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Unleashing industry potential
22 March, 2023
Developing both Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C will give the UK a significant boost building the skill sets needed for net zero, but for another key advantage is that the reactor design will allow replication between sites.

US Monticello NPP suffers tritium water leak
21 March, 2023
The authorities in the US state of Minnesota recently announced that the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant near Minneapolis had suffered a radioactive water spill involving more than 1.5m litres of tritiated water. Plant owner Xcel Energy is working to clean up the spill and says there is no danger to the general public. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) said that the treated water had leaked from a broken pipe at the facility. The was first discovered on 21 November but not made public. The company said it notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRC and the state the next day. The source of the leak was found on 19 December was plugged “soon after”.

Looking very deep for disposal
16 March, 2023
Conventional thinking suggests nuclear waste should be disposed of in deep geological repositories not much more than a few hundred metres below ground. Deep directional drilling techniques pioneered and now mastered by the oil and gas industry offer are alternative solution.

Problems continue at ZNPP and operators’ town of Energodar
14 March, 2023
Ukraine’s Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP) suffered a complete loss of external power for 11 hours recently, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in his latest update. This forced the plant to rely on emergency diesel generators for reactor cooling and other essential nuclear safety and security functions. ZNPP lost all off-site electricity at the site when its last remaining 750 kilovolt (kV) line was disconnected following reports of missile strikes across Ukraine. This was the sixth time the plant has been running on emergency diesel generators during the ongoing military conflict, he told the IAEA Board of Governors.

Belarus NPP unit 2 to begin commercial operation in October
14 March, 2023
Unit 2 of the Belarus NPP will be put into commercial operation in October 2023, according to Minister of Energy Viktor Karankevich. He said during a meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko that the first trial inclusion of the unit 2 in the network is planned for April when the output of the reactor will be increased to 40%.

Africa’s nuclear power plans
08 February, 2023
Backed by the IAEA, Africa is set to be one of the world’s nuclear development hotspots in the coming years as the continent looks to build a safe, secure and low-carbon energy system.

Facing the Monster
01 February, 2023
Thirty years ago last November, the IAEA’s INSAG-7 report took the prevailing narrative of the Chornobyl disaster and turned it on its head. Here, a key accident investigator tells the inside story of the report’s origins.

Grossi spells out challenges in Ukraine
23 January, 2023
Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi had held talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on the extension of IAEA activities in Ukraine.

Approval granted for General Fusion’s demonstration project
18 January, 2023
Construction is expected to begin this year of General Fusion’s demonstration project at the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA's) Culham Campus after South Oxfordshire District Council Planning Committee granted planning permission.

IAEA flag raised at Ukraine’s South Ukraine NPP
17 January, 2023
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has established a continuous IAEA presence at Ukraine’s Pivdennoukrainsk (South Ukraine) NPP. During his visit to the plant, he watched the IAEA flag raised at the plant. “We are here to stay to help ensure nuclear safety and security during ongoing conflict,” he said on his Twitter page. “Soon IAEA will be permanently present at all Ukrainian NPPs.”

Work underway to address ITER’s technical problems
16 January, 2023
Work is underway to address defects which were identified in two key tokamak components during assembly of the ITER fusion reactor in France.

Copenhagen Atomics submits molten salt SMR design
09 January, 2023
Denmark's Copenhagen Atomics has applied for its containerised small modular thorium molten salt reactor design to undergo Generic Design Assessment (GDA) in the UK.

When does new nuclear become investable?
05 January, 2023
The UK is grappling with the problem of inviting the private sector to invest in new nuclear without interest driving up the price. Its solution cuts costs – but transfers the risk to consumers

Damage and diplomacy at ZNPP
03 January, 2023
A 330 kV back-up power line to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has been disconnected as a result of damage caused by shelling, in the latest incident underlining the facility’s fragile supplies of electricity from the grid, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

Looking at pulsed laser nuclear fusion
07 December, 2022
As a realistic alternative to magnetic bottle designs, commercial laser-based fusion is closer to reality than ever before using high-powered pulsed laser technology

Site preparation underway for Canada’s first SMR
07 December, 2022
Site preparation is underway for Canada’s first grid-scale small modular reactor (SMR) at Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) Darlington nuclear site, with officials recently attending a ground-breaking ceremony. “With global businesses looking to expand in jurisdictions with clean and cost-effective electricity, small modular reactors will help compete for and attract more game-changing investments in Ontario’s economy,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford. “Our government is getting it done and building the future of nuclear energy right here in Ontario to support the needs of our growing province.”

First part of geological survey completed at Temelin SMR site
06 December, 2022
Czech energy company ČEZ has said that experts have examined the subsoil at the planned site for a small modular reactor (SMR) at the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant, a few hundred metres from the road linking Hluboká and Týn nad Vltavou. On-site experts determined the type and integrity of rocks by measuring electrical resistances and monitoring the rate of seismic wave propagation from a special vibrating source. They verified the first results using 30-metre-deep wells.

AI’s nuclear opportunities
30 November, 2022
In 2021 the IAEA hosted a Technical Meeting on Artificial Intelligence for Nuclear Technology and Applications to identify priorities for future activities and consider what support the IAEA can provide.