In a progress update the company said that a diagnosis of the failure was made by mechanical and hydraulic studies and "it was decided to extract the part and work began on the use of state-of-the-art engineering methods for the implementation of robotic and technological tools that allow optimising repair times, in order to return to service as soon as possible".

The detached separator is 14 metres deep inside the reactor so tools needed to be designed to adapt to those conditions, including a cutting tool, holding tool, gripper, a basket within which to extract the piece as well as lighting and vision tools to monitor the manoeuvre. "It was also necessary to develop a pressure welding tool and method to preventatively weld the three remaining spacers that did not come off," said NA-SA.

To practice the cutting and extraction manoeuvres and test the tools a full scale model of the reactor sector was designed - "the container used in the repair of the Atucha 1 Nuclear Power Plant in 1988 was reconditioned ...  all the internal elements were manufactured on a 1:1 scale and placed inside this chamber".

Argentina's Nuclear Regulatory Authority is currently reviewing the plan for the repair, which was submitted earlier this month. Its technical personnel have also been inspecting the work in the test facility "to validate the proposed method and the development of implementation procedures ... to verify compliance with nuclear and radiological safety premises". Nucleoelectrica Argentina is hoping to be able to begin the work in June.

Argentina's nuclear sector has three pressurised heavy water reactors with a total generating capacity of 1641 MWe across the Atucha 1, Atucha 2 and Embalse power plants. Atucha II's first grid connection was in 2014 - construction began in 1981 as a joint venture of CNEA and Siemens-Kraftwerk Union but work was suspended in 1994 with the plant 81% complete. It was restarted in 2006, entering commercial operation in May 2016.

The operation of the reactor, control systems for the reactor and support systems, and integrated plant operations are tested at each power level, with plant performance monitored under various conditions. Now the unit has reached 100% power, further tests must now be performed before it is available for reliable dispatch in accordance with its combined operating licence, Southern Company said.

"As we enter the final stages of start-up testing, reaching 100 percent power for the first time is an exciting milestone. It tells us we're close to finishing the unit safely and bringing it online to power Georgia homes and businesses with reliable, emissions-free energy for decades to come," Georgia Power President and CEO Kim Greene said.

It is now just over 10 years since construction of two Westinghouse AP1000s began at the site near Waynesboro. Work started on unit 3 in March 2013 and unit 4 in November of that year. Unit 4 completed hot functional testing - which confirms the reactor is ready to be loaded with nuclear fuel - earlier this month. The first fuel for unit 4 was delivered on 3 May, ahead of fuel loading later this year. Vogtle 4 is expected to enter service late this year or early in 2024.

Southern Nuclear and Georgia Power, both subsidiaries of Southern Company, took over management of the construction project in 2017 following Westinghouse's Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The units are co-owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities, and will be operated by Southern Nuclear.

Magnetic fusion uses a tokamak, which uses several sets of powerful electromagnets to shape and confine superheated hydrogen gas - known as plasma. To achieve fusion conditions relevant for energy production, tokamaks must heat the gas to temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius - more than ten times the temperature at the centre of the sun. This is the threshold said to be required for fusion to be a commercially viable energy source.

Strong magnetic fields are generated by passing large electrical currents around arrays of electromagnet coils that circle the plasma. The magnets are wound from ground-breaking HTS tapes, multi-layered conductors with a crucial internal coating of 'rare earth barium copper oxide' (REBCO) superconducting material. Developing more powerful HTS magnets will allow fusion power plants to use thinner magnetic coils while generating plasmas at greater densities.

"GA is excited to collaborate with Tokamak Energy on HTS magnets," said GA Senior Vice President Anantha Krishnan. "Tokamak Energy is a leader in HTS magnet modelling, design and prototyping and GA has expertise in developing and fabricating large-scale superconducting magnets for fusion applications."

"GA has significant experience, knowledge and facilities to produce large superconducting magnets at scale," said Tokamak Energy Managing Director Warrick Matthews. "Tokamak Energy has been developing HTS technologies for fusion for over a decade. The integration of these complementary capabilities promises to accelerate the development and production of HTS technologies in additional fields, such as aviation, naval, space and medical applications."

Tokamak Energy's roadmap is for commercial fusion power plants deployed in the mid-2030s. To get there the plan is for completion of ST80-HTS in 2026 "to demonstrate the full potential of high temperature superconducting magnets" and to inform the design of its fusion pilot plant, ST-E1, which is slated to demonstrate the capability to deliver electricity - producing up to 200 MW of net electrical power - in the early 2030s.

Collaboration in stellarators

The Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) has signed a cooperation agreement with Munich-based Proxima Fusion - which was spun out of IPP earlier this year and was founded by a team which includes six former IPP scientists - to further develop the stellarator concept for fusion power. Proxima Fusion intends to design a nuclear fusion power plant based on IPP research.

"With this cooperation, Proxima Fusion will primarily advance technological approaches, while IPP will contribute its know-how as the world's leading institute in stellarator physics," IPP said.

The institute is the only institution in the world that carries out research on both essential concepts of magnetic confinement fusion with the help of large-scale experiments: it operates the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak in Garching near Munich, and the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator in Greifswald.

A tokamak is based on a uniform toroid shape, whereas a stellarator twists that shape in a figure-8. IPP notes the advantage of stellarators is that they can be operated continuously, unlike pulsed tokamaks, and with better plasma stability properties.

In February, the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator succeeded for the first time in generating a high-energy plasma that lasted for eight minutes. The facility is designed to generate plasma discharges of up to 30 minutes in the coming years. Scientists are also working in the field of stellarator optimisation at IPP's Stellarator Theory Division in Greifswald.

"With our research, we want to further develop stellarators towards application maturity," said IPP Scientific Director Sibylle Günter. "With Proxima Fusion's technological focus, we see great synergies in a collaboration and look forward to working together in a public-private partnership".

IRRS missions are designed to strengthen the effectiveness of the national nuclear and radiation safety regulatory infrastructure, based on IAEA safety standards and international good practices, while recognising the responsibility of each country to ensure nuclear and radiation safety.

During the mission, the team conducted interviews with management and staff from SÚJB and representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The team also accompanied SÚJB during its inspections and oversight activities at sealed source manufacturer ISOTREND, waste management facility DIAMO, national radiation protection institute SÚRO, the General University Hospital in Prague, and at research reactors at the Czech Technical University. The team also visited one of the two operating reactors at the Temelín nuclear power plant.

The team - comprising 19 senior regulatory experts from 18 IAEA Member States, as well as three IAEA staff members and one observer - concluded that the Czech Republic has a comprehensive and robust regulatory framework for nuclear and radiation safety with SÚJB acting as a competent regulator focused on a continuous improvement.

"Our review concluded that SÚJB works within a comprehensive and robust regulatory framework," said the IRRS team leader Thomas Wildermann, head of department nuclear energy supervision, radiation protection in the Ministry of Environment, Climate Protection and Energy Sector of Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. "I'm also impressed by SÚJB's strong commitment to improve and adapt its regulatory practices to future challenges."

The team made several recommendations and suggestions to further reinforce continuous improvement and enhance the Czech regulatory system and the effectiveness of the regulatory functions in line with IAEA safety standards.

It said the government should review the framework for safety to include provisions for new types of facilities and activities foreseen in national strategic energy plans such as new nuclear power plants and small modular reactors. It should also establish legal provisions to ensure that nuclear security measures, including cyber security, and safety measures are designed and implemented in an integrated manner.

