U.S. Department of Energy Approves Last Energy Microreactor Safety Analysis Report: Texas A&M University PWR-5 Demonstration Reactor Enters Final Pre-Operational Review

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has formally approved the Documented Safety Analysis (DSA) submitted by nuclear startup Last Energy for its proposed test microreactor at the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus (Texas A&M-RELLIS). This approval marks the official transition of the microreactor demonstration project into the Operational Readiness Review phase, which is also the final key regulatory step before obtaining authorization for initial criticality and formally commencing operation. The Documented Safety Analysis is the most central and detailed final safety assessment document in the U.S. Department of Energy's approval framework, following the Preliminary Safety Analysis Document approved in May 2026...

2026-10-12

Rosatom: Will expedite grid connection of Unit 1 of Bangladesh's Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant

Rosatom has made a clear commitment to the Bangladeshi government that it will, within the shortest possible time, push for the connection of Unit 1 of Bangladesh's first nuclear power plant—the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP)—to Bangladesh's national grid and conduct trial operation. This statement was reached during a high-level bilateral meeting held on Friday in Moscow between Bangladesh's Minister of Science and Technology Fakir Mahboob Anam and Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev. The two sides held in-depth consultations on the overall construction progress of the country's first major nuclear energy project...

2026-10-11

U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Visits Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant, Targeting Official Restart and Grid Connection in 2027

The Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently conducted an on-site inspection of Unit 1 at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant in Pennsylvania. As the core platform for the plant's restart plan, the renamed Crane Clean Energy Center is currently pushing forward engineering preparations at full speed, with the goal of officially restarting and connecting to the grid in 2027. Facing rapidly rising baseload power demand in Pennsylvania and across the entire Mid-Atlantic region, the restart project has secured more than $1 billion in federal dedicated investment and policy-based financial support. Three Mile Island Unit 1 was retired early in 2019 due to insufficient market economics under the impact of natural gas power generation at the time...

2026-10-11

Philippine President Visits Singapore Nuclear Research Institute, Expresses Regret Over Suspension of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

More than four decades after the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) was mothballed, Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos publicly expressed regret and disappointment over the plant's suspension. He pointed out that the core demand of the Filipino people today is access to affordable and reliable electricity, and that this should not be constrained by any particular form of power generation. The remarks came on the fourth day of Marcos's working visit to Singapore. On October 10, Marcos visited the Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Initiative (SNRSI), an institution established in 2014 to build Singapore's capabilities in nuclear safety, nuclear science, and nuclear engineering...

2026-10-11

ICC Arbitral Tribunal Rules Finland's Contract Termination Unlawful: Rosatom Wins in Hanhikivi-1 Nuclear Dispute

Rosatom publicly stated on Saturday that the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitral tribunal has issued a ruling in its long-running dispute with Finland's Fennovoima over the cancelled Hanhikivi-1 nuclear power plant project, ruling in Russia's favor. Rosatom pointed out that the tribunal found Fennovoima's unilateral termination in 2022 of the contract to build the nuclear power plant in northern Finland to be an unlawful breach, and determined that the nuclear project had been progressing well before it was halted. Since May 2022, shortly after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Fennovoima unilaterally halted the 7 billion euro (approximately 7.8 billion US dollars) nuclear power project, citing significant construction delays and geopolitical risks, and the two sides have since been mired in a battle of high-value claims and cross-border legal proceedings.

2026-10-11

French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority Approves Exemption of ITER Vacuum Vessel from Fission Pressurized Equipment Regulation

The French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority (ASNR) has formally issued a regulatory ruling, approving the application by the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Organization to exclude the Vacuum Vessel, a core component of the ITER tokamak device, from the scope of regulation under the French and European Nuclear Pressure Equipment Directive (ESPN). This breakthrough ruling marks the beginning of key fusion reactor components breaking free from the regulatory framework derived from traditional fission reactors. Prior to this decision, the ITER Vacuum Vessel had long been classified as nuclear pressure equipment. This classification originated from the management practices of traditional light-water fission reactors, whose underlying logic presumes internal pressure as the primary engineering load on the structure. However...

2026-10-11

3-meter-wide hole found at bottom of Unit 3 reactor pressure vessel at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station: molten nuclear fuel burned through the base plate, TEPCO advances evaluation of debris removal project

The latest investigation data released by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) shows that an irregular circular hole with a maximum diameter of 3 meters exists at the bottom of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) of Unit 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (Fukushima No. 1 NPP). This is the first time since the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake triggered a tsunami and caused core meltdown that TEPCO has determined the specific shape and dimensions of the damaged bottom of the pressure vessel among the three reactors that experienced meltdown. The conclusion is based on image data obtained by a technical team in March this year using palm-sized micro-drones to conduct 21 flight surveys inside the containment vessel of Unit 3. Based on the multi-angle...

