The pouring of first safety-related concrete has started for the second Hualong One unit at the Zhangzhou nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province, China National Nuclear Corporation has announced. The units are scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Santee Cooper and Westinghouse have finalised terms of a settlement over ownership of equipment associated with the VC Summer units 2 and 3 nuclear power plant project in South Carolina, abandoned in July 2017. The terms give Santee Cooper full ownership of and the ability to begin marketing all non-nuclear equipment immediately.

Russian-owned JSC Akkuyu Nuclear has announced delivery of the core melt trap for unit 2 of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant to the construction site in Mersin Province, Turkey. The company describes the equipment as the most important part of the unit's passive safety system.

Nawah Energy Company has started up unit 1 of the Barakah nuclear power plant, located in the Al Dhafrah region of Abu Dhabi. Nawah is the joint venture nuclear operations and maintenance subsidiary of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and the Korea Electric Power Corporation. The APR1400 attained a sustained chain reaction for the first time early yesterday morning and is expected to enter commercial operation later this year.

EDF has said the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a slowdown in construction and maintenance of its nuclear power plant fleet in both France and the UK. It has warned of further delays to the schedules for completing both the Flamanville and Hinkley Point C projects.

A ceremony was held yesterday within the ITER Assembly Hall to mark the official start of the assembly of the tokamak fusion device of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor at Cadarache in south-eastern France. Assembly of the tokamak is expected to take five years to complete.

The outer safety dome has been installed on the containment building of unit 6 at the Fuqing nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province. The unit is the second of two demonstration Hualong One reactors under construction at the site.

EDF Energy expects 1200 new jobs and 300 apprentices to be created in the next phase of construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset, England. They will become part of the 4000 strong workforce who will fit electrical systems, cables and pipes at the plant.

The installation of the second tier of the reactor building's internal containment has been completed at unit 1 of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant under construction in Mersin province, southern Turkey. The inner containment is one of the critical components of unit's safety systems, which prevent the release of radioactive materials to the environment, said JSC Akkuyu Nuklear.

Rosenergoatom, the operator subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, announced today that preparatory work for the construction of four new reactors has commenced. Two VVER-TOI units are to be built at a new plant near the existing Smolensk site, while two VVER-1200 units will be built as units 3 and 4 of the Leningrad II plant.

Construction of the 49,000-tonne concrete basemat for the nuclear island of the second unit at Hinkley Point C has been completed. EDF Energy said the milestone had coincided with its ambition to spend GBP1.5 billion (USD1.9 billion) with regional businesses in South-West England five years ahead of target.

The 1250-tonne steel base of the cryostat - which will insulate the magnetic system at cryogenic temperature from the outside environment - has been installed at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) at Cadarache in south-eastern France. The milestone marks the installation of the first and heaviest component of the ITER fusion machine.