NPPA said the issuance of the licence "is the culmination of a series of successful technical meetings between specialists of the NPPA and ENRRA to ensure that the licensing documents submitted meet all regulatory requirements and achieve the highest standards of nuclear safety, and to ensure the readiness of NPPA to start the construction process for the third nuclear unit".

It added: "It is planned that following the obtaining of the construction permit, to implement the technical works for the first concrete of the third nuclear unit during the second quarter of this year."

The El Dabaa nuclear power plant project - about 320 kilometres north-west of Cairo - is based on contracts between NPPA and Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom that entered into force on 11 December 2017. The plant will comprise four VVER-1200 units, like those already in operation at the Leningrad and Novovoronezh plants in Russia, and the Ostrovets plant in Belarus.

The contracts stipulate that Rosatom will not only build the plant, but will also supply Russian nuclear fuel for its entire life cycle. They will also assist Egyptian partners in training personnel and plant maintenance for the first 10 years of its operation. Rosatom is also contracted to build a special storage facility and supply containers for storing used nuclear fuel. Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power is constructing 80 buildings and supplying materials for the non-nuclear turbine islands.

NPPA applied to ENNRA for construction licences for units 3 and 4 in January 2022, six months after applying for those of units 1 and 2.

Construction of unit 1 began in July last year, with that of unit 2 following in November.

"Receipt of the licence for construction of unit 3 is the result of huge effort for the preparation of the licence documentation," said Alexander Korchagin, AtomStroyExport (ASE) senior vice president for the NPP construction project. "This is another important step that brings us closer to the main period of construction of power unit 3. Thanks to the well-coordinated work of the owner (NPPA) and the contractor (ASE) we are successfully passing new stages in the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Egypt".

KF was spun out of Kyoto University in 2019 as Japan's first fusion start-up, to develop advanced technologies for commercial fusion reactors building on decades of university research. One of the advanced technologies the company is developing for commercial fusion reactors is tritium fuel cycle technologies and breeding blankets for tritium production and power generation.

Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen that will provide the fuel for many fusion reactor designs. CNL has a long and extensive history in the development of technologies and systems to safely manage the isotope, and operates a dedicated, state-of-the-art Tritium Facility at its Chalk River Laboratories site in Ontario. Originally built to support the tritium technology needs for Candu reactors and to support the Canadian fusion program, the facility is capable of handling significant amounts of tritium for research and development activities.

"CNL is currently exploring plans to establish an internationally unique fusion fuel cycle and demonstration loop at the Chalk River Laboratories campus," CNL Vice-President of Science and Technology Jeff Griffin said. "This partnership with Kyoto Fusioneering could build on this work and contribute to the setup of a demonstration-scale test loop, which would combine elements of Kyoto Fusioneering's Unique Integrated Testing Facility (UNITY) concept with CNL's expertise in the fusion fuel cycle."

"Kyoto Fusioneering is providing solutions for fusion energy based on innovative and unique research from Kyoto University and high quality Japanese industrial technology," KF CEO Taka Nagao said. The cooperation with CNL "will provide a very strong and important contribution to the international development of fusion energy, which has the potential to solve key energy and environmental problems on this planet", he added.

Earlier this month, KF signed an agreement with the UK Atomic Energy Authority to develop fusion-related technologies, with plans to develop a fusion-grade silicon carbide composite system.

The agreement is the latest in a recent series of fusion-related projects announced by CNL, including working with private fusion developer General Fusion on joint projects to accelerate the deployment of commercial fusion power in Canada and an agreement with UK-based First Light Fusion to design a system for extracting tritium from a planned 60 MW pilot power plant reactor.

"Our best approach to confront climate change here in Canada and around the world is by working together, and sharing our technical knowledge and resources in the pursuit of next-generation clean energy solutions," said CNL President and CEO Joe McBrearty. "That is at the heart of this agreement with Kyoto Fusioneering, an incredibly talented and ambitious company which shares our optimism in fusion power. Working together, we hope to accelerate this promising new technology, by providing fusion vendors with access to the products and services they need to develop, qualify and deploy their technologies."

The Finnish government granted a licence in April 1998 allowing the facility to be used for the final disposal of LLW/ILW generated through the operation of the two-unit Loviisa plant, as well as for interim storage of used nuclear fuel. The licence - valid until the end of 2055 - also allowed for the final disposal of small quantities of waste generated in operations other than the operation of the Loviisa plant.

Fortum submitted an application in March 2022 to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (TEM) to operate both Loviisa units until the end of 2050. The current operating licences expire at the end of 2027 and 2030, respectively. The company also applied for a licence to operate the LLW/ILW disposal facility located at the Loviisa site until 2090.

The new licence, which replaces the previous one, allows the disposal of up to 50,000 cubic metres of radioactive waste generated in the decommissioning and dismantling of the Loviisa plant, in addition to up to 50,000 cubic metres of waste generated through its operation. It also permits the disposal of up to 2000 cubic metres of LLW/ILW generated elsewhere in Finland.

The first waste originating away from the Loviisa site will be from the decommissioning of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland's research reactor FiR 1 and research laboratory for radioactive materials.

Although the new operating licence is valid until the end of 2090, in accordance with plans, the operation of the final disposal facility is expected to come to an end prior to this, no later than during the 2080s. The repository will then be permanently closed during the validity of the operating licence once the radioactive waste from the decommissioning of the Loviisa plant has been deposited in it.

Fortum said the existing repository will be expanded "in such a way that the radioactive waste from the decommissioning of the Loviisa power plant can also be placed there. The expansion is planned to be implemented in the late 2040s, before the decommissioning of the power plant".

In its assessment of Fortum's application, the Swedish Radiation Protection Agency (STUK) considered the safety status of the disposal facility to be favourable, both in terms of operational and long-term safety. STUK also stated in its decision that the company has the necessary procedures and resources to continue the safe use of the plant.

Used fuel generated at the Loviisa plant will be disposed of at Posiva's used nuclear fuel disposal facility, jointly owned by Fortum and TVO. That repository is under construction at Eurajoki, near the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant, and is expected to begin operations in the mid-2020s.

Since then, with tests and checks taking place, the power has been increased in stages - Slovenské elektrárne says that in total it has produced more than 150 GWh of electricity and at its current output level it is producing enough electricity to supply the needs of three-quarters of a million households. The final stage is running the new unit for 144 hours at 100% output.

Construction of the first two 471 MWe VVER units at the four-unit Mochovce plant started in 1982. Work began on units 3 and 4 in 1986, but stalled in 1992. The first two reactors were completed and came into operation in 1998 and 1999, respectively, with a project to complete units 3 and 4 beginning ten years later. Unit 4's schedule has been to follow about one or two years behind unit 3. Each of the units will be able to provide 13% of Slovakia's electricity needs when operating at full capacity.

The final design includes many upgrades to safety and security, including increased aircraft impact protection and emergency management measures based on lessons from the Fukushima accident which were incorporated during the project. The Slovak Nuclear Regulatory Authority issued the final authorisation for commissioning of unit 3 of the Mochovce plant in August. The service life of the new block is initially planned to be 60 years.

Slovenské elektrárne, which is equally owned by the state, Italy's Enel and the Czech EPH group started by billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, has also signed an extension to its supply-and-pricing agreement with the country's ministry of economy and ministry of finance, agreed last year as part of extraordinary measures aimed at curbing the impact of high energy prices.

The original agreement was for the company to supply 6.15 TWh of electricity per year for 2023 and 2024 at a well-below-market price of EUR61.20 (USD66.60) per MWh. This has now been extended to supply 5.5 TWh of electricity to households per year for 2025 at a price of EUR66.70/MWh, rising to EUR72.70 in 2026 and EUR79.30 in 2027.