It also said SÚJB should: develop a plan to ensure availability of qualified and sufficient staff now and in the future; further develop its integrated management system to strengthen the ability to perform effective regulatory oversight including the periodic conduct of internal audits; revise its emergency preparedness and response programme, to include periodic and independent appraisals and guidance on preparation, conduct and evaluation of emergency exercises; and establish mechanisms to systematically describe its practice of informing or consulting the public.

"SÚJB, as the Czech Republic's Nuclear Regulatory Authority, highly appreciates external independent feedback on our regulatory processes and activities, especially when it comes from a team of knowledgeable experts under the auspices of a reputable international organisation such as the IAEA," said Dana Drábová, head of SÚJB. "The mission itself and the preparatory process, including the self-assessment activities, were a unique opportunity for SÚJB to enhance the effectiveness of the national safety infrastructure."

The final IRRS mission report will be submitted to the Czech government in about three months, the IAEA said. It noted Czech authorities have said they plan to make the report public.

The IRRS mission will be followed by an IAEA Integrated Review Service for Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Management, Decommissioning and Remediation (ARTEMIS) mission - scheduled for October 2023 - which will assess radioactive waste and used fuel management, decommissioning and remediation programmes in the country.

In a statement to World Nuclear News explaining the approval, a European Commission spokesperson said: "The notified amendments of the contracts concern both the construction contract as well as financing of the Paks II nuclear power plant between Hungary and Russia. Any further amendments of the contracts in the future will have to be notified as well.

"In its reply to the Hungarian authorities, the commission has also reminded Hungary that the continued implementation of the agreements and contracts for Paks II does not contribute to the EU’s aim to reduce its energy dependencies on Russia, and to diversify its energy sources. It is important that throughout the performance of the agreements, Hungary ensures compliances with the EU’s sanctions framework."

The Euratom Treaty binds Hungary to notify the European Commission about any "significant changes" to the investment project and related agreements between Hungary and a third country "as well as any changes in the supply contracts for nuclear materials to the Euratom Supply Agency". The notification and assessment under the Euratom Treaty are independent of "any legal requirement which may exist under the Treaty of the Functioning of the EU in relation to public procurement, competition and environmental rules".

In its statement the European Commission, which is the executive arm of the European Union, said it was informed in April of the modifications to the project - firstly a "draft amendment to the Financial Intergovernmental Agreement between Hungary and the Russian Federation" and secondly modification to the "engineering, procurement and construction contract for the construction of Paks II Nuclear Power Plant Units 5 and 6".

Article 103 of the Euratom Treaty says: "Member States shall communicate to the Commission draft agreements or contracts with a third State, an international organisation or a national of a third State to the extent that such agreements or contracts concern matters within the purview of this Treaty. If a draft agreement or contract contains clauses which impede the application of this Treaty, the Commission shall, within one month of receipt of such communication, make its comments known to the State concerned."

The European Commission explained to World Nuclear News that: "According to the internal assessment involving the commission’s relevant services, the modifications did not impede the application of the Euratom Treaty in the meaning of Article 103. Nevertheless, the commission in its reply has requested certain clarifications with regard to the amendments made. Hungary was further reminded of the commission comments from the previous commission replies to notifications according to the Article 103."

Details of the amendments to the contracts have not been published but Szijjarto said at the time they were signed that after going through "long negotiations", saying that even without the war and sanctions "life and the technological situation have changed so much" in the past nine years that the contracts would have needed amending.

The Paks II project was launched in early 2014 by an intergovernmental agreement between Hungary and Russia for two VVER-1200 reactors to be supplied by Rosatom, with the contract supported by a Russian state loan to finance the majority of the project. The application was submitted in July 2020 to construct Paks II alongside the existing Paks plant, 100 kilometres southwest of Budapest on the banks of the Danube river. Hungary's National Atomic Energy Office issued the construction licence in August 2022. In January this year, Hungary's Energy Minister Csaba Lantos said the Paks II plant was now expected to be completed in 2032.

The existing four units at Paks are VVER-440 reactors that started up between 1982 and 1987 and they produce about half of the country's electricity. Their design lifetime was for 30 years but that was extended in 2005 by 20 years to 2032 and 2037. In December, the Hungarian Parliament approved a proposal to further extend their lifespan, which means preparations can begin on operating the nuclear power plant into the 2050s.

"INRA members recognise the potential safety performance opportunities that SMR technologies could offer and the important role of regulators in ensuring that these technologies are deployed safely, securely and consistent with robust non‑proliferation requirements, in countries that wish to adopt them.

"INRA members whose countries are pursuing new nuclear programmes are committed to proactively collaborate on generic reactor design assessments and licensing and support national regulatory reviews in (re)embarking nations with new nuclear ambitions. These INRA members will seek to establish bi‑lateral and multi‑lateral arrangements to enable the provision of advice and guidance and the sharing of regulatory evaluations in support of their national regulatory reviews, lifecycle expertise and resources," the regulators said.

"Maximising the value of collaborative reactor design evaluation requires countries that wish to adopt SMRs to commit to specific SMR technologies on similar timeframes and for vendors to develop their safety analysis and reactor designs to a level suitable for regulatory assessment. Those INRA members commit to undertake risk informed, proportionate and well targeted evaluations, and to dedicate the resource required to deliver at pace when technology decisions are taken."

Standard reactor designs will facilitate efficient regulatory reviews, the regulators said, although further work will be required to address local factors such as siting and environmental issues. These will remain the responsibility of the national regulatory body, alongside the ultimate decision on the acceptability for deployment of a reactor design in its sovereign state.

INRA expressed its support for the IAEA's Nuclear Harmonisation and Standards Initiative, saying its members "recognise the value of an international, coherent framework for information sharing, while noting the potential challenges and practical hurdles facing timely pursuit of an international pre-licensing process. Furthermore, INRA members consider that independent, national regulatory reviews should not be replaced by an international approach."

"In support of a more global approach to new reactor evaluation, INRA members consider regulatory collaboration through bi/multi-lateral agreements, with appropriate input from industry, the optimum way to maximise the efficiency of evaluations, while emphasising the crucial role and responsibility of national regulators to guarantee, through the licensing process and continued regulatory supervision, the highest standards of nuclear safety, security and non‑proliferation when considering new designs such as SMRs and advanced nuclear technologies.

"INRA members are ready to support a collaborative approach for the regulatory assessments of SMR technologies in the most efficient and effective way."

INRA's nine member countries are Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the USA.

The last few years have been a period of extreme disruption for the energy sector, with the "powerful alignment" of costs, climate concerns, energy security concerns and industrial strategies contributing to the "growing momentum" behind more sustainable options. Investment in clean energy technologies is now significantly outpacing spending on fossil fuels, with more than USD1.7 trillion of investment this year expected to go to clean technologies including renewables, electric vehicles, nuclear power, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency improvements and heat pumps.

"For every dollar invested in fossil fuels, about 1.7 dollars are now going into clean energy. Five years ago, this ratio was one-to-one," Birol said. Led by solar, low-emissions electricity technologies are expected to account for almost 90% of investment in power generation.

Global investment in nuclear generation is projected by the IEA to be USD63 billion in 2023, USD10 billion up on 2022 figures and continuing a year-on-year increase: "More than a decade after the accident at Fukushima Daiichi, an increasing number of countries are taking a fresh look at how nuclear technologies might provide low-emissions and dispatchable power," the report notes. However, this investment is still less than the USD64 billion investment seen for generation from oil and natural gas.

Dividing lines

Despite upbeat expectations for clean power, the picture for final investment decisions (FIDs) in 2022 was mixed, the report found - and the positive momentum behind clean energy investment is not distributed evenly across countries or sectors. This is something that policy makers will need to address to ensure a broad-based and secure energy transition, the report notes.

