Faster research into nuclear fuel performance is now possible at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's High Flux Isotope Reactor through the use of tiny samples, known as MiniFuel.

Poland and the USA have signed a Joint Declaration of Energy Security, which emphasises the expansion of their cooperation in a variety of areas, including civil nuclear energy.

The National Nuclear Security Administration has issued a contract termination notice to the consortium building the mixed-oxide fuel fabrication facility at the Savannah River Site.

US utility Entergy has agreed to sell the Pilgrim and Palisades nuclear power plants to Holtec International after their closures in 2019 and 2022, respectively, for subsequent decommissioning by Comprehensive Decommissioning International.

The US Administration recognises the growing security risk of cyber threats and has prioritised overcoming these challenges, Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a statement marking one year since President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13800. In the EO, titled Strengthening the Cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure, the president directed departments and agencies to develop multiple reports to further their understanding of the cybersecurity risks to the country and focus on opportunities to mitigate those risks.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission told congressional lawmakers last week its commissioners are investigating ways for electricity markets to value reliability, while distancing themselves from immediate reform. The Nuclear Energy Institute says the discussion follows the "concrete action taken by several states, most recently New Jersey, to properly compensate nuclear power's zero-carbon attributes".

Toshiba Corporation has decided to "explore alternatives" to selling to a third party its claims against Westinghouse Electric Company. This would allow the Japanese electronics company to "significantly reduce the internal resources that it is required to allocate to WEC’s rehabilitation proceedings, and to focus them on cultivating its new businesses".

NuScale Power and Concurrent Technologies Corporation have signed the initial contract for the new Centre for Advanced Nuclear Manufacturing. The contract covers prototype work for manufacturing NuScale's helical coil steam generators, a major component in the NuScale small modular reactor design that is under certification review by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Exelon Generation and Japan Atomic Power Company have formed a joint venture company "to leverage Exelon's expertise in operational excellence and safety among international operators using Japanese reactor technologies". The new company, JExel Nuclear, is expected to sign an "advisory services" contract with Horizon Nuclear Power.

Terrestrial Energy USA announced today it had informed the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission of its plans to license a small modular reactor in the USA. Terrestrial said it intends to start "pre-application interactions" with the regulator this year and to make its licensing application in late 2019.

There might have been a time in the past when the working of government was less visible and decisions announced as a fait accompli. That is not so much the case today - the arc of history reflects global movement toward broadening information flow and participation, says Stephen Burns.

One year on from implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the US president said the agreement with Iran "must be measured against the alternatives". Meanwhile, Behrouz Kamalvandi, deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran for International, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, is on a two-day visit to Moscow to discuss progress with the JCPOA.