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No increase in Tihange 2 hydrogen flakes

No increase in Tihange 2 hydrogen flakes

Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control has approved the restart of Tihange unit 2 following a maintenance outage after concluding no new hydrogen flakes have appeared and the existing flakes had not increased in size. Operator Electrabel is required to regularly check that the situation has not changed since the flakes were first discovered in 2012.

Regulation & Safety 06 January 2021

Tractebel outlines its vision for SMRs

Tractebel outlines its vision for SMRs

Belgian engineering firm Tractebel today unveiled its vision for small modular reactors, in which it notes that Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Poland, the UK and the USA, among other countries, have "expressed a clear willingness to shape the future". Its White Paper, The rise of nuclear technology 2.0, is the result of three years of "deep-diving the promises" of this advanced nuclear technology, and investing thousands of engineering hours in technical due diligence and market studies.

Corporate 11 December 2020

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No increase in Tihange 2 hydrogen flakes

Tractebel outlines its vision for SMRs

Myrrha protons accelerated for first time

Electrabel calls for clarity on Belgian phase-out

First European reactor loads EnCore accident tolerant fuel

Belgium maintains nuclear phase-out policy

Belgian government approves funding for Myrrha

Belgian support for keeping reactors running beyond 2025 rises

Belgium starts producing Mo-99 using LEU

Electrabel calls for clarity on Belgian phase-out

Electrabel calls for clarity on Belgian phase-out

Electrabel - the Belgian subsidiary of French utility Engie - says it will not make any further investments at Doel unit 4 and Tihange unit 3 unless it is clearer whether the reactors will or will not be allowed to operate beyond 2025. A report due out at the end of next year may lead to the reactors being allowed to continue operating to ensure Belgium's energy security.

Nuclear Policies 20 November 2020

First European reactor loads EnCore accident tolerant fuel

First European reactor loads EnCore accident tolerant fuel

Lead test assemblies of EnCore accident tolerant fuel have been installed in Engie Electrabel's Doel unit 4 in Belgium, Westinghouse Electric Company and ENUSA Industrias Avanzadas have announced. Doel 4 is the second commercial nuclear power plant in the world, and the first in Europe, into which EnCore assemblies have been installed.

Uranium & Fuel 09 September 2020

Court backs Tihange 2 restart decision

Court backs Tihange 2 restart decision

The Court of First Instance in Brussels ruled on 3 September in favour of a 2015 decision by Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control to allow Tihange unit 2 to restart following the discovery of hydrogen flakes in its reactor vessel. Plaintiffs from Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg had sought to have the regulator's decision annulled.

Regulation & Safety 07 September 2020

Myrrha protons accelerated for first time

Myrrha protons accelerated for first time

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.

New Nuclear 20 July 2020

Belgian regulator supports geological disposal for high-level waste

Belgian regulator supports geological disposal for high-level waste

Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control says it is in favour of a proposal for the disposal of high-level and/or long-lived radioactive waste in a geological repository. The draft proposal was developed by Ondraf/Niras, the Belgian agency for the management of radioactive waste, and was submitted to the public and various government services, including the FANC, for consultation between 15 April and 13 June.

Waste & Recycling 15 June 2020

Framatome completes Doel I&C upgrade project

Framatome completes Doel I&C upgrade project

Framatome's digital instrumentation and control (I&C) systems at the Doel nuclear power plant in Belgium have passed the final site acceptance test. The milestone marks the completion of the project to modernise the control and emergency systems at units 1 and 2 of the plant.

Corporate 12 June 2020

Belgium starts producing Mo-99 using LEU

Belgium starts producing Mo-99 using LEU

Belgium's Institute of Radioelements has produced its first batch of the medical radioisotope molybdenum-99 using a low-enriched uranium target rather than a high-enriched uranium one. The use of HEU is seen as a potential nuclear proliferation risk.

Regulation & Safety 04 May 2020

Fortum, Tractebel to assist in Estonian SMR deployment

Fortum, Tractebel to assist in Estonian SMR deployment

Estonia's Fermi Energia has signed Memoranda of Understanding with Finnish power company Fortum and Belgian engineering firm Tractebel to cooperate on studying the deployment of small modular reactors in the Baltic country.

Corporate 28 January 2020