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Decarbonising nuclear fuel
18 April, 2024
Enrichment company Urenco has published its net zero strategy setting out its very ambitious plans for Scope 1,2 and 3 emissions reductions. Chris Pye tells NEI about the challenges and early successes in its bid to reduce emissions.

UK sets out nuclear revolution plans
17 April, 2024
The UK government wants to provide an investment environment that will bring forward a pipeline of new nuclear projects. To do so it is willing to sweep away some longstanding industry assumptions.

Norwegian town begins regulatory zoning work for new NPP
17 April, 2024
The Norwegian municipality of Heim in Trøndelag county, Norway, has begun regulatory work to establish a zone for the construction of a NPP and cancellation of previous plans for the zone. "The regulatory plan will lay the foundation for the establishment of nuclear power plants, preferably in the form of small modular reactors (SMRs)," the Heim municipality said.

Ukraine begins construction of new units at Khmelnitsky NPP
17 April, 2024
Workers at Ukraine’s Khmelnitsky NPP have poured a symbolic cubic metre of concrete for two new reactors which are planned to use US Westinghouse technology and fuel. “Today we are talking about the future, we are talking about stability, we are talking about the development of nuclear energy,” said Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko. He added that the plans for Khmelnitsky were Ukraine’s most significant modernisation project since World War II. Also attending the ceremony were Petro Kotin, head of Ukrainian nuclear utility Energoatom; US Ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink; and Westinghouse CEO Patrick Fragman.

DOE announces more funding for nuclear energy research and development
17 April, 2024
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced more than $59m in funding for 25 US colleges and universities, two national laboratories, and one industry organisation to support nuclear energy research and development and provide access to world-class research facilities. DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy says, with these awards, it has surpassed $1bn in total funding to US colleges and universities since 2009.

KHNP looks to digital twin technology for nuclear plant operations
17 April, 2024
Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) says it is developing digital twin technology to monitor and control South Korea’s 26 nuclear power units more effectively. A digital model of a physical system will allow its central R&D centre in Daejeon to remotely check the units at all five NPPs – Kori, Wolsong, Hanbit, Hanul and Saeul – and react immediately to unexpected situations.

Tepco to excavate major slope near Fukushima Daiichi's used fuel pool
17 April, 2024
Tokyo Electric Power Holdings (Tepco) plans to excavate a massive slope near the used fuel pool at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP to avert the danger of a landslide, according to Asahi Shimbun. The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has requested Tepco to deal with the 24-metre-high slope comprising soft ground would present a risk in the event of an earthquake.

ANSTO’s Opal reactor closed for upgrades
17 April, 2024
The Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation (ANSTO) has closed its Open Pool Australian Lightwater (OPAL) reactor at the Lucas Heights nuclear medicine precinct to undergo necessary upgrades and maintenance. OPAL is a state-of-the-art 20 MWt multi-purpose reactor that uses low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. The $300m OPAL reactor, supplied by Argentina’s INVAP, was opened in 2007 with an estimated design life of 60 years.

Completion of Brazil’s Angra 3 still under discussion
17 April, 2024
Brazilian nuclear utility Eletronuclear (part of state-owned power company Eletrobras) has taken issue with a report from the Court of Auditors of the Union (TCU - Tribunal de Contas da União) which indicated an increase in the energy tariff would follow the eventual entry into operation of unit 3 of the Angra NPP. Eletronuclear said that the data cited in the report were preliminary.

KHNP hosts successful Korea-Czech Nuclear Symposium in Prague
17 April, 2024
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) hosted the Korea-Czech Republic Nuclear Power R&D Cooperation Symposium at the Marriott Hotel in Prague. The symposium was organised as part of international energy research activities supported by the Korean and Czech ministries of trade, industry, and energy to cooperate with the aim of winning a new nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic. It was attended by more than 40 leading figures and experts in the nuclear energy field from both countries.