The agreement is subject to approval by the European Commission.

Branislav Strýček, CEO of Slovak Power Plants, said: "The agreement provides households with electricity for a long period under predictable and extremely favourable conditions. At the same time, the government has committed itself that in the years 2023 to 2027 it will not develop an initiative or support any initiative towards the Slovak Power Plants aimed at the introduction, increase or tightening of any new tax, levy, fee, specific payment or regulation, thereby ensuring a stable regulatory environment for the Slovak power plants."

Slovakia expects to become a net exporter of energy once the two new units at Mochovce are both up and running.

MURR was originally constructed as a 5 MWt reactor, and began operations in 1966. Its power was increased to 10 MWt in 1974, and it now operates six-and-a-half days per week, all year round. The reactor is currently the only producer in the USA of the medical isotopes yttrium-90, used for the treatment of liver cancer; molybdenum-99, for analysis of heart functions; iodine-131, used for treatment of thyroid cancer; and lutetium-177, used for treatment of pancreatic and prostate cancers.

According to the university, more than 1.6 million patients a year are diagnosed or treated using radioisotopes that MURR produces. MURR NextGen will build on the internationally recognised excellence of MURR and expand the university's isotope production capabilities, it said.

"The work that we do at MURR saves and improves thousands of lives each and every day," said Mun Choi, University of Missouri president. "NextGen MURR will produce advanced cancer medicines for the next 75 years and solidify the University of Missouri's position as the most important resource for medical isotopes in the United States."

Molybdenum-99 - Mo-99 - is used in hospitals to generate technetium-99m, a critically important diagnostic imaging radioisotope used in 40,000 patient imaging studies per day in the USA. The USA has in the past been heavily reliant on imported Mo-99, but since 2009 a programme by the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration has been working to create a reliable commercial domestic supply of the isotope made without the use of high-enriched uranium (HEU).

NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, in partnership with MURR, has since 2018 produced non-HEU Mo-99 by irradiating and processing molybdenum-98 targets at MURR. The company is also planning to produce the isotope using electron accelerators to irradiate molybdenum-100 targets at a new facility in Beloit, Wisconsin. These dual production and processing pathways will help ensure a reliable supply of Mo-99, according to information from the company.

The first stage of the collaborative project will consist of the construction of a 30 MWt MMR to serve as a training, research and test facility. It will be connected to the existing energy infrastructure of Grupa Azoty Police, providing a unique opportunity to study, test, optimise and integrate the MMR as a zero-carbon generation source into an industrial plant.

The collaboration will ultimately lead to the development of a plan for full-scale use of nuclear energy to power chemical processes and to generate steam and hydrogen at Grupa Azoty Police's plant.

"The Grupa Azoty Group's strategy for 2021-2030, with its flagship Green Azoty project, targets new renewable capacities totalling nearly 380 MW across the group by 2030," noted Tomasz Hinc, CEO and President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty. "In our strategic plan, we have also communicated entry into the segments of wind power and small nuclear sources, including MMRs, which will provide us with additional megawatts of zero-carbon energy.

"The tripartite agreement signed today at the Szczecin Province Office is paving the way for the Grupa Azoty Group to successfully deploy the 4th Generation MMR technology at our sites by the end of the period covered by our current strategy, that is by 2030. Seeking to make the fastest possible transition towards climate neutrality, clean energy and diversified energy sources, we want to agree on the detailed framework of our cooperation within the next six months."

"Deploying our high-temperature nuclear batteries with Grupa Azoty and the West Pomeranian University of Technology opens the path for decarbonisation and the development of modern nuclear infrastructure and workforce in Poland and exemplifies US support of Poland's national energy independence," said USNC CEO and founder Francesco Venneri. "Together with our partner Hyundai Engineering Corporation, we fully support Grupa Azoty's plans to reduce CO2 emissions and we are glad to offer the West Pomeranian University the possibility of research in the area of our high-temperature nuclear batteries."

USNC's MMR is a 15 MW thermal, 5 MW electrical high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, drawing on operational experience from reactors developed by China, Germany, Japan and the USA. It consists of two plants: the nuclear plant that generates heat, and the adjacent power plant that converts heat into electricity or provides process heat for industrial applications. The USNC system is designed to be simple, with minimal operation and maintenance requirements, and no on-site fuel storage, handling or processing. The MMR uses TRISO fuel in prismatic graphite blocks and has a sealed transportable core.

The MMR is at an advanced licensing stage at the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited's Chalk River Laboratories campus in Ontario. The project is a collaboration between USNC and Ontario Power Generation through the jointly owned Global First Power Limited Partnership.

The project at Police joins the growing list of global training, test, and research MMR projects at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the USA, McMaster University in Canada and Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland.

Plans for large-scale plant progresses

Poland's Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) and the USA's Westinghouse Electric Company and Bechtel Corporation have held talks about enhancing cooperation in the project for the first nuclear power plant in Poland.

The talks were attended by the acting President of PEJ Łukasz Młynarkiewicz, President of Energy Systems at Westinghouse David Durham, Vice President and CEO of Bechtel Craig Albert and John Howanitz, President of the Nuclear Energy, Safety and Environment segment at Bechtel.

"In the near future, it is planned to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between PEJ, Westinghouse and Bechtel, which will allow to formalise the selected model of cooperation in the form of a consortium," PEJ said. "Such a model of cooperation, preferred by Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe from the beginning, will be applied already at the stage of the next contract, planned later this year, i.e. the contract for engineering services, covering the first stage of work on the detailed technical design of the power plant in Pomerania.

"Signing the contract with the Westinghouse-Bechtel consortium will allow us to use the unique competences and experience gained during the construction of two AP 1000 reactors in the USA, which is now being finalised."

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 Poland'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 1-1.6 GWe, being commissioned in 2033. Subsequent units will be implemented every 2-3 years.

In November 2022, the Polish government selected Westinghouse for the country's first nuclear power plant. In February this year, PEJ and Westinghouse signed a contract commencing joint activities that will lead to the preparation of the design of the first nuclear power plant in Poland.

Meanwhile, Poland's ZE PAK, Polska Grupa Energetyczna and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power have signed a letter of intent to cooperate on a nuclear power plant project in Patnow, in central Poland, assessing the viability of building South Korean APR1400 reactors on the site.

The paper lists 12 new measures the government will take to achieve this. The government said it is committed to carbon capture usage and storage, and projects will soon be announced for the rollout of the first carbon capture clusters. The plans also include a GBP160 million (USD197 million) fund that will support the infrastructure for floating offshore wind projects, alongside a more than GBP380 million boost into the rollout of electric vehicle charging points and infrastructure. It also supports the first tranche of new green hydrogen production projects under the GBP240 million Net-Zero Hydrogen Fund as part of development of this new power source.

"This document - Powering Up Britain - is the government's blueprint for the future of energy in this country," Shapps said. "By bringing together our Energy Security Plan, and Net-Zero Growth Plan, it explains how we will diversify, decarbonise and domesticate energy production by investing in renewables and nuclear, to power Britain from Britain."

On nuclear, the government has launched Great British Nuclear (GBN), which will be responsible for driving the delivery of new nuclear projects, with the aim of increasing the share of nuclear in the UK's electricity mix from the current 15% to 25% by 2050. GBN will be based in or around the Greater Manchester area and operate through British Nuclear Fuels Limited. It will initially be led by Simon Bowen as interim Chair and Gwen Parry-Jones as interim CEO.

"The first priority for GBN is to launch a competitive process to select the best small modular reactor (SMR) technologies," the paper said. "This will commence in April with market engagement as the first phase. The second phase – the down-selection process - will be launched in the summer, with an ambition to assess and decide on the leading technologies by Autumn. We will co-fund the selected technologies through their development and will work with successful bidders on ensuring the right financing and site arrangements are in place, in line with our commitment to take two Final Investment Decisions in the next parliament.

