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World Nuclear Association
Published: Fri, 09 Apr 2021 13:36:27 GMT
TAE Technologies, the California, USA-based fusion energy technology company, has announced that its proprietary beam-driven field-reversed configuration plasma generator has produced stable plasma at over 50 million degrees Celsius. The milestone has helped the company raise USD280 million in additional funding.
Published: Fri, 09 Apr 2021 13:07:07 GMT
The Estonian government yesterday formally approved the formation of a nuclear energy working group (NEPIO) tasked with analysing the possibility of introducing nuclear energy in Estonia. Headed by Environment Minister Tõnis Mölder, the NEPIO will present its conclusions and proposals to the government by September 2022 at the latest.
Published: Thu, 08 Apr 2021 15:09:09 GMT
Significant progress was made last year with work to obtain a construction licence for the Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant in Finland, Fennovoima said in its 2020 Annual Report, released yesterday. It still expects to receive the licence by the end of 2021 despite a "challenging" schedule.
Published: Thu, 08 Apr 2021 14:45:34 GMT
The Volgodonsk branch of Russia's AEM-Technology JSC has dispatched the first-ever reactor pressure vessel for the VVER-TOI (typical optimised, with enhanced information) reactor design. The RPV is being transported to the construction site of the Kursk II nuclear power plant, which will be the first to use the new design. Hydraulic testing of the RPV for the first Kursk II unit was completed in December last year.
Published: Wed, 07 Apr 2021 15:01:07 GMT
A group of 46 non-governmental organisations from 18 countries has written to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, calling for the inclusion of nuclear energy in the EU taxonomy for sustainable investments. The exclusion of nuclear, they say, would promote a strategy that is "clearly inadequate" to decarbonise the region's economy.
Published: Wed, 07 Apr 2021 12:15:41 GMT
Framatome recently signed a "multi-million dollar" contract with US utility Dominion Energy to support the long-term operation of its nuclear power plant fleet. The five-year contract covers nuclear power plant outage and maintenance work, including steam generator services, refuelling services and inspections.
Published: Tue, 06 Apr 2021 12:47:10 GMT
Barakah unit 1 entered commercial operation today, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation has announced. The unit, which is operated by Nawah Energy Company, has been the single largest electricity generator in the UAE since reaching 100% power in early December. ENEC said the 1400-megawatt unit, which is in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi, is now providing "constant, reliable and sustainable electricity around the clock". As a result, ENEC says it is "now leading the largest decarbonisation effort of any industry in the UAE to date".
Published: Tue, 06 Apr 2021 14:31:52 GMT
Japanese engineering, procurement, and construction firm JGC Holdings Corporation has agreed to invest USD40 million in small modular reactor developer NuScale Power. It will also partner with Fluor Corporation - NuScale's majority investor - on the deployment of NuScale power plants.
Published: Tue, 06 Apr 2021 13:30:07 GMT
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by Energy Northwest, Grant County Public Utility District and X-energy to form a partnership to support the development and commercial demonstration of the USA's first advanced nuclear reactor. The TRi Energy Partnership aims to construct a plant based on X-energy's Xe-100 reactor design at Energy Northwest's existing Columbia site in Washington.
Published: Fri, 02 Apr 2021 19:33:25 GMT
The post-COVID economic recovery and the clean energy transition present a huge opportunity from which all nations can benefit, delegates at the IEA-COP26 Net Zero Summit agreed. Over 40 countries, covering more than 80% of global GDP, population and carbon emissions, took part in the event on 31 March to identify how to work together to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. They included the USA, which re-joined the 2015 climate accord earlier this year.
Published: Thu, 01 Apr 2021 15:09:53 GMT
Small modular reactors are well-equipped to drive cost-efficient decarbonisation of Canada's heavy industries, research conducted by EnviroEconomics and Navius Research on behalf of the Canadian Nuclear Association has concluded. The research studied the economic and climate implications of employing SMRs in Canada's high-emitting industrial sectors.
Published: Thu, 01 Apr 2021 14:34:22 GMT
Scientists at the US Department of Energy's DIII-D National Fusion Facility have released a new concept for a compact fusion reactor design they say can help define the technology necessary for commercial fusion power. The Compact Advanced Tokamak concept enables a higher-performance, self-sustaining configuration that holds energy more efficiently, allowing it to be built at a reduced scale and cost.
Published: Thu, 01 Apr 2021 14:01:10 GMT
US President Joseph Biden yesterday announced a USD2 trillion jobs, infrastructure and clean energy plan to reshape the country's economy. Among the proposed investments to tackle climate change, the American Jobs Plan calls for funding for the development of advanced nuclear reactors and for a clean electricity standard to leverage and incentivise more efficient use of the USA's existing fleet of reactors.
Published: Thu, 01 Apr 2021 12:27:12 GMT
Production at the Cominak uranium mine at Akouta in Niger came to an end yesterday after over 40 years of operations during which it produced more than 75,000 tU. The mine has now entered the remediation phase, which will also include action to address the impact of the mine's closure on its employees and on local communities. Cominak's board of directors announced in October 2019 that the mine would close this month due to depletion of its resources.