The IEA sees FIDs as an indication of capacity that will come online in the future. FIDs for large hydropower and nuclear power plants decreased significantly to 14 GW and 4 GW respectively (from 20 GW and 6 GW), with China the only region to start the construction of a new nuclear power plant in 2022, the report found.

"After an uptick in 2021, the declining pipeline for these projects is a reason for concern given their potential to support power sector decarbonisation and supply security. However, additional capital is being spent on modernising and extending the lifetimes of existing plants, which is not captured by FIDs; and policy is becoming more supportive to new project approvals in future," the report said.

The report found that some 90% of the increase in clean energy investment comes from advanced economies and China. IEA Chief Energy Economist Ian Gould described China as a clean energy powerhouse, leading investment trends in many areas. "Overall we do have quite an imbalanced picture when we look at the geographical spread of that clean energy investment almost all the growth has come from advanced economies and from China and we really need to see that take-off in clean energy investment elsewhere," he said.

Encouraging signs

If clean energy investment - led by electrification - continues to grow at the rate seen since 2021, the report finds that aggregate spending in 2030 on low-emission power, grids and storage, and end-use electrification would exceed the levels required to meet the Announced Pledges Scenario as set out in its World Energy Outlook, in which the net zero emissions pledges announced by governments so far are implemented in time and in full. For some technologies, notably solar, it would match the investment required to get on track for a 1.5°C stabilisation in global average temperatures, by 2050.

However, maintaining those rates of growth will be tough, Gould said, with a "big open question" over accelerating deployment in emerging and developing economies.

"So our overall message: we are in a significantly better place than we were a few years ago … there's still a very long way to go but there are finally some encouraging signs for us all to work with," he said.

Poland's Climate and Environment Minister Anna Moskwa said the agreement was "the result of intensive negotiations" and meant "we are even closer to the construction of a nuclear power plant in 2026 and the production of nuclear energy in 2033" and "we are are glad that we are joined by partners open to Polish contribution" in the project.

According to PEJ the agreement "defines the scope of responsibilities" and "specifies that the two US companies will work together in areas such as designing a nuclear facility, meeting the planned work schedule, controlling the project and ensuring its quality. The leader of the consortium at the design stage of the power plant will be Westinghouse, and during construction, Bechtel".

Łukasz Młynarkiewicz, acting president of PEJ, said: "An American consortium of highly experienced companies in the nuclear industry is being formed today in front of us, with the goal of designing and building the first nuclear power plant in Poland. As an investor, we will actively cooperate with this consortium to consistently achieve successive milestones in the project until the power plant in Pomerania is commissioned."

Patrick Fragman, Westinghouse CEO, said: "The Westinghouse-Bechtel team is a proven one, as demonstrated by successfully powering up the first AP1000 reactor in the US and nearing completion of the second, as well as four AP1000 units already in successful commercial operation globally. We will use this experience to help Poland efficiently create a new, cleaner, more secure energy mix."

Craig Albert, president and COO at Bechtel, stressed its seven decades of experience in the nuclear sector and said they were honoured to support Poland's nuclear ambitions: "Together with Westinghouse, we look forward to working with PEJ, and Polish construction companies and suppliers to deliver the clean, reliable energy Poland needs."

US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski called the agreement "a demonstration of the bond that brings these three great US and Polish companies together as one team committed to one goal. That goal is to use the world’s best technology to help Poland build a nuclear power plant which will provide, safe, affordable, and clean power for generations to come".

Poland currently has large-scale plans to develop nuclear energy capacity. In September 2021, it was announced that six large pressurised water reactors with a combined installed capacity of 6-9 GWe could be built by 2040 as part of the country's plan to reduce its reliance on coal. According to the adopted schedule, the construction of the first nuclear power plant will start in 2026, with the first reactor - with a capacity of 1.0-1.6 GWe - being commissioned in 2033. Subsequent units will be implemented every 2-3 years. The coastal towns of Lubiatowo and Kopalino in Poland's Choczewo municipality in the province of Pomerania have been named as the preferred location for the country's first large nuclear power plant.

In November 2022, the Polish government selected Westinghouse for that first nuclear power plant. In February, PEJ and Westinghouse signed a Bridge Contract, which covers works in ten main areas, including: development of a detailed delivery model; preparation of a security assessment and a quality programme; and also identification of potential suppliers with a focus on Polish companies. Westinghouse will prepare a list of requirements necessary for the execution of the investment, including adjusting the AP1000 technology to meet all the local regulations. The contract also assumes the preparation of the principles of external financing for the project.

According to Rosatom the vessel will be 158.8 metres long, 26 metres wide and have a displacement of 22,661 tonnes. It will be 50% financed from the Russian federal budget and 50% from Rosatom's investment programme, with a planned completion date of 2029.

The contract was signed by acting director general of Atomflot Leonid Irlitsa and Baltic Shipyard CEO Yuri Gordienkov.

At present refuelling reactors of nuclear icebreakers is provided by a vessel commissioned in 1980. Irlitsa said: "We are moving forward. Three universal nuclear-powered icebreakers (from Project 22220) operate in the waters of the Northern Sea Route. To solve new problems, a multifunctional nuclear-technological service vessel is required. It will ensure the recharging of reactors on Project 22220 nuclear-powered ships."

Alexei Rakhmanov, director general of Baltic Shipyard's owner United Shipbuilding Corporation, said: "The transition to full life-cycle contracts is a modern trend in many industries. Therefore, when building nuclear-powered icebreakers today, we must simultaneously think about how to efficiently and economically carry out their maintenance in 10, 20, 30 years. Starting to build a multifunctional nuclear-technological service vessel, we want to ensure the long and safe operation of nuclear-powered icebreakers, floating nuclear power units and, in general, the entire Atomflot."

Russia is in the process of rolling out a new fleet of nuclear powered icebreakers under Project 22220, with the aim of opening up and developing the Northern Sea Route.

This follows the regulator's removal of the first hold point last December, allowing OPG to proceed with fuel loading at the reactor. Hold points are mandatory checkpoints where CNSC approval is required before the licensee can move on to the next stage of the process to return the unit to operation. Two further regulatory hold points remain before Darlington 3 can reach criticality and return to service.
 
Unit 3 is the second of four Candu reactors at the site to undergo refurbishment in a project with a 10-year execution phase, following unit 2 which returned to service in April 2020. Refurbishment of Darlington 3 began in September that year and is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2024. Refurbishment of unit 1 began in February this year, with completion expected in the second quarter of 2025, with refurbishment of Darlington 4 scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2023.

Bruce fuel loading

Bruce Power announced that fuel loading at Bruce 6 has now been completed ahead of schedule. This follows CNSC's removal of the first regulatory hold point for that project on 10 May.

"Operations and Maintenance crews loaded 5,760 fuel bundles into the reactor core, safely completing the task ahead of schedule. Each fuel bundle contains 37 fuel rods, which are packed with Canadian-made uranium oxide pellets from Bruce Power partner Cameco. One bundle produces clean electricity that is equivalent to 400,000 kg of coal or 400,000 cubic metres of natural gas," the company said.

The unit is the first of six at the Ontario site to undergo refurbishment between 2020 and 2033. Bruce 3 became the second unit to begin the process - referred to as Major Component Replacement, or MCR - in March this year when it was taken offline for defueling.

The multi-billion dollar refurbishment projects ensure a further 30 years of operation for each Candu reactor.

The Paks II project company said: "Through the contract amendment, it will be possible for the Paks units to be put into service at the very beginning of the next decade, in compliance with the strictest safety standards."