"The government has also launched the Future Nuclear Enabling Fund of up to GBP120 million to provide targeted support for new nuclear to address barriers to entry and will announce a shortlist of applications to begin pre-grant award due-diligence soon."

The government noted that nuclear energy has been used "reliably and safely" in the UK for more than 60 years and "we have extensive experience of the full nuclear life cycle, from front-end design through to decommissioning". It added: "We are matching the global competition and scaling-up our nuclear programme by having launched GBN, responsible for driving delivery of new nuclear projects, backed with the funding it needs."

The policy paper says the government wants UK companies to "continue playing a key role in green supply chains, from nuclear to CCUS and electric vehicles. For example, nuclear power station Hinkley Point C has spent over GBP4.1 billion with suppliers in the Southwest to date and EDF anticipate that 64% of the construction value of the project will be spent with UK firms, with over 22,000 people nationwide currently working on the project".

"We're driving forward plans to boost renewables, revive nuclear and build new thriving industries like carbon capture, which will in turn create good jobs across the country, provide new opportunities for British businesses at home and abroad, and maintain our world-leading action to reach net-zero," said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: "Great British Nuclear will transform the way nuclear projects are deployed in the UK, enabling us to deliver more capacity more quickly. It will help us become a global leader in large and small scale nuclear, with the SMR selection process offering a real opportunity for home-grown technologies and others to bring jobs, skills and investment to the UK."

He added: "For nuclear to provide a quarter of Britain's electricity means embarking on an ambitious new build programme, including a fleet of new stations, as well as placing nuclear on par with other green technologies to drive crucial investment. More nuclear will cut gas imports, cut carbon and create good jobs for communities all across the country."

A year has passed since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, Munro says it has had a "profound impact, in the form of a reset in the importance of energy security ... policy-makers have remembered, or perhaps relearned, what they knew back in the 1970s during the oil crisis and certainly learned after the Second World War".

On uranium and the nuclear fuel cycle, Munro says concentration of supply at both a geopolitical level and a commercial level has been brought into the spotlight and "as a result of that, the structure of the uranium market will need to change so that there can be more diversity". He says another impact has been that it has focused investors' attention on uranium.

During the discussion, Munro talks about the prospects for an expansion of nuclear in Africa and outlines why he sees the Cameco-Westinghouse deal as a good thing, and one which gives more backing for the idea of nuclear energy being part of green taxonomies.

And what about those people who are opposed to nuclear energy? Is it possible to change minds? Munro, who has around 20,000 Twitter followers says that conversations are key - in his experience once people know the facts they tend to be in favour.

Timeline

Never before has one country's military occupied another country's nuclear power plants and the International Atomic Energy Agency has produced a report listing all the the events over the past 12 months. World Nuclear News's Claire Maden joins host Alex Hunt to recap some of the key moments. 

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A Design and Safety options file is scheduled to be submitted to the French Nuclear Safety Authority in July and discussions and engagement take place to assess and select possible sites for the first - reference - plant in France.

The Nuward project was launched in September 2019 by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), EDF, Naval Group and TechnicAtome. The Nuward - consisting of a 340 MWe SMR plant with two pressurised water reactors (PWRs) of 170 MWe each - has been jointly developed using France's experience in PWRs. The technology is expected to replace old high CO2-emitting coal, oil and gas plants around the world and support other applications such as hydrogen production, urban and district heating or desalination.

Following its establishment the Nuward company will continue to work with its longtime partners - CEA, TechnicAtome, Naval Group - as well as its partners of the past year, Framatome and Tractebel. Its workforce is expected to rise to about 150 in its core team by 2024, with more than 600 in total including partners' staff contributing to the project.

Renaud Crassous, Nuward’s President, said the aim was to "fully integrate the SMR catalysts for success, i.e. innovation, modularisation, standardisation and series production. We are committed to increasing the speed of execution to deliver the Nuward SMR design on time to meet market expectations for first nuclear concrete as early as 2030."

Xavier Ursat, EDF Group Senior Executive in charge of Engineering and New Nuclear Projects Division, said that as a subsidiary embedded within the EDF Group, the company will be "a key enabler for a time-to-market product, providing the agility and speed required to meet the next key milestones".

The Nuward is one of a number of SMRs in development at the moment in different countries and the company hopes it will "become the European leader" in SMR technology. It has already attracted interest elsewhere in Europe, with a regulatory agreement reached last year which means that the French nuclear safety regulator and Czech and Finnish regulators are collaborating for a pilot European early joint regulatory review.

According to the French company's SMR roadmap, the phase involving the detailed design and formal application for a new nuclear facility is scheduled to begin in 2026, followed by first concrete in France in 2030 with the construction of that first unit anticipated to take about three years.

The budget introduces a new 15% refundable Investment Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit. Nuclear projects - both large-scale and small modular reactors (SMRs) - are eligible for the credit, which is available to both new projects and the refurbishment of existing facilities. The credit will be available to both public and privately owned entities, and will also be available for equipment enabling the transmission of electricity between provinces and territories. It is expected to cost CAD6.3 billion (USD4.7 billion) over four years starting in 2024-25, and an additional CAD19.4 billion from 2028-29 to 2034-35.

The Clean Electricity tax credit is separate to, but complemented, by the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit announced in the government's 2022 Fall Economic Statement, which provides credits of up to 30% for non-emitting electricity generation technologies, including SMRs.

The budget also included the announcement of a 30% Investment Tax Credit for Clean Technology Manufacturing for investments in new machinery and equipment used to manufacture or process key clean technologies, and extract, process, or recycle key critical minerals. The manufacture of nuclear energy equipment and the processing or recycling of nuclear fuels and heavy water are eligible for this credit, which is expected to cost CAD4.5 billion over five years starting in 2023-24, and an additional CAD6.6 billion from 2028-29 to 2034-35.

Nuclear will also be supported by other measures in the budget, including the extension of tax reductions for zero-emission technology manufacturers to include the nuclear power sector; the allocation of further funds to the Canada Infrastructure Bank - which last year committed a CAD970 million federal loan towards Ontario Power Generation Darlington New Nuclear Project - for accelerating the energy transition; an additional CAD1.3 billion to increase efficiencies with regulatory reviews and approvals, including for the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission; and the provision of CAD500 million over ten years to the Strategic Innovation Fund, which has previously supported SMR projects.

Making nuclear eligible for such tax incentives, in addition to being included in the clean energy investment tax credit, has further levelled the playing field for clean energy technologies, enabling nuclear to compete fairly with other non-emitting sources of power, the CNA said.

"Today’s budget represents a significant change in how the Federal government is approaching nuclear power in Canada," the organisation's CEO and President John Gorman said. "No longer are we simply 'on the table' as Prime Minister Trudeau put it one year ago; nuclear is now recognised as a fundamental and necessary component of Canada's low carbon energy system."

Around 15% of Canada's electricity comes from 19 Candu nuclear power reactors, mostly in Ontario. For many years the world's biggest producer of uranium - until it was overtaken by Kazakhstan - the country's 2021 output of 4693 tU ranks it as third in the list of the world's uranium suppliers. OPG plans to build Canada's first commercial, grid-scale SMR - GE Hitachi's BWRX-300 - at Darlington site, eyeing commercial operation starting in 2029.

Bohdan Zronek, a member of the Board of Directors at ČEZ and Director of the Nuclear Energy Division, said: "Our focus is not only the safety of our nuclear power plants, but also the energy safety of the entire Czech Republic. That's why the contract with Westinghouse is very important. Thanks to the widening of the number of possible suppliers, we are strengthening our energy independence and the certainty of further operation of our sources."