Russia aims to accelerate nuclear power plant design using AI
17 April, 2024
Artificial intelligence (AI) will help reduce the design time of a NPP from five years to several months, according to Ekaterina Solntseva, Director for Digitalization at Rosatom. She told the Open Innovations 2024 forum: "The design of an NPP now takes approximately five years. Our task is to reduce it with the help of AI to several months. When can this be done? We believe that this is unlikely to be possible until 2030. But the 2030-2040 decade will be the period when, I believe, this will be achieved."

Olkiluoto 3 outage extended again
17 April, 2024
The first outage of the 1600 MWe EPR at unit 3 of Finland’s Olkiluoto NPP (OL3) will now be extended until 28 April. Initially the outage was supposed to end on 8 April, but owner operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) extended it first to 15 April, then to 20 April. TVO initially said the shutdown of the unit and preparation for the fuel unloading had taken more time than planned. TVO then said more time than was planned is needed for the plant unit’s fuel inspections. TVO now says the reason for the additional eight days is “the new faults found during the outage and technical problems with inspection equipment”.

Hunterston A achieves major milestone in waste storage
17 April, 2024
The UK Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) says 2,100 tonnes of solid radioactive waste have been retrieved and safely stored at the Hunterston A Magnox NPP in Scotland. NRS are a leading organisation in the UK responsible for the active decommissioning and restoring of Government nuclear sites, to ensure all our futures are more safe, secure and sustainable.

US and Japan to accelerate fusion energy development
17 April, 2024
During Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s recent visit to Washington, the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Japan Ministry of Education, Sports, Science & Technology (MEXT) announced a “Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Fusion Energy Demonstration & Commercialisation”. This followed talks between US Deputy Secretary of Energy David M Turk and the Japan’s MEXT Minister Masahito Moryiama.

US GAO report says NRC should consider impacts of climate change
16 April, 2024
A new report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) stresses the need to address the potential impacts of climate change during the licensing of NPPs. The GAO is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for the US Congress and is responsible for investigating federal government expenditures, was asked to review the climate resilience of energy infrastructure. Its 73-page report, “Nuclear power plants: NRC should take actions to fully consider the potential effects of climate change”, looks at how climate change could affect NPPs and how this could affect the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) actions to address possible risks.

Steady Energy and TVO Nuclear Services to collaborate on nuclear heating
16 April, 2024
Finland’s Steady Energy, a startup company spun out from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in 2023, and Nuclear Services (TVONS), a consulting company wholly owned by Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) are to collaborate on the development of a nuclear heating plant.

Tepco begins fuel loading at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 7
16 April, 2024
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) has begun loading nuclear fuel into the reactor at unit 7 the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture after the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA)granted approval. However, the timing of the restart remains uncertain. It is expected to take about two weeks of round-the-clock work to complete the loading of 872 fuel assemblies into the reactor vessel. Tepco will confirm the safety by testing the function of control rods and emergency core cooling systems, among other things, for about a month after the loading.

Westinghouse expands AP1000 supply chain with Bulgaria
16 April, 2024
US-based Westinghouse Electric Company has signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with 17 Bulgarian suppliers to support planned AP1000 nuclear projects at the Kozloduy NPP site in northern Bulgaria, and other projects throughout the region. Westinghouse said this is a result of ongoing engagement with local suppliers following the Westinghouse Supplier Symposium held in February with Bulgarian companies.

Japan and US strengthen ties on nuclear energy
16 April, 2024
During Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s recent state visit to Washington during talks with President Joe Biden, bilateral cooperation was strengthened on defence and security; space; advanced technology & economic cooperation; diplomacy & development; and people-to-people ties. The lengthy fact sheet listing these agreements included a short section on nuclear energy in the context of “Deepening Energy Cooperation”.

HEU removed from Japanese critical assembly ahead of schedule
16 April, 2024
The US Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Japan and the US had removed all highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA)’s Japan Materials Testing Reactor Critical Assembly (JMTRC) two years ahead of schedule.