It added that after the current preparatory site work and subject to the planning and licensing process, physical works can now begin at the site, with Szijjarto saying that "nuclear energy is the most able to guarantee protection from the uncertainties of the international energy market".

Many European Union countries have ended, or are in the process of ending, their nuclear energy links with Russia as a result of the war with Ukraine. Hungary, however, is pushing ahead with its project to install new nuclear capacity with Russia's Rosatom and has said it opposes the inclusion of nuclear in EU sanctions lists.

Details of the amendments to the contracts have not been published but Szijjarto said at the time they were signed that after going through "long negotiations", agreement had been reached on amendment of the construction and financing contract for Paks II, saying that even without the war and sanctions "life and the technological situation have changed so much" in the past nine years that the contracts would have needed amending.

The Paks II project was launched in early 2014 by an intergovernmental agreement between Hungary and Russia for two VVER-1200 reactors to be supplied by Rosatom, with the contract supported by a Russian state loan to finance the majority of the project. The application was submitted in July 2020 to construct Paks II alongside the existing Paks plant, 100 kilometres southwest of Budapest on the banks of the Danube river. Procedures allowed Hungary's National Atomic Energy Office 12 months to make its decision, with the possibility of extension by three months. That extension was triggered in July 2021, but the construction licence was issued more than a year later, in August 2022. In January this year, Hungary's Energy Minister Csaba Lantos said the Paks II plant was now expected to be completed in 2032.

The existing four units at Paks are VVER-440 reactors that started up between 1982 and 1987 and they produce about half of the country's electricity. Their design lifetime was for 30 years but that was extended in 2005 by 20 years to 2032 and 2037. In December, the Hungarian Parliament approved a proposal to further extend their lifespan, which means preparations can begin on operating the nuclear power plant into the 2050s.

The French nuclear giant EDF and its partners have been working on their Nuward small nuclear reactor and have now spun the operation off into an SMR-focused company. Crassous joins us and explains the rationale for that decision and outlines its plans and timelines.

During a wide-ranging interview Crassous talks about the pioneering early design review being jointly carried out by regulators in three countries, and explains why the aim is for Nuward to be 'Europe's SMR'.

April has been a busy month for World Nuclear News's Warwick Pipe and Claire Maden who join host Alex Hunt to report on Germany exiting the nuclear energy scene as its last three nuclear reactors were shut down in the middle of the month. Plus, on a brighter note, they also explain the significance just a few days later of a ceremony held to inaugurate the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, as Turkey officially joined the league of nations with nuclear energy capacity. And there's time too for some positive news from Finland and its Olkiluoto 3 EPR.
 

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The new centre's research will cover mechatronics, software "and how communities and regulators will engage with future robotic systems". Jacobs will have the opportunity to commercialise technology developed at the centre which it says could bring a "step-change impact to clients" in areas including nuclear power and decommissioning "where robust and reliable autonomous robotics are crucial for efficient asset management and operations".

Centre Co-director Professor Barry Lennox said the new centre "will allow the university's recently established Manchester Centre for Robotics and AI to build a relationship with one of the leading organisations involved in applied robotics, helping us to progress our fundamental research in this area and to deliver impact from the robotic and AI systems that we are developing".

Jacobs Energy, Security & Technology Senior Vice President Karen Wiemelt said: "Robotics is already a core strength of Jacobs' work in the energy and space sectors and this research collaboration will enable us to develop advanced technologies to help achieve net zero targets, such as autonomous inspection and repair systems to extend the life of water and energy networks, roads, bridges and railways."

Staff from Jacobs will support 12 PhD students conducting research and developing prototypes at Manchester University and at Jacobs' robotics laboratories in Warrington, which is about 20 miles west of Manchester.

According to the PAA, a general opinion, "as a pre-licence instrument, may apply to any solutions planned by the investor, including design, technological and organisational solutions, which will have a direct impact on the issues of nuclear safety and radiological protection". The opinion aims to determine whether the planned organisational and technical solutions comply with the requirements of nuclear safety and radiological protection resulting from the provisions of the country's Atomic Law Act, or whether the investor should make appropriate modifications.

As part of the works on the opinion, the PAA analysed such aspects of the BWRX-300 technology as hazard identification and reactor protection against internal and external hazards, requirements for the reactor control room, safety containment systems and classification of safety systems, reactor core design requirements and electrical systems. Solutions for control and measurement apparatus, waste and nuclear fuel management systems were also analysed. In total, OSGE submitted documentation covering 13 areas of the BWRX-300 technology.

The technical documentation that OSGE submitted is based on documentation prepared by GEH for the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) as part of the Vendor Design Review Phase 1 and Phase 2 process - a pre-license technology review. The CNSC issued a positive decision in March this year, making the BWRX-300 the first SMR to complete such a process in Canada.

In an opinion issued on 23 May, the president of the PAA concludes that the assumptions adopted in the design of the BWRX-300 technology are correct and meet the requirements of Poland's Atomic Law and selected regulations on the safety of nuclear facilities. The conclusions published by the PAA will be taken into account in the standard and detailed design process of the BWRX-300 reactors that are planned to be constructed in Poland.

The PAA president also indicated in the general opinion one technical assumption of the BWRX-300 reactor technology, which must be re-verified before starting the proper administrative process related to obtaining permits.

"The general opinion received by OSGE concerning the BWRX-300 technology is an important first step on the road of licensing works necessary for the construction of GEH's modular nuclear power plants in Poland," said OSGE CEO Rafał Kasprów. "It should be noted that following the technical collaboration agreement signed in Washington in March this year, a complete power plant design based on the BWRX-300 technology - including a nuclear island - is being developed in the US. The project will take into account all regulatory requirements and technical standards required by Polish law."

"The BWRX-300 is the first SMR technology to have completed the general opinion phase of the PAA's rigorous pre-licensing process, an important step in the deployment of this technology in conjunction with OSGE," said Sean Sexstone, executive vice president of advanced nuclear at GEH. "OSGE and GEH will continue dialogue with PAA to evaluate local requirements and look forward to the next steps of regulatory engagement."

In December 2021, GE Hitachi, BWXT Canada and SGE signed a Letter of Intent to cooperate in deploying BWRX-300 SMRs in Poland. SGE, together with its partners, aims to deploy the first BWRX-300 in 2029 and to have at least 10 of the reactors in operation by the early 2030s. In April, OSGE submitted applications to Poland's Ministry of Climate for a decision-in-principle on the construction of power plants based on BWRX-300 SMRs at six locations.

PKN Orlen - which holds holds the exclusive right to use the BWRX-300 in Poland - will announce 13 more locations for SMR plants, the Polish Press Agency reported today. The company's CEO, Daniel Obajtek, said work was under way to assess further locations for SMRs and added that some, after initial analysis, did not qualify "for further steps".

According to the latest survey conducted by IBRiS on behalf of PKN Orlen, 57% of respondents believe that modern nuclear technologies are safe and 58% of respondents consider SMRs as a source of stable energy supply. A similar percentage believe that at least several SMRs are needed in the country and that they should be one of the pillars of Poland's energy transformation. In the towns that have been pre-selected by OSGE as locations for the construction of the first power plants of this type, the approval for investing in an SMR power plant is even higher.

"Small modular reactors are primarily a source of stable, zero-emission and safe energy that will facilitate the energy transformation in Poland," Obajtek said. "The results of the IBRiS survey prove that this is also understood by the majority of Poles who support the SMR technology and would even agree to the construction of such a power plant in their close vicinity. The conducted study is a solid basis for the dialogue that we will want to conduct with local communities in each of the potential locations for such investments."