Tarik Choho, President, Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel, said: "We are grateful for ČEZ Group’s confidence in Westinghouse and remain fully committed to supporting its policy of supply diversification. We are proud to be the first Western alternative with a proven fuel design for this type of unit."

ČEZ said that Dukovany has a three year supply of fuel in storage and it will continue to maintain this reserve in the future. In February, ČEZ said Dukovany, which has four VVER-440 units and is in the Vysočina Region, would be switching to 16-month fuel cycles.

The Czech Republic uses nuclear power for 34% of its electricity, generating this from four reactors at Dukovany and two at Temelin. ČEZ is currently evaluating bids from Westinghouse, EDF and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power for the construction of a new reactor at Dukovany. An area has also been designated near Temelin, the South Bohemia Nuclear Park, for small modular reactors to operate in the early 2030s.

He said that he could see that the shelling of the plant in November had "wittingly or unwittingly" hit the outsides of two of the reactor buildings and showed the urgency of bringing in new safety measures.

He said: "I think that, in general, the situation is not improving. It is obvious that military activity is increasing in this whole region ... and there is open talk about offensives, counter-offensives and so on."

It was Grossi's second visit to the plant since the war began (Image: IAEA)

Grossi said that over his months of negotiations with Kiev and Moscow to agree measures aimed at protecting the plant "there have been different concepts that we have been working on - initially we were focusing on the possibility of the establishment of a well-determined zone around the plant. Now, the concept is evolving, it's refocusing more on the protection itself and the things that should be avoided, for example, in order to protect the plant, rather than on territorial aspects, which pose certain problems. But it is work in progress, I would say."

He said "it is very very important that we agree on the fundamental principle that a nuclear power plant should not be attacked under any circumstances and it shouldn't be used to attack others" and "this is at the basis" of the attempt to agree "certain measures or principles, which should be agreed by all".

"A nuclear power plant should never be a military target and there should not be heavy military weapons or equipment at the nuclear power plant. I think what is important is to make sure that there are no attacks at this plant and I am trying to put on the table realistic, viable proposals that can be accepted by all. A nuclear accident's radiological consequences would spare no-one - Russia, Ukraine or the rest of Europe - so we need to avoid that. I am optimistic that it is possible."

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is Ukraine and Europe's largest, with six units. It has been under the control of the Russian military since early March 2022. It has been hit by shelling a number of times - with both sides blaming the other - and it has also had to rely on emergency diesel generators for power for essential safety systems on the occasions when its external power supply has been lost.

Doosan Enerbility has already pre-ordered KRW45 billion worth of this work with its subcontractors, and plans to place orders for approximately KRW210 billion worth of additional work this year.

In November 2014, KHNP signed an agreement with Ulchin County to build Shin Hanul 3 and 4. The company applied for a construction licence for the units in January 2016. Site preparation for the two units was scheduled to begin May 2017, with commercial operation of unit 3 scheduled for December 2022, with unit 4 following a year later.

However, KHNP announced in May 2017 that it had instructed Kepco Engineering & Construction - which signed a design contract in March 2016 - to suspend work for the planned Shin Hanul 3 and 4 units as a result of the then new President Moon Jae-in's policy of phasing out nuclear power. Work towards licensing the new units was to continue.

President Yoon Suk-yeol - who assumed power in May 2022 - vowed to reverse former President Moon Jae-in's policy of phasing out nuclear power. In July last year, Yoon encouraged a speedy restoration of the country's "nuclear power plant ecosystem" after Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang set out plans for revitalising South Korea's nuclear power industry, including the aim for work on Shin Hanul 3 and 4 to resume as early as 2024.

MOTIE noted that, whereas in the past it took 30 to 37 months from the initial review of a contract to the final conclusion, this time it was drastically shortened to 8 months "through a drastic increase in contract review personnel and concurrent promotion of contract conditions and price negotiations, thereby helping to quickly overcome the shrinking ecosystem".

It added: "The construction of Shin Hanul units 3 and 4 is progressing with a sense of speed with the goal of completing the environmental impact assessment within the first half of this year, approval of the power source development project implementation plan in July at the earliest, and commencement of subsequent site preparation work.

"In particular, with this contract, by starting to manufacture core components such as nuclear reactors and steam generators, which take a long time to design and manufacture, construction projects aimed at completion in 2032-2033 (units 3 and 4) are expected to be completed without a hitch."

Last year, MOTIE and related organisations provided emergency financial funds worth KRW400 billion to small and medium-sized companies involved in the nuclear industry "experiencing business difficulties in the aftermath of nuclear power plant phase-out". The ministry announced a low-interest special financial programme worth KRW200 billion will be launched on 31 March to provide further assistance.

Minister of Industry Lee Chang-yang said: "We expect that nuclear power companies that have been struggling with this [nuclear phase out] policy will take off again. The government will speed up the complete normalisation of the nuclear power plant ecosystem within the year."

Fulfilling a commitment made at the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) provided financial and technical assistance to global Mo-99 producers for the conversion from HEU to LEU targets. These conversions were technically complex, requiring qualification of new LEU targets for irradiation in nuclear reactors, modification of specialised equipment for processing irradiated targets, and extensive reviews from both nuclear safety and medical regulators.

With help from NNSA, South Africa's NTP Radioisotopes converted to LEU targets in 2017 and the Netherlands' Curium converted in 2018. The fourth major Mo-99 producer, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, has always used LEU targets.

Preliminary consultations between the IRE - the world's leading producer of Mo-99 - and the Belgian nuclear regulator, the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC), on the conversion from HEU to LEU targets began in 2015. IRE requested in July 2016 to amend its licensing conditions to enable the switch. On 24 October 2017, the permit for the development of LEU production was granted by Royal Decree. FANC and its technical subsidiary Bel V ​​approved the start of Mo-99 production using LEU on 14 April 2020. IRE produced its first batch of Mo-99 using an LEU target in May that year.

In February  2021, IRE announced that its first commercial deliveries of iodine-131 (I-131) - used for therapeutic purposes - based on the irradiation of LEU targets had started.

IRE has now announced the complete conversion of its production process to LEU, ending the global civil use of HEU for the production of medical isotopes.

"This complete conversion to a LEU process represents the culmination of years of work and collaboration between the R&D, production, safety, quality assurance and regulatory teams of IRE around an entirely new industrial process for supplying Mo-99 and I-131 to healthcare professionals, without impacting the site's production capacity," IRE said. "This outcome would not have been possible either, without the upstream collaboration of the research reactors which irradiate the uranium targets, but also downstream thanks to IRE customers who had to modify the application files of their Mo-99 and I-131-based drugs and have them approved."

"IRE will continue to innovate in order to contribute even better to saving lives thanks to nuclear medicine applications, while increasing the safety of our processes and our facilities," said IRE CEO Erich Kollegger.

"For decades, access to life-saving medical isotopes depended on the shipment of proliferation-sensitive nuclear material across continents," noted NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby. "With IRE's production facility converted to LEU, all major producers across the Mo-99 industry can perform their vital work without HEU targets."

NNSA is also helping research reactor operators convert from HEU to LEU fuel - some of these reactors provide irradiation services for Mo-99 production. Of the six research reactors with a major role in Mo-99 production, five now use LEU fuel, and the sixth - Belgium's BR2 research reactor - is expected to convert in 2026. LEU test assemblies are current being irradiated in this reactor as the final major technical step towards conversion.

In 1995, the US Department of Energy (DOE), the state of Idaho and the US Navy signed the Idaho Settlement Agreement to support the cleanup and disposition of used nuclear fuel and high-level and transuranic radioactive legacy waste at INL and prevent shipments of spent nuclear fuel to Idaho for permanent storage. Transferring the fuel from wet to dry storage is part of that agreement.

