World Nuclear News

Belgian regulator says reactors could operate beyond 2025

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 15:18:19 GMT

Belgium's Doel 4 and Tihange 3 could continue operating beyond 2025 provided certain safety upgrades are carried out, Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control has said. However, it said the government must make a prompt decision on their long-term operation and develop a global approach with all the actors involved.

Regulator authorises expansion of Canadian mill tailings facility

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 16:50:20 GMT

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has amended the uranium mine and mill licence held by Orano Canada Inc allowing it to expand the JEB tailings management facility at McClean Lake.

Decree allows further development at Russian ISL project

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 16:04:34 GMT

Further development of the Khokhlovskoye uranium deposit in the Kurgan region of Russia can proceed after the Russian government classified sites within JSC Dalur's existing licence as "industrial land". The government decree was issued after a public inquiry where local residents approved amendments to municipal land use rules.

Core catcher casing in place at Xudabao 3 and Tianwan 7

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 15:25:06 GMT

The core catcher casing has been installed for two of the Russian-supplied VVER-1200 reactors being constructed in China. The 156-tonne casing is part of the core catcher, which is intended to prevent release of radioactive substances in the event of a severe accident.

Brazil looks to nuclear expansion

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 14:48:59 GMT

Brazil has begun a process to identify sites for the new nuclear power units it plans to have in operation by 2050. The Ministry of Mines and Energy has secured cooperation of specialists at Cepel for a siting study.

Slovenia sets date to exit coal

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 15:49:42 GMT

Slovenia will close its coal-fired power plants in 2033, the country's government has decided. New nuclear build to enable this is planned at the Krško plant before 2030.

Hanhikivi 1 licensing work nears completion

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 14:12:33 GMT

Licensing work for the planned Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant in Finland has progressed "to the homestretch", with the final licensing materials expected to be submitted to the nuclear regulator over the next couple of months, Fennovoima has said.

Koeberg offline for replacement of steam generators

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 13:36:30 GMT

Unit 2 of South Africa’s Koeberg nuclear power plant has been taken offline for refuelling and the replacement of its three steam generators and reactor pressure vessel head. The work is part of plans to extend its operation for 20 years, and scheduled to take five months.

Supply chain challenges remain as Kazakh emergency ends

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 14:36:13 GMT

Lessons learned through the COVID-19 pandemic have enabled Kazatomprom's assets to operate throughout recent events in Kazakhstan. The overall impact of the recent period of unrest on the company's business has been minor, but pandemic-related supply chain challenges remain a concern, it said.

IEA praises Canada clean energy transition efforts

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 16:34:16 GMT

Canada's electricity system is amongst the cleanest in the world, thanks to hydro and nuclear power, a policy review by the International Energy Agency has found. Launching the report on 13 January, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol praised Canada's leadership in the development of small modular reactors and expressed the agency's support for the Canadian government's "ambitious" clean energy transition.

Nuclear technique cuts mosquito numbers in Cuban trial

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 13:24:03 GMT

A pilot trial of a nuclear technique in a neighbourhood of the Cuban capital Havana reduced mosquito numbers by up to 90% last year. Early reports show that cases of mosquito-borne diseases were completely eliminated in the last two months of the trial.

UK minister talks up Hinkley Point C progress

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 14:40:56 GMT

The UK’s Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the country was "firmly committed to deploying new nuclear" as he toured construction work at Hinkley Point C. It follows House of Commons approval for the Nuclear Financing Bill, which ministers hope will make the financing of new nuclear attractive to British funds and institutional investors.

Slovenian study sees case for deep borehole disposal

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 15:07:08 GMT

Deep borehole disposal of nuclear waste is an "important alternative option for us to consider," Slovenia’s radioactive waste management organisation’s Leon Kegel has said following a preliminary study into solutions for the disposing of used fuel from the TRIGA II research reactor.

Latest Kudankulam components in preparation

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 16:29:31 GMT

Main components for India's Kudankulam unit 6 are being manufactured in Russia. Construction of the VVER-1000 reactor officially began one month ago.

Kotin elaborates Ukraine's AP1000 plans

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 15:49:22 GMT

Ukraine's Energoatom would like to license Westinghouse's AP1000 technology after the initial five units that are already being planned, the company's CEO, Petro Kotin, said in an interview with EnergoBusiness magazine. Energoatom is currently weighing up its options for suppliers to its programme.