The organisation has launched a petition urging the Government of Ontario to take action, including amongst other things by developing new sites for Candu construction, exploring the placement of two new Candu units at the Darlington New Nuclear Site, and seeking federal government support for future Candu projects.

SMR study

"No energy technology is inherently perfect: there are always going to be pros and cons," Jennifer McKellar, associate professor at Ontario Tech University's Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (FEAS) said as the university announced the start of its study on the environmental impact of low-carbon electricity generation. The two-year investigation, jointly funded and supported by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and not-for-profit organisation Mitacs, will apply life cycle assessment to consider all the impacts of technologies including lithium-ion battery technologies, SMRs, solar photovoltaics and wind turbines.
 
"For example, solar photovoltaics (PV) do not create carbon dioxide emissions during actual electricity generation, but the land requirements for their deployment can be significant. Similarly, both PV panels and wind turbines require critical minerals. It is important that we have a complete picture," McKellar, one of the project leaders, said.
 
Life cycle assessment considers impacts from the extraction of raw resources through to the final management of all waste, and this study will be one of the first to undertake such a comprehensive analysis for an SMR, Kirk Atkinson, director of the university's Centre for SMRs and an associate professor at FEAS, said. "Although we have a good handle on what SMR environmental performance will look like, this study will examine the details," he added.
 
"Our collaborative study with OPG and Mitacs Accelerate will be unique in that the analysis is an Ontario-specific examination of these four technologies, simultaneously," FEAS Assistant Professor Xianke Lin said. "This means we will be able to compare across technologies in a way that would not be possible if all four technologies were studied separately by four different researchers. This ensures a consistent and level playing field."

This work is conducted as part of the Emerging Energy Markets Analysis (EMA) initiative led by INL and includes the University of Alaska, Boise State University, University of Michigan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Wyoming.

The report summarises a US Department of Energy (DOE) Microreactor Program analysis of the market opportunities for microreactors. It evaluated several energy solutions for each profile market. 

It says that favourable conditions for microreactors include, for example, markets that are cost competitive in electricity and heat, comparable (if not better) in remote locations with diesel sources, and have low-carbon sources including wind, solar, geothermal and energy storage. The use of modular designs allow transport to remote locations by road, barge or rough airstrips. Microreactors can replace coal sites using existing infrastructure. They are suited to areas where transport costs are very high and subject to access restrictions for portions of the year due to weather.

The EMA team examined the regulatory climate in each of the 50 US states in terms of openness to nuclear power, the economic assessment of heat markets that could be important to microreactor adoption, and the potential preferences for microreactor designs.

They found that most states have either removed barriers for microreactor deployment or established carbon-reduction goals that make advanced nuclear technologies attractive. However, challenges remain, such as public perceptions about microreactors' uncertainties in terms of costs, waste and fuel management.

Microreactors are suited for remote industrial applications like seafood processing in Alaska and trona mineral mining in Wyoming, the report says.

"Alaska and Wyoming have their own niche markets, but there is commonality in the remoteness of the applications, mobile uses for microreactors in mining, and energy use for refined products derived from mined sources," said David Shropshire, an INL nuclear energy economist.

The report suggests the nuclear industry and national labs increase communication about the technology and create a clear differentiation between microreactors, small modular reactors and large reactors.

It outlines areas needing further research, including developing a deeper understanding of public acceptance or resistance to microreactors. It says there is also a need to: evaluate other possible microreactor markets including conventional mining, oil and gas extraction operations, carbon refining, ammonia production, synthetic fuels, and other industries; evaluate the cross-jurisdictional regulatory considerations for land use, siting, carbon reduction, transmission corridors and mining; research the regulatory issues associated with industrial use of microreactors, and the access to and interconnection with the grid or the ability to sell excess power into deregulated markets; examine and develop business models for using microreactor heat under different scenarios; evaluate the microreactor supply chain; and evaluate considerations for siting microreactors in northern latitudes.

"Microreactors are a new technology to many of the potential deployment sites, so it is important to promote common understanding of the barriers to market entry for both developers of the technology as well as end users," said John Jackson, national technical director of the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy's Microreactor Program. "The DOE programmes support broad availability of energy solutions to meet individual needs, and characterisation of these needs is very valuable."

A multinational team including Core Power, Southern Company, TerraPower and Orano USA are part of the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment which aims to see the "world's first fast-spectrum salt reactor achieve criticality", to be built at Idaho National Laboratory, backed by US Department of Energy (DOE) funding. Last year Core Power, MIT Energy Initiative and Idaho National Laboratory were granted research funding by the US DOE's Nuclear Energy University Program, a three-year study into the development of offshore floating nuclear power generation in the USA.

Core Power has stressed the safety benefits of molten salt reactors noting that the fuel and the coolant are mixed in a fuel-salt which is liquid at high temperatures and "using a liquid fuel where the fuel and coolant are the same, has immense implications on the safety of the reactor system, as a loss of coolant accident is impossible. An MSR cannot melt-down, because the fuel is already liquid and since the fuel is locked into the coolant, toxic radioisotopes which are formed in the fission process cannot escape into the environment in the event of an accident". As Core Power Chairman and CEO Mikal Bøe put it in a World Nuclear News interview in 2021: "A ship may be lost at sea and may sink to 8000 metres on the ocean floor, but even then, it would not pollute the environment" with the MSR fuel "cooling until it's a solid rock and that solid rock should be entombed inside the reactor vessel".

Floating nuclear power plants are seen as having future growth potential because they provide flexible location options, being placed at sea from where they can provide electricity or hydrogen or water desalination for onshore use and Core Power says its aim is also to produce "a competitive true-zero emission power system for the future of maritime by 2030".

"China is one of the IAEA's most important partners and a global leader in nuclear energy," Grossi said. "This week's agenda will cover the remarkable progress of China's nuclear energy programme, cooperation in nuclear applications and indispensable exchanges on non-proliferation and nuclear safety."

On 22 May, Grossi and other IAEA officials signed several agreements at the CAEA. The IAEA said the agreements will strengthen cooperation on small modular reactors, nuclear fusion, and nuclear data, fuel cycle and waste management, as well as communication activities. An agreement was also signed in support of Rays of Hope, the IAEA initiative to promote cancer care for all by improving availability of radiotherapy services, medical imaging and nuclear medicine that are critical for detecting and curing this disease.

"I thank CAEA Chairman Zhang Kejian for the wide-ranging and open exchange on all areas of our rich bilateral agenda, from China's nuclear energy programme to technical cooperation, non-proliferation and nuclear safety and security," Grossi said.

China has been a member of the IAEA since 1984 and is currently involved in 93 IAEA technical cooperation projects - spanning national, regional and interregional activities - in addition to 49 coordinated research projects.

Grossi yesterday designated China's Nuclear and Radiation Safety Centre as an IAEA Collaborating Centre, highlighting the country's commitment to nuclear safety and the potential to strengthen bilateral relations. China is also home to two other IAEA Collaborating Centres: the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences for research, development and capacity building of nuclear techniques in food and agriculture, and the CAEA for research, development, testing and training on nuclear security detection and physical protection technologies.

Grossi also visited China's State Nuclear Security Technology Centre, on the outskirts of Beijing. "Nuclear security is an essential component for the successful development of nuclear energy," he said. "China's State Nuclear Security Technology Centre and the IAEA will further strengthen our collaboration, in particular with IAEA's nuclear security centre in Seibersdorf." The centre is part of the International Network for Nuclear Security Training and Support Centres (NSSC Network), which is coordinated by the IAEA and plays a key role in international cooperation and the sharing of best practices in nuclear security.