By the end of 1996, the used fuel from EBR-II had been transferred to wet storage. Work to transfer the used fuel to dry storage began in 2011. DOE said it has now successfully transferred more than 100 shipments of EBR-II sodium-bonded driver fuel from wet to dry storage as part of the agreement, reaching this milestone nearly nine months ahead of schedule.

Some of the EBR-II fuel is being treated to recover uranium products which could potentially be used as a source for high-assay low-enriched uranium - HALEU - to support fuel qualification testing and DOE-supported advanced reactor demonstration projects.

Connie Flohr, manager of the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) Idaho Cleanup Project, said the wet- to dry-storage transfer is one of the most meaningful cleanup accomplishments to date at the INL site. "The removal of the last elements in underwater storage was a well-coordinated effort by our high-performing workforce and brings an end to a massive effort to safely transfer thousands of spent nuclear fuel elements from wet to dry storage over the past decade," she said.

The wet storage basin at INTEC is described by the EM as the largest used nuclear fuel storage basin in the world.  Emptying the basin is an effort that that has taken more than two decades to achieve, EM said, and has  seen it work with DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy and the Office of Naval Reactors Idaho Branch Office, with the support of five contracting companies over that time.

AI is defined in the strategy as: "Learned, automatic analysis and processing of data to support decision-making and task automation using video, images, audio, natural language, time series and other structured or unstructured data." It includes machine learning, deep learning, computer vision and natural language processing.

Among the reasons to adopt AI more widely the strategy says it can provide greater automation "to reduce difficult, hazardous tasks currently carried out by our workforce and increase nuclear safety across our facilities" and "to establish state-of-the-art monitoring of our ponds, silos, stores and buildings to ensure future site custodians have contemporary technology and data sets" and "to enable safe and effective deployment of robotic applications across our site".

The steps to achieving the vision begin with educating and informing staff about AI and to "stoke excitement in the short term and make it normal to everyday working by 2027" and includes consulting and working closely with regulators at all stages "to enable coordinated, safe, sustainable and secure adoption of AI applications".

Examples of AI uses at Sellafield include automating retrieved waste analysis and onward package labelling which "removes people from high-risk manual sampling process, speeds up retrievals operation and provides better data for lifetime management of the package".

Another example is automation of "unmanned aerial vehicle/remotely operated vehicle image analysis" which can use "computer vision to automatically detect new defects and changes in existing defects in buildings and plant" which not only speeds up onward maintenance decision-making but can "also be combined with other data sources to provide comprehensive asset risk status".

Sellafield says its strategy will be reviewed and revised every five years and key to achieving its "ambitious" timescale" will be "ensuring our regulators join us on our journey and remain supportive".

Sellafield Ltd is the organisation responsible for the safe operation and clean-up of the Sellafield site in Cumbria, UK, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The site - which houses more than 1000 buildings - is the largest nuclear complex in Western Europe. Sellafield's nuclear facilities include those connected with the Magnox reprocessing programme, the Sellafield mixed-oxide fuel plant, the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant, and nuclear waste treatment plants. It is also home to redundant facilities from defence work in the 1950s, which included making plutonium for nuclear weapons.

The permits now granted by the Environment Agency are required for the Sizewell C plant to operate and will allow it to dispose of and discharge radioactive waste, operate standby power supply systems using diesel generators and discharge returned abstracted seawater and other liquid trade effluents to the North Sea.

"Each of the three permits is an important regulatory permission that the company requires to operate Sizewell C nuclear power station," the Environment Agency said. "They include the limits and conditions that the company needs to put in place to ensure high standards of environmental protection during commissioning, operation and decommissioning."

"Today's decision to issue the three permits for these operational activities comes after 10 years of pre-application discussions, three years of technical assessments and two public consultations," said the Environment Agency’s Sizewell C Project Manager, Simon Barlow. "In reaching this decision we carefully considered all the responses from a wide range of stakeholders in the local community, national organisations and statutory consultees"

He added: "By granting these permits many years ahead of Sizewell C operating, we can positively influence the design, procurement, and commissioning of the power station, whilst also ensuring that people and the environment are protected."

The Environment Agency is the independent environmental regulator for the nuclear industry in England. It regulates specific environmental matters at nuclear sites in England by issuing environmental permits covering site preparation, construction, operation and decommissioning.

It noted that NNB GenCo (SZC) "will need to continue to apply for a range of environmental permits relating to site investigation, construction works and for relevant 'associated developments' such as workers' accommodation".

The plan is for Sizewell C to feature two EPRs producing 3.2 GW of electricity, enough to power the equivalent of around six million homes. It would be a "replica" of the Hinkley Point C plant, under construction in Somerset.

Demonstration DAC facility

Sizewell C and ABP have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to finalise the commercial arrangements to lease a site at the Port of Lowestoft, further up the Suffolk coast from the Sizewell site, to house a demonstrator DAC facility. The planning permission to build the facility will be sought shortly.

Port of Lowestoft (Image: ABP)

"Direct Air Capture - a technology that uses chemical reactions to pull carbon dioxide out of the air, which can then be stored - could become a key technology for reducing carbon emissions and tackling climate change," EDF said. "The project at Lowestoft is designed to demonstrate a more efficient and innovative DAC process, which would be powered principally by heat."

If the demonstrator project is successful, a permanent full-scale DAC unit could then use heat generated from Sizewell C to extract CO2 from the air. The full-scale DAC facility would be located at a separate location to the power plant, with the heat transported through underground pipes. Such a facility could potentially capture 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 each year.

The plans follow the UK government's decision to award GBP3.0 million (USD3.7 million) to Sizewell C and its partners (Birmingham University, Nottingham University, Helical, Atkins and Altrad Babcock) in 2022 as part of the Greenhouse Gas Removals competition, to develop this novel heat-assisted DAC technology.

"We are delighted to be developing plans with ABP to locate the demonstrator DAC facility at the Port of Lowestoft and to help drive net-zero innovation in the East of England," said Sizewell C Director Julia Pyke. "DAC is one part of our plan to make Sizewell C a low-carbon hub, which will help kickstart other technologies and deliver even more value to our energy system."

"ABP's Port of Lowestoft is delighted to host this demonstrator DAC project, which represents a great step forward in our shared goals of achieving net-zero," said ABP Regional Director Andrew Harston. "The project aligns closely with ABP's recently published strategy, to achieve net-zero by 2040, as well as SZC's focus on the production of clean, low-carbon energy."

The MoU signed by UKAEA and KFE - both government-funded organisations - will see risk-driven research and development prioritisation, knowledge-sharing involving welding, large-scale tendon driven arm operations, the development of robust electronic components, and skills transfer.

The technical and knowledge exchange will happen via lectures, seminars and workshops in both countries. This will also include training placements for KFE.

"Fusion could be transformative for energy security and is important in the global fight against climate change," said UKAEA CEO Ian Chapman. "The ground-breaking research and innovation being done in the UK, and with our partners across the globe, aims to make fusion energy a reality. We welcome KFE to UKAEA's Culham Campus and look forward to an evolving partnership driven by a shared quest to make fusion part of the world's future energy supply."

"We are thrilled to be teaming up with UKAEA, who are at the forefront of the challenge to demonstrate fusion energy on earth," said KFE President Suk Jae Yoo. "While UKAEA researchers have vast knowledge in developing robot arms for fusion maintenance, KFE researchers bring extensive expertise gained from constructing and operating the KSTAR. The collaboration between the two institutions will create a synergy in developing remote control systems for fusion demonstration machines. I hope this partnership leads to further collaborations in key research areas, advancing the development of fusion energy."