US agency sets out 2022 cleanup priorities

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 15:45:33 GMT

The US Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management has set out its key priorities for 2022 as it pursues its mission to achieve the safe cleanup of the environmental legacy brought about from decades of US nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research.

Rolls-Royce moves into Leicester space research centre

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 15:28:52 GMT

British engineering group Rolls-Royce has opened new offices at Space Park Leicester to develop its expertise in nuclear power applications for space. Being based there will enable Rolls-Royce employees to better collaborate with researchers from the University of Leicester.

Prototype machine demonstrates plasma compression

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 13:26:38 GMT

A prototype system for General Fusion's Fusion Demonstration Plant has successfully demonstrated a critical element of the Canadian company's proprietary Magnetised Target Fusion technology.

Fresh delay to Flamanville 3 blamed on pandemic

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 11:04:18 GMT

The start of operations for the Flamanville 3 EPR reactor in France has been put back, with EDF saying the Covid-19 pandemic had made preparations "more difficult".

Applications made to build El Dabaa units 3 and 4

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 15:03:02 GMT

Egypt's El Dabaa nuclear power project has moved forward with the application for construction licences for units 3 and 4. The application follows six months after the same step for units 1 and 2.

Exelon and Constellation prepare for separation

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 16:46:06 GMT

The two companies that will emerge from the approaching separation of Exelon Generation's regulated utility and competitive energy businesses have set out their respective plans at separate analyst events this week. Exelon will become the USA's largest transmission and distribution utility serving some 10 million customers across seven different regulatory jurisdictions. Constellation will be the largest producer of carbon-free electricity in the country.

Foratom proposes changes to Taxonomy CDA

Wed, 12 Jan 2022 13:10:49 GMT

European nuclear trade body Foratom has welcomed the decision of the European Commission to include nuclear within the sustainable finance taxonomy under certain conditions. However, it has provided the Commission with some suggestions for improvement, based on analysis of the leaked draft Complementary Delegated Act.

Kazatomprom says operations 'normal' despite unrest

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 15:14:33 GMT

Kazatomprom's offices, production facilities and mines have not been impacted by civil unrest that began in the country on 2 January and are operating normally, the company has said. The company added that it was working to prevent destabilisation of its production sites, but a high risk of supply chain disruptions could result in limited access to key operating materials.

USNC licenses 3D printing for reactor component manufacture

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 17:04:55 GMT

Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation has licensed a novel method to 3D print components for nuclear reactors, developed by the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which the Seattle-based company says is ideal for manufacturing components for its advanced nuclear reactor designs.

Reprocessing contract signed for fast reactor complex

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 16:38:16 GMT

A contract has been signed to design the used fuel reprocessing module of the Pilot Demonstration Energy Complex facility under construction at Seversk in Russia.

Contract awarded for planning of Asse II facilities

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 15:21:11 GMT

Germany's Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal has awarded a contract for planning the design and licensing of a waste treatment plant and an interim storage facility at the former Asse II salt mine in the district of Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony. The winning consortium has until the end of 2023 to submit the plans.

Heysham 2 and Torness end dates brought forward by EDF

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 15:10:08 GMT

The Heysham 2 and Torness advanced gas-cooled reactor nuclear power stations in the UK are to stop generating electricity in 2028 - two years earlier than previously planned - operator EDF Energy has announced.

EU needs 'colossal' investment in new nuclear, says commissioner

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 13:38:38 GMT

Investment in nuclear power totalling around EUR500 billion (USD565 billion) by 2050 will be needed if the European Union’s goal of carbon neutrality is to be hit, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton has said in an interview with France’s Le Journal du Dimanche.

Bruce Power harvests cobalt-60 to sterilise medical equipment

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 14:39:07 GMT

Enough cobalt-60 to sterilise 10 billion items of medical equipment was recently shipped from unit 7 at Canada's Bruce nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, a new production base for medical radioisotopes is being set up at the Qinshan Phase III nuclear power plant in China.

NWMO publishes transportation planning documents

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 14:19:11 GMT

Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organisation has released two planning documents that address the wide range of priorities, questions and concerns heard to date from Canadians and Indigenous peoples about the transportation of used nuclear fuel.