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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 TVO 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.

Grid connection for Fangchenggang 4
16 April, 2024
Unit 4 at China’s Fangchenggang NPP in the Guangxi Autonomous Region has been connected to the grid, according to China General Nuclear (CGN). The unit is the second of two demonstration Hualong One (HPR1000) reactors (units 3&4) at the site. The Fangchenggang plant will eventually house six reactors. Phase one (units 1&2) are CPR-1000 units which began commercial operation in 2016. Units 5 and 6 are expected to be Hualong One reactors.

ČEZ increases efficiency at Dukovany
16 April, 2024
Czech power company ČEZ reported that unit 3 at the Dukovany NPP for the first time had achieved a heat output of 1,475 MWt, which is 2.3% more than before and corresponds to an output of 511 MWe under optimal climatic conditions. The increase, which the power engineers achieved safely without any increase in fuel consumption or emissions, corresponds, for example, to three times the power of the hydroelectric power plant at the foot of the Brno dam. As a result, the annual production of the Dukovany NPP should increase by approximately 300,000 MWh next year after modifications to all four units.

Japan informs IAEA about corrosion of Fukushima water tanks
16 April, 2024
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it has been informed by Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), operator of the Fukushima Daiichi NPP, that localised corrosion and flaking of paint had been discovered on three tanks used to store treated contaminated water at the site.

Installation of digital control system underway at China’s AC100 SMR
16 April, 2024
A digital control system (DCS) is being installed at the ACP2100 small modular reactor (SMR) demonstration project, also known as the Linglong One, at the Changjiang site in Hainan province. China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said the first DCS has been put in place allowing installation and debugging work to begin.

Licence issued for fuel fabrication plant supporting Brest-OD-300 fast reactor
16 April, 2024
Russia’s Federal Service for Ecological, Technological & Nuclear Supervision (Rostekhnadzor) has issued a licence to the Siberian Chemical Combine (SCC - part of Rosatom fuel company TVEL)) for operation of module for fabrication and refabrication of nuclear fuel (MFR) at the pilot demonstration power complex (ODEK - Opitno Demonstratsionovo Energo-Kompleks).

Zaporizhia switches unit 4 to cold shutdown
16 April, 2024
Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP) announced on its official Telegram channel that unit 4 had been transferred to "cold shutdown". Previously it was the only one of the plant’s six units to be maintained in hot shut down to provide heat to the plant itself and to the nearby operators’ town of Energodar. The plant noted that cold shutdown “is the safe state of the reactor when it is shut down at low pressure and low temperature of the cooling water”. At the same time, the residual heat removal system and the auxiliary cooling system continue to operate.

Diamondback Energy to purchase energy from Oklo SMRs
12 April, 2024
US Oklo has signed a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) with oil and gas producer Diamondback Energy to enter into a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA). The proposed agreement focuses on engaging Oklo’s Aurora powerhouses to supply electricity to Diamondback’s operations in the Permian Basin. According to the terms of the LOI, Oklo intends to license, build, and operate powerhouses capable of generating 50 MW of electric power to Diamondback E&P, a wholly owned subsidiary of Diamondback near Midland, Texas.

Iran reviews nuclear achievements
12 April, 2024
The President of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami said Iran had unveiled 150 scientific and technological achievements in the nuclear industry in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on 19 March. He made the remarks at a ceremony to mark the national Nuclear Technology Day.

Hanford Site launches second melter
12 April, 2024
Workers at the US Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment & Immobilisation Plant (WTP) have launched the second of two 300-tonne melters that has now reached the operating temperature of 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit as part of US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste programme. EM said this represents significant progress toward starting plant operations to immobilise in glass millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste from large underground tanks.

Proxima raises more funding for its fusion programme
12 April, 2024
Munich-based start-up Proxima Fusion has raised €20m ($21.7m) in seed funding to accelerate its plans to build the first generation of fusion power plants based on quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarators with high-temperature superconductors.

China gives details of its nuclear space engine project
12 April, 2024
Design and R&D of a megawatt lithium-cooled space nuclear reactor was the subject of a recent detailed article in the scientific journal SCIENTIA SINICA Technologica (v.54, Issue 3, pp. 365-376) co-sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Electrical work paves way for reactor assembly at Rooppur 1
12 April, 2024
Specialists of Russia’s ESCM have completed the full range of electrical work on the reloading machine at unit 1 of the Rooppur NPP under construction in Bangladesh. This ensures that the main equipment is ready for commissioning and paves the way for reactor assembly. More than 200 ESCM employees were involved in the work. Currently, the total number of ESCM specialists at the site exceeds 2,500. ESCM opened a branch in Bangladesh in 2018.

ČEZ extends tender deadline for new nuclear units
12 April, 2024
Czech power company ČEZ Group says its Elektrárna Dukovany II subsidiary has extended the deadline for submitting updated bids to construct unit 5 at the Dukovany NPP with binding options three more units – Dukovany 6 and two at the Temelin NPP. The extension was requested by Électricité de France (EDF), one of the bidders, the other being Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP). Ministry of Industry & Trade recommended that this request be granted. The deadline for submitting updated bids has been extended from 15 to 30 April.