UKAEA conducts fusion energy research on behalf of the UK government. Since opening at Culham, Oxfordshire, in 2014, UKAEA's fusion robotics centre, Remote Applications in Challenging Environments, has conducted research and development into the use of robotics in extreme industrial environments where it is difficult to send people to work.

The second bill - HB 1779 - creates the Nuclear Education Grant Fund to award competitive grants to
higher education providers to establish or expand a nuclear education programme to create employment and training pathways in areas including nuclear engineering and nuclear welding.

"Today is a great day for Virginia energy and American energy. With the bills I'm signing, we're moving closer to delivering on the All-American, All-of-the-Above Energy Plan I put forward last year. We can, in fact, make Virginia energy more reliable, affordable, and clean while creating jobs and spurring innovation and today is a testament to that," Youngkin said as he signed the legislation on 23 March.

When he launched the 2022 Virginia Energy Plan last October, Youngkin envisaged that a commercial SMR would be serving customers with baseload power in southwest Virginia within the next 10 years. However, a bill that would have made it state policy to promote the development and operation of SMRs and to establish an SMR pilot program - HB 2333 - failed to pass through the legislature.

Youngkin nevertheless remained optimistic: "I can't wait until I watch that first small modular reactor turn on, and hospitals flip switches for their NICU units and senior living facilities turn the air conditioning on in the summertime, when it's so hot. And yeah, parents and children turn the light on in the early morning, when it's dark outside and have breakfast together. That's going to be pretty awesome," he said as he signed the bills into law, as reported by Susan Cameron in the Cardinal News.

Feasibility and supply chain

Two projects related to the potential deployment of SMRs are amongst a total of 17 projects announced by Youngkin as recipients under the Growth and Opportunity for Virginia (GO Virginia) grant awards for 2023.

The LENOWISCO Planning District Commission, in partnership with independent subject matter experts, to examine the feasibility of developing multiple SMR site locations within the Lonesome Pine Regional Industrial Facilities Authority (RIFA) has been selected to receive USD100,000 of Go Virginia funding. A second project by the LENOWISCO Planning District Commission, in partnership with Lonesome Pine Regional RIFA, is to receive USD50,000 to prepare a regional SME manufacturing supply chain report which will be used to identify existing businesses for retooling and recruiting new businesses to provide the baseline for manufacturing jobs needed to support the SMR supply chain.

BTA said the energy ministry added that the projects were of "strategic importance for energy and national security, and before making a final decision, all options should be evaluated in detail".

Bulgaria has been in political deadlock in recent years, with four elections failing to result in a working coalition being established - a fifth election in two years is now set to be held next week.

Although there has been a clear majority in favour of new nuclear in the parliament, there have been different views about whether the new Kozloduy units should be prioritised, or whether completing the part-built Belene units should come first. In January, Bulgaria's parliament asked ministers to negotiate with the US government for a new AP1000 unit at Kozloduy. The vote urged action to be taken by 1 March which would speed up the process of approval and construction of what would be unit 7 of the Kozloduy plant, as well as initiating a licensing and environmental impact assessment procedure for what would be unit 8.

That led, earlier this month, to Westinghouse signing a memorandum of understanding to initiate planning for the potential deployment of one or more of its AP1000 reactors at Kozloduy.

Deputy Energy Minister Elenko Bozhkov told BTA, earlier on Tuesday, the proposed Westinghouse deal would seek to maximise participation of Bulgarian industry in the construction of the two units, adding that European Commission approval and an intergovernmental agreement will be needed.

Kozloduy 1-4 reactors were VVER-440 models which the European Commission had classified as non-upgradeable and Bulgaria agreed to close them down during their negotiations to join the European Union in 2007. It currently has two Russian-designed VVER-1000 reactors, Kozloduy unit 5 and unit 6 operating.

The Belene project in northern Bulgaria has been for the construction of two 1000 MWe units, using Russian VVER-1000 designs. Preliminary site works began in 2008, and contracts for components including large forgings and I&C systems were signed with suppliers, but the project was stymied by financing problems and was suspended in 2012. In 2019, the government advertised for a strategic investor to participate in the Belene project to build two large reactors, but said that neither funding guarantees nor long-term electricity sales contracts would be offered.

According to the BTA report, EDF executives will be visiting Bulgaria during April to inspect the Belene site and see the equipment already available there. Bozhkov said the intention would be for EDF to finish the construction of the units with French technology.

"In accordance with these decisions, CRA has issued reassessments reducing the proposed transfer pricing adjustment from CAD5.12 billion to CAD3.25 billion, resulting in a reduction of CAD1.87 billion in income taxable in Canada compared with the previous reassessments issued to Cameco for the 2007 through 2013 tax years. These revisions to income result in the refund of approximately CAD300 million described above," the company said.

The company noted that its broader tax dispute with the CRA - which continues to hold a further CAD480 million (CAD206 million in cash and CAD274 million in letters of credit) remitted or secured by the company - is still ongoing. This is "tying up a significant portion of our financial capacity", it said.

The company maintains that "clear and decisive court rulings already rendered in this dispute" relating to the sale of Canadian-produced uranium by the company's foreign subsidiary should also apply to the remaining transfer pricing adjustment of CAD3.25 billion for the 2007 to 2013 tax years, and that CRA should "fully reverse" the adjustments for those years, return the cash and security, "and bring this matter to an end once and for all".

Cameco filed appeals with the Canadian tax court in 2021 for the 2007-2013 and in October 2022 for the years 2014 and 2015. It has recently filed a notice of objection for 2016. "The process to resolve these disputes continues," the company said.

The timing of the refund is yet to be determined.

It is the second visit during the war to the plant by Grossi, and the first since last September. According to Energoatom, this time Grossi planned "to see how the situation at the ZNPP has changed, to talk with the nuclear engineers who operate it, and also to act as a guarantor of the rotation of members of the agency's permanent mission, which has been working at the Zaporizhzhia NPP since September 2022".

According to Russia's Tass news agency, the IAEA delegation consisted of 11 people, including three inspectors who are taking over from the three current IAEA team based at the plant. There are also seven people from the UN Department of Safety and Security, Tass said.

Grossi has been seeking to negotiate a security and protection zone around the plant, to reduce the risks to its safety posed by the conflict, however the details of its size, and how it would operate have proved difficult to agree.

There are six reactors at Zaporizhzhia, which has been under Russian military control since early March 2022, with two units in hot shutdown, producing heat for the nearby town of Energodar, and two more in cold shutdown. As well as shelling in and around the site, there have also been occasions when the external power supply has been lost to the plant and it has had to rely on emergency diesel generators to provide the power it needs for safety requirements, such as cooling and systems.

Ahead of Grossi's arrival, Renat Karchaa, adviser to Rosenergoatom's CEO, was quoted by Tass as saying that Russia continued to be "fully open to dialogue on ensuring nuclear security" but "we are far from having any illusions that Grossi's visit will be a game-changer ... although anything can happen, what will actually be implemented is another issue altogether, but a lack of results is not a reason not to hold dialogue".

He also said that since Grossi's September visit the occupied plant has had a structure built to protect a nuclear waste storage facility from the artillery strikes, Tass reported.

Ahead of his visit, after meeting with Ukraine's president, Grossi said in an interview with Reuters that he was continuing with his efforts to get agreement on measures to protect the plant, but said: "We are making some adjustments on the proposals that we are putting on the table. I am confident that it might be possible to establish some form of protection, perhaps not emphasising so much the idea of a zone, but on the protection itself: what people should do, or shouldn't do to protect (the plant) instead of having a territorial concept.

"I am not giving up in any way. I think on the contrary we need to multiply our efforts, we need to continue."

Tass reported that about five hours after his arrival Grossi and his convoy "passed the Vasilyevka checkpoint towards Ukraine".