2026-10-11

US MARVEL Microreactor Approved for Criticality Testing, Testing Expected to Begin by End of 2026

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho Operations Office has formally approved the final safety analysis report for the MARVEL microreactor at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This key regulatory approval authorizes the reactor to proceed with configuration preparations for dry criticality testing, marking a breakthrough for the project following the approval of the preliminary safety analysis report in March of this year. The MARVEL (Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation) project is a sodium-potassium alloy-cooled microreactor test platform with a design thermal power of 85 to 100 kilowatts and a net electrical power of approximately 20 kilowatts. The facility is designed to help private companies such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and GE Vernova test micro...

2026-10-10

US-based NuCube Launches High-Temperature Testing of 250 kW Pump-Free Microreactor in Utah

Advanced nuclear developer NuCube Energy is conducting a new round of non-nuclear testing in Utah, USA, on its factory-assembled microreactor technology. The company is collaborating with researchers from Brigham Young University to advance the project at the San Rafael Energy Research Laboratory. The partners are using electric heating technology to precisely simulate the operating conditions inside their planned NuSun micro fission system. The core focus of this round of testing is to verify whether small modular nuclear energy can provide clean, decarbonized energy support for high-energy-consumption manufacturing operations. Conventional commercial nuclear power plants typically rely on mechanical pumps and large pools to manage core temperature. Once mechanical components fail or...

2026-10-10

Russia Completes Qualification Tests of ITER First Wall Tungsten Lining, Advancing Development of Key Components for International Thermonuclear Fusion

The Efremov Institute of Electrophysical Apparatus (NIIEFA), a subsidiary of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, recently successfully completed the qualification testing phase of tungsten materials for the first wall lining of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). This testing aimed to verify the feasibility of the selected technical solution. The expert team completed vacuum rapid brazing of the tungsten lining, robotic ultrasonic inspection, and rigorous thermal cycling tests, laying a solid foundation for subsequent mass production of key components. As the physical boundary between the scorching plasma and the main reactor equipment in a tokamak device, the first wall lining must protect the equipment from high-energy particle bombardment while...

2026-10-10

Framatome and EDF Renew Long-Term Operations and Maintenance Service Agreement for Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station, Safeguarding the UK's Only PWR Unit's Life Extension into the 2040s

Framatome of France and Électricité de France (EDF) have recently formally renewed a 15-year Long-Term Service Agreement (LTSA). The agreement will comprehensively cover integrated routine operations and maintenance as well as refueling outage services for Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station (Sizewell B NPP) in Suffolk, UK, to support the unit's ongoing long-term operation and life extension development strategy. Framatome has been continuously responsible for core overhaul and technical maintenance work at Sizewell B since 2008. The renewed long-term service contract extends directly to 2040, and Framatome will mobilize its global technical expertise in the pressurized water reactor (PWR) field and its UK-dedicated...

2026-10-10

Unit 1 of Turkey's Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant Completes Primary Circuit Hydrostatic Test: Fully Advancing Toward the Hot Functional Test Stage

Unit 1 of the Akkuyu NPP, Turkey's first nuclear power plant, has successfully completed the hydrostatic test of the primary circuit system and core equipment. The successful completion of this hydrostatic test verified the pressure-bearing integrity and sealing performance of the primary circuit system, clearing engineering obstacles for the unit's subsequent launch of the critical hot functional test. During the test, the pressure-bearing value of the primary circuit system (covering the reactor pressure vessel, main coolant pumps, steam generators, pressurizer, and the main coolant piping connecting all components) was raised to 24.5 MPa, equivalent to approximately 1.5 times the unit's normal operating pressure; the initial temperature of the primary circuit demineralized water reached 135°C. Eng...

2026-10-10

ITER Tokamak Plasma Instability Simulation Tool JOREK Released as Open Source

JOREK, a key simulation software used for simulating large-scale plasma instabilities in nuclear fusion devices, was officially released as open source on October 8, 2026, and its code has been hosted under the official GitHub account of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Organization. This move aims to promote global nuclear fusion research toward a more open and innovative ecosystem, greatly lowering the threshold for researchers in various countries to obtain, use, and further develop this core algorithm code. Nina Schwarz, a researcher at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), pointed out that this open license allows researchers worldwide to contribute code to JOREK and publicly improve the algorithm. A clear open-source license...

2026-10-10

Poland Launches Procurement of Key Equipment for Its First Nuclear Power Plant

Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) announced on October 8, 2026, that it has formally commissioned Westinghouse Electric Company of the United States to initiate the ordering of Long-Lead Items (LLI) for Unit 1 of Poland's first nuclear power plant. The nuclear power project is located at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in Choczewo, Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland, and is planned to house 3 Westinghouse AP1000 pressurized water reactor units. Long-lead critical components typically encompass large heavy forgings and castings required for the reactor pressure vessel, steam turbine and generator, dedicated instrumentation and control software, and high-technical-difficulty structural components...

