more years, ensuring its contribution to the national energy matrix and promoting the development of technical capabilities that will position Argentina in the global nuclear services market."

Background

Atucha 1 was designed and built by KWU, which was a joint venture of Germany's Siemens and AEG. Over time, KWU was fully owned by Siemens, before being sold to the reactor business of France's Areva which is now owned by EDF and trading as Framatome. However, Argentina now has an experienced supply chain of its own for pressurised heavy water reactors, having completed and brought into operation the similar Atucha 2 reactor in 2016.

It has become common for pressurised heavy water reactors like Atucha 1 to undergo refurbishment, which typically involves replacing pressure tubes and fuel channels, to enable another two decades of operation. Nucleoeléctrica Argentina said 2000 jobs would be created as it modernised "all the processes and systems of the plant."

US uranium production continues to grow, with 2024's year-to-date production already more than triple that recorded for the whole of 2023, according to the latest figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Meanwhile, as press reports suggest US concern that its ban on Russian uranium might be being circumvented, the Office of the United States Trade Representative has announced increased tariffs on Chinese imports including uranium.

US uranium production in the second quarter of 2024 was 97,709 pounds U3O8 (37.58 tU), the EIA said in its quarterly update. This is an 18% increase from first quarter production of 82,533 pounds U3O8, bringing production for the first half of the year to 180,242 pounds - far more than 2023's total production of 49,619 pounds, and close to 2022's full-year production of 193,945 pounds U3O8.

Production in the second quarter was from five facilities - Nichols Ranch, Ross, Lost Creek and Smith Ranch-Highland, all in Wyoming, and Rosita in Texas.

The EIA's quarterly report appeared in the same week the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced in the Federal Register modified tariffs for various goods imported into the USA from China. These tariffs were originally imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to address Chinese imports related to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation that the USA considers to be unreasonable or discriminatory, and which burden or restrict US commerce. The newly announced rates follow a statutory review process.

The tariff on "Actinium, californium, curium, einsteinium, gadolinium, polonium, radium, uranium & their compounds, alloys, dispersions, ceramic products & mixtures", which currently stands at 7.50%, will increase to 25%. The new tariff will apply to products that are "entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after September 27, 2024".

According to the EIA's Uranium Marketing Annual Report, US utilities purchased 49.239 million pounds U3O8 in 2023, meaning that imports made up most of the 51.625 million pounds purchased in the year. Sources for all but around 957,000 pounds of those imports were disclosed, but the agency withheld the actual amount of uranium purchased from several countries including China to avoid disclosure of individual company data.

Although US imports of Chinese uranium have been small, there now appears to be concern in the USA that Chinese imports may be used to circumvent the ban on the import of Russian-produced unirradiated LEU into the USA which has been in place since the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act came into force in August.

The US Department of Energy "along with other relevant agencies is closely tracking imports from China to ensure the proper implementation of the recently enacted Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act", a department spokesperson told Reuters. US officials are monitoring imports from China and other countries to "ensure they are not importing Russian uranium as part of a scheme to export material produced domestically that they would otherwise have used in their own reactors", the spokesman added.

The Chinese foreign ministry told Reuters that "China has always opposed any illegal unilateral sanctions and 'long arm jurisdiction'" and that cooperation between China and Russia is "an independent choice made by two sovereign countries based on their respective development needs, openly and honestly, without targeting any third party, and without being interfered or obstructed by any third party".

China is willing to continue "normal economic and trade cooperation" with countries around the world, including Russia, it added.

The SMART100 small modular reactor design has been granted standard design approval by South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-CARE) applied for standard design approval of the SMART100 in December 2019. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) began its review of the application in August 2021.

The NSSC announced it has now granted standard design approval for the reactor at a meeting today (Thursday).

The SMART100 (System-integrated Modular Advanced Reactor 100) is an advanced version of the original SMART design, which became the world's first SMR to receive standard design approval in mid-2012.

SMART is a 330 MWt pressurised water reactor with integral steam generators and advanced safety features. The unit is designed for electricity generation (up to 100 MWe) as well as thermal applications, such as seawater desalination, with a 60-year design life and three-year refuelling cycle.

While the basic design of the SMART is complete, development has been stalled by the absence of any orders for an initial reference unit. It was developed by KAERI, which had planned to build a demonstration plant to operate from 2017.

The SMART100 builds upon the safety, economic, and operational benefits of the SMART, offering enhanced power output and safety features. SMART100's development prioritised safety improvements, including the integration of a fully passive safety system. This system is capable of maintaining reactor cooling without the need for external power, using natural forces like gravity and fluid density differences to ensure the safe shutdown and cooling of the reactor during emergencies.

Along with these safety enhancements, SMART100 also offers increased thermal output, rising from 330 MW to 365 MW, while its electrical output has been boosted from 100 MW to 110 MW, significantly improving efficiency while maintaining a compact design.

KAERI said the simplified and modular design of SMART100 also improves its economic feasibility. Key components such as the steam generator and reactor coolant pumps are integrated into a single vessel, reducing the risk of major accidents like large pipe breaks. Additionally, the reactor can maintain safe conditions without requiring emergency power generators or operator intervention during accident scenarios.

"The upgraded model is now ready for global export, particularly to Saudi Arabia, a key partner in the development of this technology," KAERI said.

KAERI President Han Gyu Joo said: "The standard design approval for SMART100 is a crucial milestone in demonstrating its proven safety and readiness for commercialisation. We are committed to advancing SMART technology and ensuring its successful export to global markets."