"Fangchenggang Nuclear will also obtain certificates such as the Electric Power Business Permit as per the relevant requirements," CGN noted in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. "Under normal circumstances, the time when the relevant procedures have been completed will be determined as the time when such unit commences its commercial operation."

First concrete was poured for the nuclear island of unit 3 of the Fangchenggang plant - 39% owned by Guangxi Investment Group and 61% by CGN - in December 2015, while that for unit 4 was poured a year later. Unit 3 was originally expected to start up in 2019, with unit 4 scheduled to start up in 2020. Both their start-ups were subsequently postponed until 2022.

In January 2022, CGN announced that the start-up of Fangchenggang 3 and 4 had been put back again due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It said the start of operation of unit 3 had been put back to the second half of 2022, with that of unit 4 expected in the first half of 2024. However, in December, CGN announced Fangchenggang 3 would not begin operation until the first half of 2023.

The unit achieved first criticality - a sustained chain reaction - on 27 December last year and was synchronised with the grid on 10 January.

The Fangchenggang plant is planned to house six 1000 MWe reactors. The first phase comprises two CPR-1000 units which were put into commercial operation in 2016. CGN said the plant is expected to have an annual power generation of over 34.5 TWh after both the first and second phases of the project are completed and put into operation, which can meet the annual electricity demand of a population of 5.87 million. The carbon dioxide emissions avoided will be about 28.56 million tonnes.

With Fangchenggang unit 3 now in commercial operation, the number of power reactors in operation managed by CGN (including associates) has increased to 27 units and the installed capacity of nuclear power generating units in operation has increased from 29,380 MW to 30,568 MW.

In 2012, central planners in Beijing directed China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and CGN to 'rationalise' their reactor programmes. This meant CNNC's ACP1000 and CGN's ACPR1000 were 'merged' into one standardised design - the Hualong One. In fact, each company has its own supply chain and their versions of Hualong One differ slightly but the design is considered to be standardised.

The first two units of CNNC's version of the Hualong One design at the Fuqing plant in Fujian province have both already started up. Unit 5 entered commercial operation on 30 January 2021, with unit 6 following on 25 March 2022.

Two HPR1000 units have been constructed at Pakistan's Karachi nuclear power plant. Construction began on Karachi unit 2 in 2015 and unit 3 in 2016. These entered commercial operation in May 2021 and April 2022, respectively.

SCK-CEN is developing a completely new LEU fuel type in close collaboration with the USA aimed at delivering the same performance as HEU fuel. It plans to switch BR2 from using HEU to the new LEU in 2026 if a decision is made to continue operating the reactor.

"By removing the highly-enriched uranium from the fuel, it helps to prevent the possible spread of that material," SCK-CEN said. "In this way, SCK-CEN contributes with a proliferation-resistant nuclear fuel, thus contributing to a safer world."

"The nuclear fuel cannot simply be changed overnight," SCK-CEN noted. "The switch to this fuel requires extensive testing and the preparation of a significant safety file. SCK-CEN must prove to the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) – the nuclear regulatory authority in Belgium – that the new fuel type is just as safe as the current one. Moreover, the research reactor must deliver the same technical performance using this new fuel type."

"In highly-enriched uranium, we can split almost all uranium atoms. In low-enriched uranium, only one atom in five is fissile," said project leader Jared Wight. "However, the nuclear fuel must be able to perform to the same level, so that BR2 can perform its vital missions. It's like a driver filling their car's tank with 20% petrol, and still wanting to travel the same distance at the same speed as they would on a full tank."

The new LEU fuel has already completed several demonstration phases. In the first phase, small samples were tested in moderate conditions, with the power and burnup fraction limited. In the second phase, full-size, individual fuel plates were exposed to higher power and a higher burnup fraction. In the third phase, these fuel plates were incorporated into future fuel assemblies and tested in real conditions. Each step in this process has been closely monitored by FANC.

Wight said that three LEU fuel assemblies have now been tested in real conditions over the past two BR2 cycles.

"After each cycle, we thoroughly check each fuel assembly," he said. "We are curious to obtain the [latest] results, but we expect them to be acceptable, just like the previous tests, demonstrating that the fuel assemblies remained perfectly undamaged, even under high power."

"SCK-CEN's successful completion of the second irradiation cycle using low-enriched uranium fuel for BR2 is a major milestone," said Corey Hinderstein, Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Non-proliferation at the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. "This is the first time this high performance low-enriched uranium fuel has been used and is a crucial step toward the conversion of BR2 by 2026. Their progress sets a global example for reactor conversions to low-enriched uranium and demonstrates our ability to achieve non-proliferation goals while maintaining scientific excellence."

The BR2 accounts for about a quarter of the global production of radioisotopes for medical and industrial purposes, including for cancer therapy and medical imaging. It also produces doped silicon, which forms a semiconductor material that provides the basic substance for electronic components.

Most of the world's research reactors were built in the 1960s and 1970s using technology that required HEU - with enrichment levels as high as 98% - to perform experiments. HEU targets have also been used in the production of medical radioisotopes. However, such HEU could potentially be used to make a nuclear weapon and is therefore seen as a proliferation risk. Much of this research can now be carried out using LEU, of which uranium-235 accounts for less than 20%.

"Our enduring partnership is based on a mutual commitment to shared security, shared prosperity, and shared democratic values, including the importance of fighting climate change and an abiding respect for human rights and the rule of law. As the closest of friends and allies, we remain committed to making life better for people on both sides of our shared border and to building a more free, equitable, secure, and prosperous world," they said.

"Canada and the United States will also coordinate efforts to develop secure and reliable North American nuclear fuel supply chains and build broader partnerships with longstanding allies and partners, both of which will help to ensure access to low enriched uranium, including High-Assay Low Enriched Uranium," the statement added.

The FIRST programme was launched by the US Department of State in 2021 to provide capacity-building support to partner countries developing nuclear energy programmes to support clean energy goals, under the highest international standards for nuclear safety, security, waste management and non-proliferation. The programme uses the International Atomic Energy Agency's Milestones Approach as a baseline for infrastructure development and nuclear security support. The Department of State committed an initial USD5.3 million of investment to support FIRST projects, and the programme has so far seen the USA engage with countries including Armenia, Ghana, the Philippines and Romania.

The one-year Energy Transformation Task Force, chaired by the US Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Canada's Deputy Prime Minister, will work across the spectrum of the clean economy to accelerate cooperation on critical clean energy opportunities and supply chains, including amongst other things critical minerals and rare earths, grid integration and resilience, and advanced and conventional nuclear energy.

"Economic policy, climate policy, and security policy aren’t just connected; they’re one in the same," Trudeau said in a joint press conference. The Energy Transformation Task Force will accelerate work on clean energy and clean tech, including securing and strengthening electric vehicle and critical mineral supply chains, he said. "Of course, an integrated approach means creating good middle-class jobs for workers on both sides of the border, and it will make our collective economic growth stronger and more resilient."

It said that the launch of the chain reaction came after a large amount of testing as part of the commissioning process to ensure the new unit complied with all safety requirements.

Russia's Rosatom, which is building the new unit, said that it is now possible "to proceed to the final part of tests of the power unit physical start-up stage. To confirm compliance with the design and clarify the rated neutron and physical characteristics of the reactor first fuel loading, the specialists will take measurements of the actual state of the core. Reliability of functioning of protections, interlocking and the entire nuclear physical control and nuclear safety systems of the reactor plant will also be checked".

Once these checks and results have been considered by Belarus's nuclear regulator and a start-up permit issued, a gradual increase of the power will begin, with the energy ministry saying the next steps will be to "increase the power of the reactor plant to 40% or more with the first trial connection of the unit to the network and subsequent tests in different modes".

