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Oklo to collaborate with Atomic Alchemy on isotope production
17 May, 2024
US fission technology company Oklo is forming a strategic partnership with start-up Atomic Alchemy to produce isotopes. This partnership will aim to combine Oklo’s efforts to build and operate fast reactors and fuel recycling expertise with Atomic Alchemy’s expertise in isotope production to meet increasing demands for isotopes.

First outage of Olkiluoto 3 complete after delays
17 May, 2024
The first outage of the 1600 MWe EPR at unit 3 of Finland’s Olkiluoto NPP (OL3) has finally been completed after a series of extensions. Initially the outage was supposed to end on 8 April. Owner operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) said it was anticipated that the service outage after the first operating cycle “would be very laborious”. OL3 is the largest nuclear power plant unit in Europe, and the amount of equipment and components is extremely high. All in all, about 7,500 work phases were carried out during the outage.

Court in Japan dismisses petition to halt restart of Shimane nuclear reactor
17 May, 2024
The Matsue branch of Hiroshima High Court has dismissed a petition seeking to stop Chugoku Electric Power Co from restarting operations at unit 2 of its Shimane NPP in western Japan. The petition was filed in March 2023 by four residents in the prefectures of Shimane and Tottori, which neighbour each other. It raised concerns over the validity of the design basis earthquake ground motions for the reactor and the effectiveness of evacuation plans.

Reactor vessel and steam generators en route to Tianwan 8
17 May, 2024
The VVER-1200 reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and two steam generatorsfor unit 8 of China’s Tianwan NPP have been shipped from the Atommash production site in Volgodonsk, Russia, and will be transferred to the NPP by road, river and sea. Last year, the RPV and four steam generators for Tianwan unit 7 as well as two steam generators for unit 8, were shipped from Atommash. By the end of 2024, internal devices and two upper reactor blocks will be sent from Volgodonsk to the construction site in China.

Finland's TVO issues green bond to fund nuclear assets
17 May, 2024
Finland’s power company Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) has issued a seven-year green bond worth $600m ($650m), the net proceeds of which will be used to finance or refinance eligible green projects including nuclear. The bond, with a coupon rate of 4.25% was issued under the company's bond programme and is listed on the Luxembourg stock exchange.

Atomic Canyon and ORNL to develop AI model for nuclear sector
17 May, 2024
California-based startup Atomic Canyon has announced a new project with the US Department of Energy's (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), to build a safe, efficient open-source AI (artificial intelligence) model for the nuclear sector. Atomic Canyon will use ORNL’s Frontier supercomputer – the world's fastest supercomputer – to train the company's AI model to understand complex nuclear terminology. Frontier was the first to achieve "exascale" computing performance (a quintillion calculations per second).

AECL, CNL and AtkinsRéalis to collaborate on heavy water production for Candu reactors
17 May, 2024
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), and AtkinsRéalis have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore opportunities to collaborate on heavy water production for Candu reactors. Under the MOU, the three organisations will consider working together, as well as with additional strategic partners with the expertise to accelerate technologies, to either produce or upgrade heavy water. This could be used in the commissioning and operation of new Candu reactors in Canada, the construction of which would need significant volumes of heavy water that would require the construction of new facilities in Canada.

Fusion firms Stellarex and IPP join forces on stellarator technology
16 May, 2024
Fusion energy technology development company Stellarex, a spinout of US Princeton University, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Germany’s Max-Planck-Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) that provides a framework for scientific and academic cooperation in developing stellarator-based fusion energy production. Stellarex and IPP will partner in specific areas of fusion energy science and technology, including the optimisation of plasma confinement and power/particle control.

Poland issues decision in principle on Rolls-Royce SMRs
16 May, 2024
Poland’s Ministry of Climate & Environment has issued a Decision in Principle approving Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology. Poland’s Environment Minister, Paulina Hennig-Kloska said she believes the investment would be in the public interest and in line with the country’s energy and climate policies.

Slovak government to draw up plans for new NPP
16 May, 2024
The Slovak government has ordered the economy and finance ministers to draw up a plan for a new 1,200 MWe NPP by the end of October including a selection process for a supplier as well as timing and financing for the project.

UKAEA awards funding for fusion projects
16 May, 2024
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has awarded six organisations contracts worth £9.6m ($12m) to advance their concepts to support fusion energy development. The contracts range between £460,000 and £1.9m, and are funded by UKAEA’s Fusion Industry Programme, an initiative launched in 2021 to develop the necessary technology and skills for the future global fusion power plant market.

Energoatom and Hyundai E&C reaffirm co-operation on new build in Ukraine
16 May, 2024
Ukraine’s nuclear utility Energoatom and South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction (E&C) have signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) on the design, construction and commissioning of new nuclear power units in Ukraine. The MOC was signed by Energoatom President Petro Kotin and Hyundai E&C Executive Vice President and Operations Director Choi Young in the presence of Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko and South Korea's Ambassador to Ukraine Kim Hyun-Tae.

Urenco receives permit for new waste store at Almelo
16 May, 2024
Netherlands nuclear regulator, the Authority for Nuclear Safety & Radiation Protection (ANVS - Autoriteit Nucleaire Veiligheid en Stralingsbescherming) has granted the final permit to enrichment company Urenco for the construction and operation of a new radioactive waste storage facility at its Almelo site.

US ban on Russian uranium signed into law
16 May, 2024
President Biden has signed into law HR 1042, the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, just two weeks after the bill was passed unanimously by the US Senate. The legislation, which bans the import of Russian-produced low enriched uranium (LEU), will come into effect 90 days after the date of the enactment of the bill, and will remain in effect until the end of 2040. Waivers may be granted to allow the import of limited amounts of LEU, under certain circumstances, until 1 January 2028.

VNS tooling up for robotics
16 May, 2024
Partnering with the supplier to adapt off-the-shelf software is opening up an accelerated development timeline for Veolia Nuclear Solutions as it works on an advanced remote tele-manipulator to support decommissioning of Fukushima. It’s an approach that allows VNS to focus on its core skills yet still leverage digital tooling.

IAEA and women in the nuclear industry
15 May, 2024
An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) event aimed at bringing more women into the nuclear industry was held in support of International Women’s Day recently, NEI was there.

Norway to help Ignalina establish burial point for bitumen radwaste
15 May, 2024
At the Ignalina NPP (INPP), the project Improving the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management at INPP, largely funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, has been completed. The project, which started at the end of 2020, sought to improve management systems, controls and preventive measures during decommissioning, which would minimise the negative impact on the environment, ecosystem and population.