The International Atomic Energy Agency has launched a competition to find "innovative ways to visualise, analyse and explore" simulations of different materials that can be used to build fusion reactors. Such materials would subject to extremely high temperatures and energetic particles.

Ten projects have been selected to receive a total of up to USD24 million in funding under a new programme from the US Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy initiative. The projects selected include a transportable gas-cooled reactor, and technology to support load-following, improve safety and reduce costs in advanced reactors.

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.

Texo Drone Survey and Inspection has carried out an internal unmanned aerial vehicle inspection of a "live nuclear asset", which it says is a first for the global nuclear sector. Texo DSI was commissioned by Urenco UK to perform the inspection of one of its processing plants for fire compartmentation checks.

The European Space Agency will host the international space and applications community in a workshop on 27-28 June to find out how best to prepare for the implementation of advanced radioisotope hybrid power systems. Here, Dr Markus Landgraf, architecture analyst in the Directorate of Human Spaceflight and Robotic Exploration Programmes at the European Space Research and Technology Centre, or ESTEC, explains the potential for nuclear technology in future space exploration. ESTEC is the ESA's main development and test centre for spacecraft and space technology.

The USA, Canada and Japan today launched the Nuclear Innovation: Clean Energy Future (NICE Future) initiative partnership at a side event to the 9th Clean Energy Ministerial taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Dominion Energy is to provide funding that could lead to commercialising the BWRX-300 small modular reactor, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy announced today. The 300 MWe reactor is derived from GEH's 1520 MWe Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor design.

Innovation through collaboration was the key message delivered by NNL Chief Science and Technology Officer Andrew Sherry, at NNL SciTec 2018, the annual event hosted by the UK National Nuclear Laboratory.

US utility Dominion Energy has awarded Framatome a contract to provide steam generator services for its fleet of six nuclear power reactors. The inspection and maintenance work - scheduled to take place during outage over the next two years - will partly be carried out using robots.

Paul Howarth, CEO of the UK's National Nuclear Laboratory, gives his account of the SciTec 2018 conference held this week in Liverpool, England.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has completed a three-year project to revamp its safeguards information technology system to be more effective in its work to ensure the peaceful uses of nuclear technology. IAEA safeguards are a set of technical measures to help prevent the non-peaceful use of nuclear material and technology.

The High Flux Reactor at Petten in the Netherlands is now producing the medical radioisotope Xenon-133. The move follows the successful collaboration between nuclear medicine company Curium and the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group to develop and install a production process for the isotope.