The first power unit of Belarus's nuclear power plant was connected to the grid in November 2020 and, the energy ministry says, once both units - Russian VVER-1200 reactors - are commissioned, the plant will produce about 18.5 TWh of electricity per year, equivalent to 4.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas, with an annual effect on the country's economy of about USD550 million.

Earlier this month, Energy Minister Viktor Karankevich said the aim was for the second unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant's first trial connection to the network to take place in April and for it to be put into commercial operation in October 2023.

His visit in September marked the start of the permanent stationing of an IAEA team of experts at the plant. On his visit this week, which involves crossing the frontline of the conflict, he will be accompanied by IAEA colleagues as they rotate - for a seventh time - the team at the plant.

Grossi said: "Despite our presence at the site for seven months now, the situation ... is still precarious. The nuclear safety and security dangers are all too obvious, as is the necessity to act now to prevent an accident with potential radiological consequences to the health and the environment for people in Ukraine and beyond. I’m therefore continuing to work on a proposal to protect the plant."

Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the director general of Russia’s Rosenergoatom nuclear power engineering company, told Tass on Sunday that Grossi was expected at the Zaporizhzhia plant on Wednesday "leading an IAEA delegation of 18 ... concurrently, the IAEA inspectors will be rotated".

Grossi tweeted on Monday: "On my way to #Zaporizhzhya NPP to assess first-hand the #nuclear safety & security situation at the facility. I will continue my efforts to protect the nuclear plant during the ongoing military conflict, & lead our next regular rotation of @iaeaorg experts to & from the site."

Later on Monday he tweeted a photograph after meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is about 60 kilometres from the nuclear power plant.

The IAEA director general met Ukraine's president ahead of visiting the nuclear plant (Image: @rafaelmgrossi/Twitter)

Grossi said the two men "had a rich exchange on the protection of" the nuclear power plant and its staff. "I reiterated the full support of the @IAEAorg to #Ukraine’s nuclear facilities."

Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine and Europe, and has been under Russian military control since early March 2022. It has suffered some shelling during the conflict, with each side blaming the other, and has had to rely on backup diesel generators for essential safety functions on a number of occasions when external power to the site was lost.

The University of Manchester is the lead university in the UK's Nuclear Technology Education Consortium and has partnered with Flinders University for the Australian delivery of its nuclear masters programmes and doctoral level research training. The partnership agreement with the University of Rhode Island, which has strong ties to the submarine manufacturing industry, will foster collaborative research, explore cooperative educational opportunities and internships, and promote jointly hosted seminars and events.

"These historic new partnerships will bring the world's best nuclear education and research programmes to Adelaide, equipping Flinders graduates with the high-tech skills required to build the SSN-AUKUS submarines," Flinders University President and Vice-Chancellor Colin Stirling said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the UK and President Joe Biden of the USA earlier this month announced the start of the next phase of the project that will ultimately see a new fleet of submarines - known as SSN-AUKUS - built by the UK and Australia. The Australian-built subs will be built in South Australia, with some components made in the UK, and Australia has said it will work over the next decade to build up its submarine industrial base. The first Australian-built submarines are expected to be delivered in the 2040s.

Some 5,500 direct jobs will be created to build the SSN-AUKUS submarines in South Australia when the programme reaches its peak in 20 to 30 years' time, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said.

"We've seen in the UK the massive depth and breadth of skills that are going to be required to build the most complex machines in history," he said. "There's no time to waste. We've already agreed to partner with the Commonwealth to deliver a Skills Academy, and an additional 800 university places over the next four years.

"The partnerships between Flinders, Manchester and Rhode Island universities will see hundreds of South Australians beginning to learn the skills required to operate nuclear-powered submarines."

Under the terms of the MoU, ARC will begin the process to expand its operations in Alberta with the objective of developing a fleet of ARC-100 reactors, with support from Invest Alberta for engagement and partnership activities with industry and stakeholders. ARC will also develop the associated supply chains and manufacturing, operating and support services necessary for the construction and operation of multiple ARC-100 units.

The ARC-100 is a 100 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor based on proven technology developed at the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II reactor, which operated successfully at the US government's Argonne National Laboratory for 30 years. It has also been selected for deployment in New Brunswick, with a fully operational unit at the Point Lepreau nuclear site by 2029.

Invest Alberta CEO Rick Christiaanse said meaningful partnerships with leading cleantech innovators like ARC bring "impactful net-zero solutions" to the province. "Momentum is building in Alberta around SMR technology, with Invest Alberta signing MOUs with several companies that are on the path to launching proven sustainable energy supplies in the province," he said.

William Labbe, president and CEO of ARC Clean Technology Canada, said early deployment of the company's SMR technology would bring high quality jobs, significant investment, and economic benefits. "With Alberta being Canada's energy and heavy industry leader, it is a natural market for ARC's industrial applications and will be a key stepping stone for the global deployment of Canadian SMR technology," he said.

Invest Alberta - a Crown corporation of the Government of Alberta - in January signed an MoU with  X-Energy Canada to develop economic opportunities supporting the potential deployment of the Xe-100 SMR. It has also supported SMR developer Terrestrial Energy in its efforts to expand its operations into Alberta: earlier this month the company opened an office in Calgary to support the commercial development of its Integral Molten Salt Reactor plant for industrial cogeneration in western Canada.

The network will encourage partnerships in regional sub-networks in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific and Central Asia. It was launched at the UN 2023 Water Conference, and is targeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), on Clean Water and Sanitation. The IAEA said that  "laboratories that can generate reliable data in a timely manner are the cornerstone of any country's capacity to better understand and manage their water resources".

The IAEA said isotope hydrology "works on the basis of the composite of water molecules and their isotopic properties, and the combination of these water molecules, which give a water sample a unique ‘fingerprint’ ... analysts can measure isotope ratios to track the flow of water and its travel time. Stable isotopic tracers can be used to determine water quality, while unstable (radioactive) tracers can be used to track water movement".

An example of where the network could help, given by IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi, was that of Tajikistan, which would host a GloWAL laboratory that would be able to monitor the state of glaciers which provide much of the region's freshwater: "Glacier degradation is a very serious problem and by doing this we are giving them the ability to see how fast the glaciers and snowcaps can be regenerated and how to perhaps better manage the run-off water, because, of course, if it is melting, there will be less of it."

Construction work is currently under way on the IAEA Isotope Hydrology Laboratory in Vienna, Austria, which will provide more capacity support for the network and help member states develop more efficient analytical methods.

The launch event also included officials and experts from El Salvador, Germany, Moldova, Namibia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Switzerland, Tajikistan and the USA, plus other UN bodies, the World Bank Group, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education and the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre.

The impact of climate change means some areas are becoming wetter - and some drier - and pollutants and contaminants can also add to the pressures on water supplies. The IAEA says: "With water data, policymakers can make informed decisions on siting agricultural activities and urban planning, based on sustainability and quality of bulk water supply."

Grossi said that in addition to "promises and descriptions of how dire and severe the situation is, it is important that we take concrete steps together, in order to start redressing the situation and put SDG 6 back on track".

Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General from the partnering World Meteorological Organization, said: ​"We have to improve our understanding of the hydrological cycle. Our recommendation is that countries establish weather stations at the shared locations in the GloWAL network, for a better picture of what is happening through hydrological measurements."

Lifeng Li, director, land and water division at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said it "believes that agriculture can contribute to a more water- and food-secure world in the future" citing the example of larger countries like China and the USA where more efficient and sustainable water and land management practices have led to increased yields from less water, as well as initiatives for reusing and recycling water.

The IAEA said "sustainable financing is a key accelerator" for GloWAL so "welcomes support and collaboration from international financial institutions, governments, the private sector as well as public-private partnerships".