TerraPower and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy have announced the launch of the Natrium concept, which features a sodium fast reactor combined with a molten salt energy storage system that will allow over five hours of energy storage. The partners hope to commercialise the technology by the end of this decade.

New modular-based experiment holders developed by the US Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory are expected to improve transient testing on nuclear fuels and materials, and enable new clients like NASA to take advantage of the unique capabilities at INL's Transient Reactor Test Facility.

Battelle Energy Alliance has begun contract negotiations with a team led by Bechtel National Inc and including TerraPower and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to support the design and build phase of the Versatile Test Reactor. The reactor will be a one-of-a-kind facility that would support research and development of innovative, clean nuclear energy technologies.

Switzerland's national radioactive waste disposal cooperative Nagra has today released a report on the advantages and disadvantages of siting a used fuel and high-level waste encapsulation plant at the planned deep geological repository site or elsewhere. It says the best solution would be to construct the encapsulation plant at either the repository or at the Zwilag interim waste management facility at Würenlingen.

USA-based Jacobs Engineering Group has been selected by Moltex Energy to support its development of the Stable Salt Reactor (SSR), a 300 MWe small modular reactor design. Jacobs will build a bespoke experimental facility for thermal transfer testing at its Birchwood Park research and development facility near Warrington, UK.

Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation of the USA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with South Korea's Hyundai Engineering and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The five-year agreement outlines goals for development of technologies that enhance the ability of the USNC Micro Modular Reactor to produce and deliver carbon-free power, heat and hydrogen.

The University of Manchester and the University of Sheffield will support the delivery of independent evidence-based research to underpin the development of a UK Geological Disposal Facility following a GBP2.5 million (USD3.3 million) grant secured from Radioactive Waste Management (RWM).

New irradiation experiments on the behaviour of nuclear fuel have recently started in the High Flux Reactor at Petten, in the Netherlands. The Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group says that, by using a new measurement technique, data collected during the experiments could be used to develop new fuels and to optimise the efficiency of existing ones.

At the end of a five-day special meeting of the European Council, EU leaders reached agreement today to jointly borrow EUR750 billion (USD862 billion) to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The EU's recovery fund, to be composed of EUR390 billion in grants and EUR360 billion in loans, will be attached to a new EUR1.074 trillion seven-year budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). This brings the total financial package to EUR1.82 trillion.

Researchers at Belgium's Nuclear Research Centre have for the first time succeeded in accelerating a proton beam through the recently connected radio frequency quadrupole. The RFQ is a component of the particle accelerator that will drive the Myrrha sub-critical research reactor.

Advanced reactors that have a capital cost of less than USD3000 per kilowatt will be attractive investments and create the most value for plant owners, a study by international consultancy LucidCatalyst has concluded. The report found flexible advanced reactors complement wind and solar in markets with high penetrations of renewables.

The UK government has announced an investment of GBP40 million (USD50 million) in the development of advanced modular reactors and small modular reactors. A government-commissioned report, meanwhile, has made recommendations for boosting the capability of the UK's nuclear R&D sector and domestic supply chain to support future AMR deployment.