At the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE), the main research institute of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), Grossi met with researchers and discussed the role of nuclear technology to address current challenges. "CIAE showcases impressive developments of nuclear technology in China, including the advanced research reactor and proton cyclotron," he noted.

Grossi is also due to meet with representatives of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the China International Development Cooperation Agency. He will visit Tsinghua University, Peking Union Medical College Hospital and the Shidaowan nuclear power plant, among other nuclear facilities and institutions.

The Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation (MARVEL) sodium-potassium-cooled microreactor will generate 100 kW and is expected to begin operation at INL's Transient Reactor Test Facility by the end of 2024. It will be used to develop regulatory approval processes, test microreactor applications, evaluate systems for remote monitoring, and develop autonomous control technologies, and to explore and test microreactor capabilities for applications such as thermal storage, water purification and district heating. It will also be connected to INL's first nuclear microgrid.

"Validation of our physics models is critical to nuclear quality assurance for any new reactor development project," MARVEL Chief Design and Project Lead Yasir Arafat said: "PCAT will generate this first-of-a kind-data for validating our thermal-hydraulics simulation tools and quantifying uncertainty for liquid metal thermal reactors, like MARVEL."

The PCAT system is likely to remain at CEI to provide further simulation and testing until the MARVEL microreactor itself begins operation, after which it may be returned to INL to be used for additional research to help advance microreactor technologies.

Fabrication of long-lead components are already underway for the MARVEL microreactor, which DOE said will be the first new test reactor at INL in more than four decades.

Ondraf/Niras submitted an initial version of the licence application to the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) in January 2013. However, FANC declared that the dossier was incomplete and requested a number of additional clarifications and additions. The regulator asked a total of some 300 questions. The last of these queries were answered at the end of 2017. During 2018, Ondraf/Niras integrated these responses into the dossier.

Ondraf/Niras submitted the completed version of the application to FANC in February 2019. It said the most important part of the application was the safety case. This document, which included more than 20,000 pages, described all the technical and scientific arguments demonstrating the safety of the facility in the short and long term.

Following the examination and evaluation of the application by the Scientific Council - an independent body composed of experts in the nuclear sector - a royal decree was published on 16 May granting the nuclear licence for the waste facility.

"The publication of this permit is an important step in the long-term management of radioactive waste," Ondraf/Niras said.

It noted the short-lived low- and medium-level radioactive waste, to which this permit relates, falls within 'category A'. "Although this is 'short-lived' waste, it remains radioactive for hundreds of years," it said. "Category A waste will be conditioned in concrete containers, which in turn will be placed in concrete modules. After filling, the modules are covered with several layers of soil, creating a mound."

The procedure for selecting the contractor was launched at the beginning of the year and the aim is to start construction work in 2024, Ondraf/Niras said. The first radioactive waste could be placed within it in a few years.

"The granting of the nuclear license is a milestone important for the long-term management of radioactive waste," said Ondraf/Niras CEO Marc Demarche. "The surface storage facility at Dessel will thus constitute a safe solution for low- and intermediate-level and short-term waste from all over the country".

"With this permit, we close a project that has been running for ten years, from the first permit application through numerous requests for advice and additional questions from the FANC to Ondraf/Niras until the final publication of the permit," said FANC Director General Frank Hardeman. "With the permit text that we now have, FANC has guarantees about the long-term safety of the repository, so that we can transfer the radioactive waste to future generations in the best possible way. Naturally, once the installation is operational, FANC will continue to carry out on-site checks and inspections to ensure that everything is proceeding as stipulated in the permit."

"With the imminent decommissioning of a number of our Belgian nuclear reactors, the safety and security of the associated radioactive waste are a priority," said Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden. "It is therefore important to isolate the waste from people and the environment in the long term. FANC will now closely monitor the further steps to be taken in dismantling and safe disposal."

Non-conditioned waste store

Meanwhile, Ondraf/Niras's industrial subsidiary Belgoprocess has been given approval by FANC to expand storage capacity for non-conditioned radioactive waste at the Dessel site.

The planned ROC building (Image: Belgoprocess)

On 7 April 2022, Belgoprocess submitted an application to FANC for the extension of its facility with a new installation for the reception and storage of non-conditioned waste. The new building will be called 'ROC' or '165X'.

Belgoprocess said the main objective of the project is to "create sufficient and appropriate storage capacity for non-conditioned waste that is already present on the Belgoprocess sites, that will still be produced by Belgoprocess or that originates from third parties. The relevant waste is temporarily stored pending further processing".

In addition, the project fulfills a second objective, namely the possibility to accommodate the measurement installations for radiological characterisation for the performance of non-destructive analyses. In this context, the design also includes a temporary buffer storage for conditioned waste.

Conditioning radioactive waste means encapsulating processed radioactive waste in a solid, water-resistant mass (such as cement, bitumen or glass) to make it suitable for further treatment, transport, storage and disposal. The purpose of conditioning is to contain the waste so that the radioactive materials cannot spread into the biosphere.

On 24 February, FANC submitted its positive assessment of the application to the Scientific Council on Ionising Radiation, which then issued a favourable opinion. The construction and operating licence was granted on 23 April by royal decree, which was published on 16 May in the Belgian Official Gazette.

It can be used in a variety of industries but has already been used to "manufacture a 1-metre-high fragment of the baffle of the internal device of a nuclear power reactor". Olga Ospennikova, director of the Association for the Development of Additive Technologies, said: "Additive technologies are one of the drivers that determine the shape of a new generation of production ... this is a breakthrough technology that opens up the possibility for a wide application of additive technologies in the nuclear industry, in particular, it will allow printing large-sized parts of nuclear reactors."

Ilya Kavelashvili, director general of RusAT, said: "The creation of new powerful installations makes it possible to fully introduce additive technologies in heavy engineering, to measure the weight of products printed on 3D printers not in kilograms, but in tonnes. This will save a large amount of materials, increase production productivity and product quality. Rosatom has a large-scale programme for the introduction of additive technologies, and ... is the starting point for the widespread use of 3D printing in Russian mechanical engineering."

Gleb Turichin, director and chief designer of the Institute of Laser and Welding Technologies, said: "Our joint development is the first such installation where several growing tools can work simultaneously without interfering with each other with their temperature fields. Our joint experience with Rosatom has proved that additive technologies can be successfully applied in heavy engineering."

Rosatom currently has three additive technology centres, in Moscow, Novouralsk and Nizhny Novgorod. The new 3D printer was presented at the Metalworking 2023 conference in Moscow.

While only four Japanese reactors have so far been restarted using MOX fuel, FEPC envisages at least 12 units running on the fuel by FY2030. FEPC represents the 11 power companies, comprising nine utilities (excluding Okinawa Electric Power), Japan Atomic Power Company and the Electric Power Development Company (J-Power).

As long ago as the 1950s, Japanese nuclear energy policy recognised that the energy resource-poor country must recycle uranium and plutonium recovered from used nuclear fuel. Up until 1998, Japan sent the bulk of its used fuel to plants in France and the UK for reprocessing and MOX fabrication. However, since 1999 it has been storing used fuel in anticipation of the full-scale operation of its own reprocessing and MOX fabrication facilities.

Construction of a reprocessing plant at Rokkasho began in 1993 and was originally expected to be completed by 1997. The facility is based on the same technology as Orano's La Hague plant in France. Once operational, the maximum reprocessing capacity of the Rokkasho plant will be 800 tonnes per year. Construction of a 130-tonne per year MOX plant, also at Rokkasho, began in late 2010. However, completion of both the reprocessing plant and the MOX fuel fabrication plant has faced several delays.

