Holtec International announced a new power plant design which melds the benefits of nuclear (high energy density, non-polluting, base load) with those of solar (zero fuel cost, minor regulatory barriers) that is entirely carbon-free and is adaptable for deployment in any country. Called CNSP, an acronym for Combined Nuclear/Solar Plant,... Read more →

China-based Betavolt New Energy Technology has successfully developed a nuclear energy battery (radioisotope battery), which integrates nickel-63 nuclear isotope decay technology and China’s first diamond semiconductor (4th generation semiconductor) module. The 3V BV100 delivers 100 Microwatts from a volume of 15 X 15 X 5 mm—smaller than a coin. The... Read more →

Lloyd’s Register (LR) is partnering with Zodiac Maritime, HD KSOE and KEPCO E&C; in a joint development project for the research and development of nuclear-propelled ship designs, including bulk carriers and containerships, with the parties signing a MOU at Korea’s HD Hyundai Global R&D; Center. The move comes as the... Read more →

Nornickel and the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom will consider the possibility of setting up low-capacity nuclear power plants to supply energy to the Norilsk Industrial District. The agreement of intent and cooperation to build small nuclear power plants has been signed by Nornickel’s President Vladimir Potanin and Rosatom’s Director... Read more →

Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) and NuScale Power Corporation (NuScale) have mutually agreed to terminate the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP). The Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) was to be the first NuScale Power small modular reactor (SMR) plant to begin operation in the United States near Idaho Falls,... Read more →

ORNL will lead three new DOE-funded projects designed to bring fusion energy to the grid on a rapid timescale. These three fusion energy projects are aimed directly at the national goal of advancing fusion science and technology and bringing them together to develop and optimize cost-effective fusion energy systems. The... Read more →

Lockheed Martin won a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop and demonstrate a nuclear-powered spacecraft under a project called Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO). The project will represent a rapid advancement in propulsion technology to benefit exploration and national defense. Cislunar refers to... Read more →

The UK government officially launched Great British Nuclear (GBN), an arms-length body operating through a repurposed British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) Ltd to deliver the government’s long-term nuclear program and support the government’s ambition to deliver up to 24GW of nuclear power in the UK by 2050. This could mean nearly... Read more →

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has been selected as the core company in charge of the conceptual design of an demonstration fast reactor which the Japanese Government aims to place into operation in the 2040s. MHI will oversee both the conceptual design as well as research and development (R&D;) for... Read more →

Lightbridge Corporation, an advanced nuclear fuel technology company, announced that Texas A&M; University (TAMU) has been awarded approximately $1,000,000 by the US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy University Program R&D; Awards to study the deployment of advanced nuclear fuels in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). The project will be conducted over... Read more →

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), US production of uranium concentrate (U3O8) in the first quarter of 2023 totaled 2,511 pounds. This is 75% lower than first quarter 2022 production and a drop of 99% from fourth quarter 2022 as no material was produced this quarter at the... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking feedback on two draft requests for proposals (RFPs) to acquire high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU)—a crucial material needed to develop and deploy advanced reactors in the United States. The use of HALEU in advanced reactor designs can improve the fuel utilization efficiency, allowing... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced $46 million in funding (DE-FOA-0002809) to eight companies advancing designs and research and development for fusion power plants. These awardees will work to acheive important technical and commercialization milestones to advance successful design of a fusion pilot plant (FPP) to move fusion toward... Read more →

NuScale Power Corporation and Nucor Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore co-locating NuScale’s VOYGR small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) power plants to provide clean, reliable baseload electricity to Nucor’s scrap-based Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel mills. The companies will also explore an expanded manufacturing partnership through which... Read more →

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and Global First Power (GFP) announced that GFP has selected a location at the Chalk River Laboratories to site its proposed Micro-Modular Reactor (MMR) project. GFP is proposing to construct and operate a 15 megawatt thermal (MWth) (approximately 5 MW... Read more →

Dow and X-Energy Reactor Company, a developer of advanced nuclear reactors and fuel technology for clean energy generation, announced that Dow has selected its UCC Seadrift Operations manufacturing site in Texas for its proposed advanced small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear project. The project is focused on providing the Seadrift site... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) awarded $22.1 million to 10 industry-led projects to advance nuclear technologies, including two aimed at expanding clean hydrogen production with nuclear energy. The other projects include efforts to bring a microreactor design closer to deployment, tackle nuclear regulatory hurdles, improve operations of existing reactors,... Read more →

