Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is working towards the future of nuclear by enhancing existing technology; developing advanced technologies, such as small modular reactors; and assessing how all low-carbon technologies can be integrated within 'microgrids', CNL President and CEO Mark Lesinski said today. The use of hydrogen for microgrids is CNL's "highest aspiration, the Holiest Grail", he told delegates at the International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power being held this week at the International Atomic Energy Agency's headquarters in Vienna.

French utility EDF said its preferred option for repairing the main secondary system penetration welds, using robots, will increase the cost of constructing the Flamanville EPR by EUR1.5 billion (USD1.6 billion). The loading of fuel into the reactor would also be further delayed until the end of 2022.

Uzbekistan's preparations to build its first nuclear power plant are gathering pace with a sense of making up for lost time. The Central Asian country became a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency as long ago as 1994, has 50 years of experience in nuclear research and is the world's fifth biggest producer of uranium.

Russia's Titan-2 - the main contractor for Fennovoima's Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant project in Finland - has awarded a contract to the Framatome-Siemens consortium for the plant's main instrumentation and control (I&C) systems.

Atommash, part of the Volgodonsk branch of Russia's AEM Technology, has completed the manufacture of the upper part of the reactor pressure vessel for unit 1 of the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.

EDF Energy announced today that the projected cost of its Hinkley Point C project has increased by up to GBP2.9 billion (USD3.6 billion) compared to the previous estimate. Both the utility and the UK government stressed that, under the terms of the contract-for-difference, there is no impact from the increase for UK consumers or taxpayers.

South Korea and Saudi Arabia have agreed to collaborate on the commercialisation of the Korean-designed SMART small modular reactor. Under the agreement, they will work together to license and construct the first such unit in Saudi Arabia.

Countries embarking on nuclear energy programmes for the first time or expanding their programmes after a long period without construction face integrated challenges, representatives from emerging and expanding nuclear countries have said. These challenges include the development of human resources as well as financial and political considerations.

Acceptance tests were successfully completed yesterday at unit 2 of the Novovoronezh II nuclear power plant in southwest Russia, Rosatom has announced. The VVER-1200 unit was operated at 100% of its capacity throughout the 15-day procedure.

The world's largest crane is ready to start work at the site of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant under construction in Somerset, England, EDF Energy has announced. Able to stand up to 250 metres high, 'Big Carl' can reach higher than the tallest tower at London’s Canary Wharf and can carry 5000 tonnes in a single lift, the company said.

A full set of dummy fuel assemblies has been loaded into unit 2 of the Leningrad II nuclear power plant under construction in western Russia. The equipment, which replicates the design of standard fuel assemblies by the weight, size and materials of which they are made, but without nuclear fuel, is "extremely important" during the pre-commissioning phase, Rosatom said today.

The UAE's Barakah One Company and Korea Electric Power Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore potential collaboration on new nuclear energy projects in third countries.