"It is necessary to establish reprocessing technology for used MOX fuel as soon as possible," FEPC said. "Reprocessing of used MOX fuel has a proven track record in Japan and overseas, and is technically possible. Until then, it is necessary to establish technology for the reprocessing process based on its characteristics."

FEPC noted the 6th Strategic Energy Plan - approved by the government in October 2021 - aims to establish the technology in the "latter half of the 2030s".

It said that through the demonstration research with Orano, the properties of used MOX fuel and the impact on reprocessing will be investigated. "Acquiring the necessary technical knowledge for the practical application of MOX fuel reprocessing, [we will] demonstrate that MOX fuel used in power plants can be reprocessed in commercial plants."

The selection of Orano follows a 3 May meeting between Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura Yasutoshi and France's Minister of Energy Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher. During the meeting, a joint statement on nuclear energy cooperation was signed, including "the promotion of the reprocessing policy that minimises waste and reduces the need for natural uranium".

Since the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, four reactors - Genkai 3, Ikata 3 and Takahama 3 and 4 - have resumed operation using MOX fuel.

The start of use of domestically-produced MOX fuel is expected to be after 2026, FEPC said.

The utilities aim to have at least 12 reactors utilising MOX fuel by FY2030. They also agreed to promote using plutonium and reduce the size of their stockpiles at home and abroad through close collaboration and cooperation among the utilities.

White Mesa is the only conventional mill in the USA to be classed as "operating" by the EIA. EnergyFuels said in a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing earlier this month that during the first quarter of this year the mill in Utah has focused on rare-earth carbonate production. "During the three months ended March 31, 2023 the uranium recovered from processing monazite ore was retained in circuit and was not packaged as final U3O8 product," the company said.

Energy Fuels is working towards restarting ore production at four of its conventional uranium and uranium/vanadium mines, including the La Sal and Beaver mines at the La Sal Complex in Utah, the Whirlwind mine in Colorado and the Pinyon Plain mine in Arizona. The company's President and CEO Mark Chalmers said in its 9 May results announcement that the company could begin ore production "at one or more of these projects by 2024" but has sufficient uranium in inventory to fulfill its current utility contract requirements into 2025.

Meanwhile, enCore Energy Corp said on 18 May that upgrade and refurbishment work at its South Texas Alta Mesa central ISL plant is progressing ahead of schedule and under budget. In March, the company formally announced its decision to resume production next year at Alta Mesa, which has been on standby since 2013. In addition, the company said it has discovered a new mineralised zone at the Alta Mesa wellfield.

It also plans to restart production at its South Texas Rosita ISL plant later this year. Both Alta Mesa and Rosita are currently listed as on standby in the EIA report.

In 2014, two experimental channels with LEU fuel manufactured by Russia's FSUE SIA LUCH were supplied for reactor tests. Reactor tests were started in 2017 and completed in October 2019 after reaching the target operating time of 1080 MWh, with a total of 49 reactor start-ups.

In September 2020, Kazakhstan and the USA signed a joint statement in which they committed to converting the IVG.1M research reactor from HEU to LEU fuel in 2021. The joint statement marked the transition to the final phase of conversion of the reactor, which the two countries have been collaborating on for more than 10 years.

The first technological channel with LEU fuel was loaded into the reactor on 31 March last year. NNC announced in May 2022 that workers at Kurchatov had successfully performed the physical start-up of the IVG.1M reactor using LEU fuel.

NNC has now announced that the reactor commenced its operation on LEU fuel "after completion of operations on conversion and preparing all permits". It said the reactor "reached the specified power level, and all reactor systems operated as normal".

"The IVG.1M reactor is ready to continue experiments and renewed research works within the budgetary and commercial programmes in the field of the peaceful atom, for which leading international organisations are of interest," it said.

NNC noted that the conversion work had not only made it possible to obtain an upgraded reactor with LEU fuel with improved output technical parameters, but also to considerably improve the technical condition of the reactor and auxiliary systems.

"This is a further significant achievement of the Republic of Kazakhstan in strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime," it added.

The water-cooled IVG.1M reactor was commissioned in 1975 and was established in 1990 as a result of the modernisation of the high-temperature gas-cooled IVG.1 reactor, which was originally designed for the testing of fuel assemblies and the cores of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. During the modernisation, the gas-cooled active zone of the reactor was moved to the water-cooled zone.

Recent research at the reactor has included studies on ITER structural material interaction with hydrogen and its isotopes under reactor irradiation condition, as well as the study of reactor radiation scattering in the atmosphere to validate the safety of nuclear power.

The funding will support procurement of "long lead materials, Phase 2 Front End Engineering and Design work, provision of project management expertise, site characterisation and regulatory analyses, and the development of site-specific schedule and budget estimates for project execution".

EXIM and the US International Development Finance Corporation also issued Letters of Interest for "potential financial support of up to USD3 billion and USD1 billion, respectively, for project deployment". The announcement was part of the G7 Leaders' plan to "mobilise USD600 billion in infrastructure investments under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment".

NuScale and RoPower Nuclear, owned jointly by Romania's Nuclearelectrica and Nova Power and Gas, are currently conducting a FEED phase 1 study to analyse the preferred site of the first VOYGR-6 SMR power plant, which is a former coal plant in Doicesti in Romania. The new funding will support the phase 2 study which also initiates the process of securing authorisations and licenses for the project.

John Hopkins, NuScale Power president and CEO, said: "Support from the Biden Administration and international partners is a signal to energy markets around the world that NuScale SMRs are an important new technology solution to global decarbonisation and that Romania has the capabilities and experience to support its deployment ... we are thrilled public-private partnerships are helping deploy our leading SMR technology as soon as 2029."

Cosmin Ghita, Nuclearelectrica's CEO, welcomed the funding announcement, saying: "We are proud to position Romania on the strategic development map of nuclear energy projects ... we are proud that Romania will be the second country after the USA and the first in Europe to develop a NuScale VOYGR small modular reactor plant and that our project has won the trust and support of the most important financial institutions in the world."

Teofil Muresan, CEO E-INFRA, said: "We are proud that Nova Power & Gas, an E-INFRA Group company, is part of such an important project as the one in Doicesti, a project to replace an old coal-fired power plant with the most modern technology in the field of nuclear power plants - small modular reactors."

Nuclearelectrica said the partners involved in financing the project are the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, DS Private Equity (Korea), EXIM Bank Romania, Nuclearelectrica, Nova Power & Gas, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), DFC and US EXIM. It noted that ENEC’s involvement was the first collaborative measure following a memorandum of understanding signed by Nuclearelectrica and ENEC in March.

The NuScale Power Module on which the VOYGR nuclear power plants are based is a pressurised water reactor with all the components for steam generation and heat exchange incorporated into a single 77 MWe unit. It is the first SMR design to receive approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The company offers a 12-module VOYGR-12 power plant capable of generating 924 MWe as well as the four-module VOYGR-4 (308 MWe) and six-module VOYGR-6 (462 MWe) plants and other configurations based on customer needs.

According to Ukrainian nuclear power plant operator Energoatom, at 05:26 local time on Monday the only operating 750kV high-voltage power transmission line was lost, which prompted the plant's fleet of emergency diesel generators to start-up to supply the power required for a variety of safety, cooling and control functions.

In an update on Energoatom's Telegram channel posted at 11:32, it reported that the power supply had been restored.

According to a report by the Russian Tass news agency: "It is specified that the radiation background on the nuclear plant’s premises, in the sanitary safety zone and the observation zone is normal."