Westinghouse Electric Company launched its newest nuclear technology, the AP300 small modular reactor (SMR), a 300-MWe (900MWth) single-loop pressurized water reactor. The AP300 SMR design is scaled from the advanced, proven AP1000 reactor and is the only SMR truly based on an Nth-of-a-kind operating plant. The AP300 SMR is an... Read more →

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and Seaborg Technologies announced a consortium to develop floating nuclear power plants with Seaborg Technologies’ compact molten salt reactor (CMSR) technology. The power plants will be installed on barges with a modular design able to deliver from 200MWe to 800MWe,... Read more →

Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC), a US-based vertical integrator of nuclear technologies and services, Hyundai Engineering and SK SK ecopant are teaming up to conduct research and development for carbon-free hydrogen production. The three companies signed an MOU for the construction of a “Hydrogen Micro Hub” at the SK ecopant... Read more →

Through a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the Department of Defense, Radiant will develop base modeling and simulation capabilities for key energy resilience scenarios at Hill Air Force Base. Founded by former SpaceX engineers, Radiant is developing Kaleidos, a gas-cooled, high-temperature 1.2MWe portable nuclear microreactor focused on replacing... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has released a set of reports—Pathways to Commercial Liftoff—that provide guidance for bringing advanced nuclear, clean hydrogen and long-duration energy storage into the commercial mainstream. The reports conclude that by 2030, cumulative investments must increase from approximately $40 billion to $300 billion across the... Read more →

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) awarded a grant to PLN Indonesia Power (Indonesia Power) for technical assistance to help develop the country’s first small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power plant. Indonesia Power selected Oregon-based NuScale Power OVS, LLC (NuScale) to carry out the assistance in partnership with a... Read more →

Eni and Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a spin-out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) signed a Collaboration Framework Agreement with the aim of accelerating the industrialization of fusion energy. Eni made its first investment into CFS in 2018 and is a significant shareholder. This strategic agreement will leverage Eni’s... Read more →

The CEA, France’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, has spun out two start-ups—Hexana and Stellaria—to develop small fourth-generation modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). Hexana aims to implement a fast neutron and sodium-cooled reactor, integrating a high-temperature storage device. This installation will be based on a set composed of two small... Read more →

Hydrogen production has commenced at the US’ first 1 MW demonstration-scale, nuclear-powered hydrogen production facility at Constellation’s Nine Mile Point Nuclear Plant in Oswego, New York. Last year, the US Department of Energy (DOE) approved moving forward with construction and installation of an electrolyzer system at Nine Mile Point with... Read more →

Dow and X-Energy Reactor Company entered into a joint development agreement (JDA) to demonstrate the first grid-scale advanced nuclear reactor for an industrial site in North America. (Earlier post.) As a subawardee under the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) Cooperative Agreement with X-energy, Dow intends... Read more →

The California Energy Commission (CEC) approved a staff analysis recommending the state pursue extending operation of Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) through 2030 to ensure electricity reliability. DCPP is currently scheduled for phased retirement in 2024 and 2025. The determination is based on data showing California risks energy supply shortfalls... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) announced $10 million in funding for eight projects working to determine whether low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR) could be the basis for a potentially transformative carbon-free energy source. (Earlier post.) The following teams have been selected to receive... Read more →

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), Ontario Power Generation (OPG), SNC-Lavalin and Aecon have signed a contract for the deployment of a BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at OPG’s Darlington New Nuclear Project site. This is the first commercial contract for a grid-scale SMR in North America. The BWRX-300 is a... Read more →

EPRI, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Southern Company Research and Development, and Deep Isolation recently were recently awarded $2.8 million from by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) for a joint nuclear research and development project focused on nuclear fuel management options to... Read more →

NuScale Power, along with Shell Global Solutions (Shell) and industry participants will develop and assess a concept for an economically optimized Integrated Energy System (IES) for hydrogen production using electricity and process heat from a NuScale VOYGR small modular reactor (SMR) power plant. The project entitled, “Development and Demonstration of... Read more →