2026-10-09

India's NTPC Finalizes Three New Nuclear Power Plant Sites: Accelerating Toward the 30 GW Nuclear Power Strategic Goal for 2047

India's largest state-owned power generation company, NTPC, has officially finalized three strategic nuclear power plant sites in Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Odisha. This move is a key initiative for the company to achieve its long-term plan of putting a cumulative 30 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear power capacity into operation across 14 states nationwide by 2047, and the detailed feasibility study reports for the relevant sites have been submitted to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) of India for approval. According to preliminary plans, if the above three candidate sites receive regulatory approval, the planned installed capacity of each base will be between 2 and 4 GW. For the pressurized water reactor (PWR) projects planned for these sites, NTPC is actively engaging with international nuclear power giants to assess the feasibility of technical cooperation with Holtec International of the United States, Westinghouse, Rosatom of Russia, and Electricite de France (EDF). Earlier this year, NTPC signed separate confidentiality agreements with Rosatom and EDF to carry out preliminary technical discussions on the engineering implementation of large pressurized water reactors.

2026-10-09

U.S. NRC Expedites Review of License Amendment for Palisades Nuclear Plant Fuel Loading Tilt Incident: Advancing Vanguard SMR Construction Permit Review in Parallel

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is reviewing an emergency operating license amendment request (LAR) submitted by Holtec International. The request was triggered by a nuclear fuel loading tilt incident at the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant (Palisades NPP) in Covert, Michigan, during its restart process, which has resulted in the temporary suspension of some on-site restart recovery operations. According to the application documents publicly available in the NRC's public records system, fuel assembly number DD41 tilted after being released by the fuel handling machine. The lower nozzle of the assembly remains in the core grid position H-1, but the upper portion forms an approximately 30-degree tilt angle with the core plate...

2026-10-09

Installation of First Steam Generator Begins at Egypt's El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant, Total Capacity to Reach 4,800 MW

Recently, the Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) of Egypt issued a statement announcing that installation of the first steam generator for Unit 1 of the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant has begun, coinciding with Egypt's celebration of the 53rd anniversary of the October War victory. This is part of the main equipment installation work for the reactor facility. It is understood that the steam generator is one of the main components of the VVER-1200 nuclear reactor system, serving as the thermal connection device between the primary loop and the secondary loop, transferring reactor heat to the secondary loop cooling water through the primary loop coolant while maintaining isolation between the two loops...

2026-10-09

Controversy Over U.S. Nuclear Waste Repository Siting Draws Renewed Attention: Historical Decision Alleged to Have Relied Excessively on Cost Estimates

The issue of siting a U.S. nuclear waste repository has once again drawn attention. A reanalysis of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) 1986 candidate site evaluation report points out that the key factor determining the priority siting of a nuclear waste repository at that time was not fully verified differences in long-term safety performance among the sites, but mainly estimates of repository construction and operating costs and spent fuel transportation costs. This analysis argues that the relevant cost data had considerable uncertainty, yet played a decisive role in the final ranking, causing the technical evaluation to present a clearer ordering of advantages and disadvantages than the actual evidence supported. The debate over U.S. nuclear waste repository siting has lasted for decades. The 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy...

2026-10-09

NASA and U.S. Department of Energy Sign Memorandum of Understanding: Opening a New Era in Space Nuclear Energy Exploration

According to reports, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on October 8, 2026, at the Golden Age Summit held at the Donald J. Trump Institute for Peace in Washington, D.C., to advance new nuclear technologies for space exploration. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and Energy Secretary Chris Wright attended the signing ceremony. It is understood that the memorandum aims to strengthen the two agencies' cooperation in nuclear technology development...

2026-10-09

Unit 1 of Bangladesh's Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Approved to Initiate Nuclear Fission Reaction

Recently, the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) issued a final license to Unit 1 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (Rooppur NPP) located in Ishwardi, Pabna, allowing it to initiate a controlled nuclear fission reaction. This is a key step for the 1,200-megawatt reactor toward commissioning. Saikat Ahmed, project focal point of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, told New Age that the license will allow the reactor to reach the B2 stage and achieve first criticality. First criticality refers to the initiation of a controlled, self-sustaining...

2026-10-09

Germany Launches Fusion Milestone Program: Plans to Invest €2.5 Billion to Support Fusion Companies Toward Commercialization

On October 7, 2026, the German Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation (SPRIND), on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), officially launched the Fusion Milestone Program. The program is an important component of Germany's High-Tech Agenda (HTAD), aiming to promote fusion startups and young companies from technology R&D toward demonstration power plant construction through funding support linked to technological progress and commercialization outcomes, further shortening the distance from laboratory research to commercial application of nuclear fusion. According to the program arrangements, the German government will provide funding support through the Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality (SVIK), with plans to invest...

2026-10-09