Romanian utility Nuclearelectrica has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Fostering ALFRED Construction consortium regarding cooperation on the development of the Advanced Lead Fast Reactor European Demonstrator (ALFRED). A demonstration unit is planned to be constructed in Romania.

The UK government has committed GBP220 million (USD270 million) over four years for the conceptual design of the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP). The STEP programme aims to construct a fusion power plant based on the design by 2040.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has completed the first phase of a vendor design review of ARC Nuclear Canada's ARC-100 small modular reactor. The design is the third advanced reactor to complete the first phase of the CNSC's regulatory pre-licensing review.

An irradiation test on molten nuclear fuel salts inside the High Flux Reactor has been completed at Petten in the Netherlands. The results will yield new data on the safe operation of molten salt reactors.

A new small modular reactor (SMR) design has been announced by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, EDF, Naval Group and TechnicAtome. The Nuward - with a capacity of 300-400 MWe - has been jointly developed using France's experience in pressurised water reactors.

Japanese utilities Tokyo Electric Power Company and Chubu Electric Power Company have today signed a basic agreement with Hitachi and Toshiba to discuss potential collaboration on boiling water reactors (BWRs).

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has certified the Korean-designed Advanced Power Reactor 1400. The certificate states that the NRC finds the APR-1400 design fully meets US safety requirements.

The Russian-designed VVER-TOI nuclear power reactor design - developed from the VVER-1200 - has been formally certified as compliant by the European Utility Requirements organisation.

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy has initiated a vendor design review by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for its BWRX-300 small modular reactor.

CORRECTED - The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has said it will issue a direct final rule certifying the Korean-designed Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR-1400). The certification, valid for 15 years, will state that the NRC finds the design fully acceptable for deployment in the USA.

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power has started up its new Shin Kori 4 reactor and plans to connect it to the electricity grid at the end of this month. It is the second APR-1400 design unit to start up of a planned global fleet of at least 10.

Rosatom has announced completion of life-extending  modernisation work at unit 3 of the Smolensk nuclear power plant, the last of three RBMK-1000 reactors at the site in western Russia. The other two units are already set for an extended period of operation of 15 years.