Published: Thu, 01 Apr 2021 10:57:41 GMT
The International Energy Agency has published Seven Key Principles for Implementing Net Zero to ensure "dramatic acceleration of progress towards clean growth and resilience". The document, which has so far been welcomed by 20 countries, was published following the IEA-COP26 Net Zero Summit yesterday.
Published: Wed, 31 Mar 2021 14:40:31 GMT
First concrete has been poured today for the basemat of unit 3 at the Changjiang nuclear power plant in China's Hainan province. The move came after the National Nuclear Safety Administration issued a construction licence to China Huaneng Group for the construction of units 3 and 4 at the site. The Hualong One units will be the first large pressurised water reactor project in which Huaneng will hold a controlling stake.
Published: Wed, 07 Apr 2021 14:04:08 GMT
The United Arab Emirates has shown it is possible to build a new civilian nuclear energy programme from scratch within little more than a decade. Mohamed Al Hammadi, CEO of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, describes the significance of this feat for the global nuclear industry.
Published: Wed, 31 Mar 2021 14:32:21 GMT
Bruce Power has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from its site operations by 2027, building on its previously announced NZ-2050 plan. The company says it is the first nuclear operator in North America to announce such an ambitious commitment.
Published: Wed, 31 Mar 2021 14:24:45 GMT
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi today outlined three ways that nuclear power facilitates efforts towards net-zero emissions. Speaking to delegates at the IEA-COP26 Net Zero Summit, Grossi said nuclear energy is a longstanding source of low-carbon electricity, has innovative solutions for further decarbonisation, and it enables renewable energy to be more effective.
Published: Wed, 31 Mar 2021 13:28:00 GMT
Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction has been awarded its first contract for nuclear power instrumentation and controls in the Chinese nuclear market. The South Korean company signed a contract with China Techenergy Company on 29 March to supply an Industrial Anti-seismic Protection System for units 3 and 4 of the planned Xudapu nuclear power plant in China's Liaoning province.
Published: Wed, 31 Mar 2021 12:23:29 GMT
Ontario Power Generation's Centre for Canadian Nuclear Sustainability and Moltex Energy are to collaborate on a project to demonstrate the technical viability of recycling used fuel from Candu reactors. OPG is providing CAD1 million (USD800,000) in funding for the project.
Published: Tue, 30 Mar 2021 14:47:49 GMT
Uranium companies in Australia and Canada have announced purchases of physical uranium holdings. Boss Resources says its strategic uranium acquisition will strengthen its position as it moves forward towards the restart of the Honeymoon project in South Australia. Vancouver, Canada-based Uranium Royalty Corp is to buy USD10 million of physical uranium through a supply agreement with Yellow Cake plc.
Published: Tue, 30 Mar 2021 13:56:52 GMT
Zio-Podolsk has started manufacturing modules for PGN-200M steam generators as part of work to upgrade unit 3 of the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant in the Sverdlovsk district of Russia. Zio-Podolsk is a subsidiary of Rosatom, which said the modernisation work was aimed at extending the operating life of the unit to 60 years.
Published: Tue, 30 Mar 2021 11:21:45 GMT
Rosatom has announced completion of hydraulic tests on the reactor pressure vessel of the second unit at the Rooppur nuclear power plant under construction in Bangladesh. The tests, which confirm the tightness of the base metal and weld joints, were conducted by Atommash, which is part of Atomenergomash, the engineering subsidiary of the Russian state nuclear corporation.
Published: Mon, 29 Mar 2021 11:49:59 GMT
The loading of fuel assemblies into the Olkiluoto 3 EPR in Finland began on 27 March, utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj has announced. The move follows the receipt of a permit from the country's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority the previous day. The process of loading the fuel assemblies into OL3 is expected to take about one week, TVO said.
Published: Mon, 29 Mar 2021 11:13:16 GMT
The nuclear industry has today called on the European Commission to expedite the inclusion of nuclear energy in the EU Taxonomy on Sustainable Finance, following a comprehensive assessment that nuclear energy does no more harm to human health or the environment than any other power-producing technology considered to be sustainable.
Published: Fri, 26 Mar 2021 13:11:55 GMT
Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj has been granted a permit by the country's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority to load fuel into the reactor of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR. The unit, construction of which began in 2005, is scheduled to enter commercial operation early next year.
Published: Thu, 01 Apr 2021 10:23:44 GMT
Focused collaboration must be at the heart of international efforts on climate change so that this decade can be one, not of deliberation, but of delivery, COP26 President Alok Sharma said at the IEA-COP26 Net Zero Summit yesterday. The following is an abridged version of his opening address to delegates.
Published: Fri, 26 Mar 2021 13:30:07 GMT
The Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade has selected EDF, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Rosatom and Westinghouse to participate in a pre-qualification round for a tender to supply a new unit for the Dukovany nuclear power plant. The ministry has not included China General Nuclear. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in the Czech Republic told Radiožurnál that the exclusion of CGN "seriously deviates from the principle of fair competition and the rules of international trade".
Published: Thu, 25 Mar 2021 16:22:11 GMT
Lightbridge Corporation has decided to prioritise developing fuel for future small modular reactors rather than fuel for large reactor designs, President and CEO Seth Grae said in a business update ahead of a webcast and conference call to discuss the company's financial results. The company is also contemplating a zirconium-plutonium version of its fuel.
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