In September 2019, South Korea and Saudi Arabia agreed to collaborate on the commercialisation of the SMART SMR. Under the memorandum of understanding, the two countries agreed to work together to refine the design of the SMART reactor. Korea will also assist in gaining Saudi design approval of the reactor, as well as cooperating in the construction and operation of a SMART reactor in Saudi Arabia. The partners will also promote the SMART design to other Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian countries considering the use of small reactors.

US computer technology company Oracle wants to power a new data centre through nuclear energy, according to the firm’s chief technology officer Larry Ellison.

Speaking during a recent earnings call, Ellison confirmed the cloud computing giant has “already got building permits” for three small modular reactors, without giving details.

Ellison highlighted the complexity and scale of the projects Oracle has under development, saying, “We’re in the middle of designing a data centre that’s north of a gigawatt. We found the location and the power source.

“We’ve looked at it, they’ve already got building permits for three nuclear reactors. These are the small modular nuclear reactors to power the data centre”.

Ellison gave no details of a location and timeline for the project.

With data centre power demands skyrocketing, nuclear power has become an attractive option for companies hoping to source larger amounts of energy whilst minimising carbon emissions.

In April this year, Amazon Web Services, a subsidiary of the online retail giant founded by Jeff Bezos, acquired US power producer Talen Energy’s Cumulus data centre campus at the Susquehanna nuclear power station in Pennsylvania.

AWS, which provides cloud computing platforms, aims to develop a 960 MW data centre campus on the site, which gets its power from the Susquehanna nuclear station.

Last week, US-based utility Constellation Energy announced the signing of a power purchase agreement with Microsoft, a 20-year deal that will also see the restart the long-shuttered Unit 1 of the Three Mile Island nuclear power station in Pennsylvania.

Constellation said the tech company wants to use energy from the nuclear plant to fill the power consumption of its data centres with carbon-free sources.

A project aimed at reducing water consumption in nuclear power plants by capturing water from cooling tower plumes has been launched at EDF's Bugey nuclear power plant in eastern France.

US firm Infinite Cooling has developed technology that uses an innovative process that captures fine water droplets in cooling tower plumes using an electrically charged collection mesh. This recovered water - which is said to be more than 100 times purer than the circulating water in the cooling system - can significantly reduce the need for water treatment and decrease waste water discharge volumes, resulting in cost savings and enhanced environmental performance.

Testing of the technology began at the Bugey plant in August and will continue until March next year. Taking place on a test setup at the plant, the tests will assess the technology's performance in diverse environments and measure the amount of water recovered, the quality of the reclaimed water, and the system's operational impact.

Additionally, the project will gather essential insights to guide the large-scale deployment of this transformative solution, considering installation and operational factors.

"Cooling towers, which are the largest consumers of water in nuclear plants, stand to benefit immensely from this technology, which is expected to recover between 1% and 15% of the evaporated water depending on operating conditions," Infinite Cooling said. "The reclaimed water, noted for its high purity, is ideal for reuse, reducing both water treatment costs and waste water discharge."

Maher Damak, CEO and co-founder of Infinite Cooling, said: "Working closely with EDF marks a significant milestone for Infinite Cooling. Our mission is to address one of the most urgent challenges in industrial processes - water scarcity. The tests at Bugey are a pivotal step in demonstrating the power of our technology and its potential to enable sustainable water management in power plants worldwide."

The Bugey plant currently comprises four operating 900 MWe pressurised water reactors - units 2-5 - that started up between 1978 and 1979. Bugey 1 was a gas-cooled reactor that was built from 1965 with its first grid connection in 1972. It was shut down permanently in 1994. The site has been selected by the France's Nuclear Policy Council for the installation of the third pair of EPR2 reactors, after the Penly and Gravelines sites.

The first used fuel has been placed into a space-saving storage rack at the storage pond for Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor fuel at the Thorp reprocessing plant on the Sellafield site in Cumbria, UK.

The Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (Thorp) plant ceased reprocessing in 2018 after 24 years of operation. The facility is now being used to store used nuclear fuel until the 2070s.

In order to increase the storage capacity of the Thorp receipt and storage ponds, a new design of fuel can storage rack has been developed. These new racks - known as 63-can racks - are taller but have a smaller footprint than the previous design. Each rack can store 63 fuel cans, while current storage compartments can hold up to 20 fuel cans.

Fuel that was already being stored in the pond is being transferred into the new storage racks and all future fuel receipts will be stored in this way.

"Since the change of approach to managing spent fuel, it was clear we would need to innovate to be able to safely store everything we need to in the Thorp pond," said Roddy Miller, Sellafield Ltd's nuclear operations director. "These racks will increase fuel capacity from 4000 tonnes to 6000 tonnes, meaning we can accommodate all current and future arising, negating the need for a new storage facility.

"It's a great example of collaboration between ourselves, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Group, EDF Energy, and our supply chain. Everyone involved should be proud of their contribution."

Weighing 7 tonnes and standing 5.5 metres high, the stainless steel containers are being built by a consortium of Cumbrian manufacturers (including Carlisle-based Bendalls Engineering and Workington's West Cumberland Engineering) and Stoke-based Goodwin International. Between them, they will manufacture 160 racks. Another 340 racks will be needed in the future.

Because fuel will be stored for longer than was originally intended, the pond at Thorp has required other alterations including raising the pH level to avoid corrosion and installing new cooling capacity.

Three of the UK's seven AGR plants are currently in the defueling stage: Hunterston B, Hinkley Point B and Dungeness B. Four AGR plants are still in operation. Heysham 1 and Hartlepool are currently expected to operate until March 2026. Heysham 2 and Torness are currently due to generate until March 2028.