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is Europe's largest, with six reactors. It has been under Russian military control since early March 2022, and is located on the current frontline between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

During the war it has suffered damage from shelling, with both sides blaming the other, and it has had its external power supply lost on six previous occasions. The IAEA's Grossi has spent months seeking to secure agreement for a safety zone around the plant. That proposal has now evolved, with Grossi saying: "It is very simple: don’t shoot at the plant and don’t use the plant as a military base. It should be in the interest of everyone to agree on a set of principles to protect the plant during the conflict."

There has been a team of IAEA experts present at Zaporizhzhia since last September, with members rotating after a few weeks at the plant, a process which sees them having to cross the military frontline. In an update on Friday, ahead of the latest loss of power, Grossi reaffirmed his concern for the welfare of staff at the plant, having to carry out their work surrounded by conflict, including shelling last week of the nearby town of Energodar.

He also highlighted concerns about the staffing numbers at the plant: "At the moment, it has enough staff for a plant whose reactors are all in a shutdown mode. It remains clearly insufficient, however, for carrying out necessary maintenance and other regular work. The longer the plant has this kind of reduced staffing, the bigger the nuclear safety and security risks become. The situation remains unsustainable."

The facility - expected to open in 2028 - will produce 1 million tonnes of ultra-low emission ammonia annually, with an estimated investment of USD4 billion. This is sufficient to produce fertiliser for the production of food for 45 million people, about one-sixth of the Indonesian population. During the plant's 50-year lifetime, it will produce ammonia worth USD25 billion at today's prices.

In addition to the ammonia synthesis, Topsoe will supply newly-developed electrolysis cell technology, called Solid Oxide Electrolyser Cell (SOEC). SOEC is claimed to make the production of hydrogen up to 30% more efficient than competing technologies. Hydrogen is an intermediate stage in the production of ammonia. Alfa Laval will deliver heat exchangers to optimise the energy balance of the plant, and desalination to produce ultra-pure water for the electrolysis process. Copenhagen Atomics will supply its thorium molten salt small modular reactors (SMRs). Meanwhile, Aalborg CSP will design and supply thermal energy storage systems, molten salt based steam boilers providing the energy balancing required to integrate the energy production from the SMR modules with electricity production and waste heat from power turbines with production of ultra clean water.

The nuclear power plant part of the project will comprise of 25 SMR modules proving a total of 1 GW.

A visualisation of a 1 GW plant based on Copenhagen Atomics' molten salt reactor (Image: UK Atomics)

"In the next six months, the final examinations must be completed and the legal landscape in Indonesia should be fully mapped," Copenhagen Atomics said.

"The study aims to overcome the challenge of energy intensity in producing green ammonia," PKT said. "The study seeks to ascertain whether the use of thorium-based nuclear technology can enable the production of ammonia without the use of hydrocarbon raw materials while remaining competitive in price."

"Pupuk Kaltim views the joint study as an essential step towards achieving our sustainability goals," said Rahmad Pribadi, President Director of PKT. "We are honoured to work with industry leaders to promote sustainable practices and contribute to a greener planet. Our commitment to sustainability is reflected in our focus on innovation to revolutionise the agricultural sector. As consumers increasingly prefer sustainable and eco-friendly products, PKT is proud to be at the forefront of this movement."

Thomas Jam Pedersen, chairman and co-founder of Copenhagen Atomics. "Green ammonia at low price helps reduce the world's CO2 emissions, and for our thorium reactors, that market is a huge opportunity, especially when we can offer a complete plant together with our partners."

Loadshedding involves shutting down parts of the electricity network in a controlled way to prevent the electricity system becoming unbalanced when there is not enough supply to meet demand, avoiding the risk of a country-wide blackout. Eskom has provided for eight stages of loadshedding, from Stage 1, shedding 1000 MW of load, to Stage 8, when 8000 MW would be shed. Loadshedding is implemented on a rotational basis - so Stage 8 loadshedding could mean customers having their supply interrupted throughout the day for a total of about 12 hours.

The current situation is exacerbated by the loss of four major units which are on extended outages, the company said: three at the Kusile coal-fired power station, plus Koeberg 1, which is currently on a long-term outage for maintenance and refuelling as well as the replacement of the steam generators, and is expected to return to service in September. Together, the unavailability of the three Kusile units and Koeberg 1 has removed 3080 MW of capacity from the grid, equivalent to three stages of loadshedding.

"We are striving to reduce plant breakdowns to 15,000 MW or below for the winter period to keep loadshedding at lower stages. We, however, concede that this will be extremely hard given the unreliability and unpredictability of the power generating fleet and that we are already about 3000 MW worse off this winter compared to the same period last year," Eskom Generation Group Executive Bheki Nxumalo said.

"It is going to be a difficult winter," Eskom Acting CEO Calib Cassim said, adding that the company was confident that the control measures that it has in place, including loadshedding, mean a national blackout will not occur.

June, July and August are South Africa's winter months.

Eskom's update came two days after South Africa's Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe told the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) - the upper house of the South African Parliament - that the government intends to issue a request for proposals for the procurement of 2500 MW of nuclear energy in the fourth quarter of this year as part of its electricity procurement plans.

"Grid availability is critical to securing electricity supply in the future. It impacts not only on the public procurement programmes, but also on private embedded generation initiatives," he said in a budget vote speech to the NCOP.

Many unsecured deposits of uranium tailings on the steep and unstable mountain slopes around Mailuu-Suu (a former closed city) pose serious risks to the health of the local population and the environment. In addition, groundwater contaminated by mining waste can pose a risk when used for drinking and irrigation.

Radioactive substances are currently stored in 23 tailings ponds (total volume about 2 million cubic metres) and 13 mining debris heaps (total volume about 0.9 million cubic metres) situated along the Mailuu-Suu River, which feeds into the Syr Darya River. Some of these tailings have already been damaged by landslides, mudslides and floods, and some are in high-risk areas where major landslides are expected.

The ERA grant agreement - which will allow the commencement of seven years of remediation works - was signed on 16 May by Boobek Ajikeev, Kyrgyz Minister of Emergency Situations, and Balthasar Lindauer, director of the EBRD's Nuclear Safety Department.

The grant of EUR23 million, the largest since the establishment of the ERA, will help to stabilise and cover the radioactive tailings located along the Mailuu-Suu River. The planned soil covers will be 2 metres thick. About 350,000 cubic metres of tailings need to be relocated to a safe disposal site. The project will also finance the rehabilitation of contaminated land and water resources in the area.

"This is the third such site to be remediated in the Kyrgyz Republic following the successful completion of similar work at former uranium-mining locations in Shekaftar and Min-Kush in spring 2022," the EBRD noted. "The project will serve as a model for initiatives in other parts of Central Asia, where the issue of uranium legacy sites still needs to be addressed."

Central Asia served as an important source of uranium for the former Soviet Union. Uranium was mined for more than 50 years and uranium ore was also imported from other countries for processing, and large amounts of radioactively contaminated material were placed in mining waste dumps and tailing sites. Most of the mines were closed by 1995 but very little remediation was done before or after the closure of the mining and milling operations. The contaminated material is a threat to the environment and the health of the population. The hazards include the possible pollution of ground and surface water in a key agricultural centre of the region.

The EBRD in 2015 established the ERA, at the request of the European Commission, to tackle this legacy. The ERA, which became operational in 2016, is supported by contributions from the European Commission, Belgium, Lithuania, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the USA.

In August 2017, the Kyrgyz government ratified a framework agreement with the EBRD, which had been signed in January of that year. Ratification of the agreement meant all the basic conditions were in place for remediation work to begin at several uranium legacy sites in the country.