A UK consortium has been awarded £7.7 million (US$9.3 million) from the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) of the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to develop a hydrogen storage demonstrator, in which hydrogen is absorbed on a depleted uranium bed, which can then release the... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) and the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) are teaming up with utilities to support four hydrogen demonstration projects at nuclear power plants. High-temperature electrolyzers for hydrogen production use both heat and electricity to split water and... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced an approximately $150-million cost-shared award with American Centrifuge Operating (ACO), a subsidiary of Centrus Energy Corp, to demonstrate the ability to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU)—a crucial material needed to develop and deploy advanced reactors in the United States. HALEU is uranium that... Read more →

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canada’s premier nuclear science and technology organization, and General Fusion have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to pursue a series of joint projects to accelerate the deployment of commercial fusion power in Canada. Fusion energy holds great potential as a clean and reliable form of... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) will award $38 million to 12 projects that will work to reduce the impacts of light-water reactor used nuclear fuel (UNF) disposal. (Earlier post.) The projects, led by universities, private companies, and national laboratories, were selected to... Read more →

Construction of General Fusion’s demonstration machine, which is being built at the UK Atomic Energy Agency’s Culham Campus, advanced significantly with the fabrication of an at-scale fusion vessel trial ring by Sheffield Forgemasters. This critical component will confirm the specifications of the thick-walled fusion vessel, designed to withstand the high... Read more →

General Fusion and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) kicked off projects to advance the commercialization of magnetized target fusion energy as part of a collaborative agreement. The results will hone the design of General Fusion’s demonstration machine being built at the Culham Campus, part of the UK fusion cluster.... Read more →

Westinghouse Electric Company has signed a service agreement with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to bring its eVinci microreactor closer to commercialization. The agreement initiates a Vendor Design Review (VDR) which is a pre-licensing technical assessment of the eVinci small modular reactor design. Westinghouse will execute both Phases 1 and... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $10 million in funding (DE-FOA-0002784) to establish clear practices to determine whether low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR) could be the basis for a potentially transformative carbon-free energy source. The funding is part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) LENR Exploratory Topic,... Read more →

The UK’s Advanced Modular Reactor Research, Development and Demonstration (AMR RD&D;) program has awarded £3.3 million (US$3.8 million) to support six projects focused on the development of high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs). The AMR funding represents another step in the government’s plans to accelerate homegrown nuclear power to strengthen the... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) has awarded research funds to the MIT Energy Initiative, CORE POWER, and the Idaho National Laboratory for a three-year study into the development of offshore floating nuclear power generation in the US. The NEUP funding will allow detailed collaborative research... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking applications for projects in “Nuclear Coupled Hydrogen Production and Use.” This just-announced amendment to an existing funding opportunity aims to support the development of nuclear plant thermal integration that would be required for high-temperature hydrogen production or hydrogen-coupled end uses for nuclear... Read more →

California lawmakers passed Senate Bill 846, which authorizes the extension of operating the Diablo Canyon Nuclear power plant (DCPP) beyond the current expiration dates (of 2024 for Unit 1 and 2025 for Unit 2), to up to five additional years (no later than 2029 and 2030, respectively), under specified conditions.... Read more →

Abilene Christian University’s (ACU) Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing (NEXT) Lab submitted an application for a construction permit for a molten-salt research reactor (MSRR) with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The application is the first for a new research reactor in more than 30 years and the first for an... Read more →

TerraPower, a nuclear innovation company, has closed an equity raise that yields a minimum of $750 million. This is one of the largest advanced nuclear fundraises to-date. The fundraise was co-led by SK Inc. and SK Innovation (collectively, SK) and TerraPower’s founder Bill Gates. SK invested $250 million. SK Group... Read more →

The Department of Energy (DOE) selected Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to lead a $9.25-million collaborative project in nuclear energy research through the Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) program. SciDAC brings together experts in science and energy research with those in software development, applied mathematics, and computer science to... Read more →

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Professor Jie Lian has been awarded $500,000 from the US Department of Energy as part of the Nuclear Energy University Research Program (NEUP) to conduct research and develop new materials that will make advanced nuclear reactors more resilient and economically efficient. Dr. Lian, the principle investigator... Read more →

Dow, a leading global materials science company, and X-energy, a nuclear energy innovation company, signed a letter of intent which will help Dow advance its carbon emissions reduction goals through the development and deployment of X-energy's advanced small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) technology in the US. Dow and X-energy will... Read more →