Protocols to amend two international instruments strengthening the rights to compensation for those affected by nuclear energy accidents have been formally ratified and will enter into force on 1 January.

The UK nuclear insurance pool has expanded its capacity to EUR1.2 billion (USD1.4 billion), which will provide the "insurance certainty" to allow the nuclear sector to support the net zero transition, London-based Nuclear Risk Insurers said yesterday. It has finalised its position on covering the extensions of liability created as part of the 2004 Protocol Amendment to the Paris Convention which comes into force on 1 January 2022.

Considerable new capacity could be available in the insurance-linked securities market for the transfer of nuclear third-party liability risks, a study conducted on behalf of the European Commission has concluded. However, this new capacity would only be available under the right structures and terms.

British engineering group Rolls-Royce has signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada's Bruce Power to deepen their cooperation in digital technology. 

The planned Belgian state guarantee for nuclear operators that do not find sufficient civil liability coverage on private insurance markets does not involve state aid, the European Commission has concluded. The commission said the guarantee would improve compensation for potential victims without granting any advantage to operators.

The two companies responsible for the clean-up of the UK's nuclear legacy are willing to share lessons learned with the global decommissioning industry, Martyn Jenkins, managing director of Enkom Consulting, told a recent conference. Both Sellafield Ltd and Magnox Ltd have "moved from operational to project delivery" and have identified five main challenges, Jenkins said.

The OECD-Nuclear Energy Agency - together with the International Atomic Energy Agency - plans to publish new guidance on improving cost estimates of nuclear decommissioning projects. Simon Carroll, a senior analyst with the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, told delegates at the Nuclear Decommissioning & Waste Management Conference Europe that the guidance addresses project risk and uncertainty in cost estimates "in a more comprehensive fashion" than existing practice.

With the return of nuclear new build in the UK, the potential to be liable for nuclear damage will be of vital importance to all parties in the nuclear supply chain as well as investors and funders of new nuclear projects, writes Darren Walsh.

Westinghouse can start building six AP1000s in India following an agreement signed yesterday during talks at the White House between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama. It is the first such opportunity for a US company since the countries signed a civil nuclear deal in 2008.