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"High-Precision Analysis Technology and Engineering Application of Multi-Physics, Multi-Scale, Strongly Coupled High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor" Passes Scientific and Technological Achievement Appraisal, Reaching Internationally Leading Level

On August 7, the China Nuclear Energy Association organized a scientific and technological achievement appraisal meeting in Beijing for the high-precision analysis technology and engineering application of multi-physics, multi-scale, strongly coupled high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. Ye Qizhen, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, served as the leader of the project review panel. The expert group unanimously agreed to pass the achievement appraisal, recognizing it as reaching an internationally leading level. Xu Weiqiang, General Manager of the Nuclear Energy Research Institute, attended the meeting, and Liu Wei, Director of the Reactor Engineering Institute, delivered a special report. This achievement was completed through five years of joint research by Huaneng Nuclear Energy Technology Research Institute and Xi'an Jiaotong University, targeting world-class challenges such as strong multi-physics coupling in the core of pebble-bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, limited in-core temperature measurement points, and complex bypass flow paths. For the first time internationally, it established...

2026-08-12

Budapest Launches Feasibility Study for Long-Distance Heat Supply from Paks Nuclear Power Plant

On August 11, 2026, Budapest Public Services Company (BKM), in partnership with the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, launched a feasibility study to explore the delivery of thermal energy from the Paks Nuclear Power Plant to the city's district heating system via a hot-water pipeline of approximately 125 kilometers. The study focuses on the technical, economic, and construction feasibility of the project. The Paks Nuclear Power Plant is located about 100 kilometers from the capital, and the current heat load of Budapest's district heating system is approximately 100 MWth in summer, peaking at 1,000 MWth in winter. The core significance of this concept lies not only in providing a low-carbon heat source for the city but also in improving the efficiency of waste heat utilization at the nuclear power plant. The Paks Nuclear Power Plant currently...

2026-08-12

Urenco in Almelo, Netherlands accelerates expansion, ninth centrifuge hall enters planning

Urenco in Almelo, the Netherlands, is continuing its large-scale expansion. Before a new large facility has even been completed, the company has already begun advancing its next expansion project, with a ninth production hall housing thousands of centrifuges now in the preparatory stage. This signals a clear acceleration in the pace of the company's uranium enrichment capacity expansion. Urenco's core business is supplying fuel for nuclear power plants, namely enriching uranium through centrifuges. In recent years, tight global energy supply, fluctuating natural gas prices, and heightened energy security concerns have brought nuclear energy back into focus for many countries. As demand for nuclear power rises, the importance of the nuclear fuel supply chain has also grown, and Urenco...

2026-08-12

Poland Plans State Capital Injection to Accelerate GE Vernova Hitachi SMR Deployment

The Polish government is seeking to accelerate the development of small modular reactor (SMR) projects. Polish Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka stated that the government is in negotiations regarding the Polish Development Fund (PFR) taking a stake in Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE), with a focus on restructuring the company's shareholding. OSGE, jointly established by Polish energy giant Orlen and chemical company Synthos, plans to build a cluster of small nuclear reactors using GE Vernova Hitachi technology from the United States. Motyka noted that the core of the current negotiations is to avoid deadlock in corporate governance. If one company holds a 50% stake, the other party or other shareholders may find it difficult to form effective checks and balances on key decisions...

2026-08-12

Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant Launches Environmental Monitoring System, Recording Ecological Data to Build a "Digital Memory"

On August 10, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant under construction in Mersin Province announced that its deployed high-tech environmental monitoring system has been put into operation, which will digitally record and track ecological environment changes around the plant site. The operator stated that the system not only serves the plant's own environmental compliance but also sets a new standard for environmental management in Türkiye. In terms of marine ecological monitoring, the modern chemical analysis laboratory activated on site is monitoring seawater quality in real time, regularly measuring multiple parameters such as water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen levels, and fish diversity. Through these data, the plant's impact on the marine ecosystem will be transparently documented. Particularly noteworthy...

2026-08-12

Syria Confirms IAEA Delegation to Visit Damascus for Talks on Nuclear Material Handling and Peaceful Use Cooperation

The Syrian Atomic Energy Commission issued a written statement confirming that a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will arrive in Damascus in the coming days to discuss progress in Syria's nuclear energy sector and international nuclear cooperation. The visit was announced following reports that the IAEA is preparing to remove nuclear materials from secret facilities in Syria. The statement said Syria is cooperating with the United States and friendly countries on addressing the nuclear legacy left by the former regime, and is committed to promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy in fields such as health, food, and scientific research. The statement noted that Syria is working to activate its full membership status in the IAEA, and emphasized that Syria, after liberation, has...

2026-08-12

US Oak Ridge National Laboratory Restarts Tungsten-188/Rhenium-188 Generator Production to Support Targeted Cancer Therapy Research

The US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) recently restarted and upgraded its tungsten-188/rhenium-188 (W-188/Re-188) generator manufacturing operations to meet the demand for the rare medical isotope rhenium-188 in targeted cancer therapy research. The laboratory last manufactured such generators in 2011. Radiochemist Becca Hores demonstrated the assembly process of the W-188/Re-188 generator. Depending on radioactivity levels, these generators must be assembled in gloveboxes or hot cells. Image credit: Maggie Gregg/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy. Rhenium-188 is produced by the radioactive decay of tungsten-188. ORNL irradiates tungsten-186 in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) to produce tungsten-188...

2026-08-12

South China Regional Office of Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment Conducts Special Typhoon and Flood Prevention Inspection at Changjiang Nuclear Power Plant

Currently, Hainan has entered the peak season for typhoons and heavy rainfall. Changjiang Nuclear Power Plant, having just withstood the test of Typhoon Maysak, has been hit by continuous heavy rainfall, posing叠加 challenges to on-site safety production from extreme weather. Facing the complex and severe situation, the South China Regional Office of Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (hereinafter referred to as the South China Regional Office) took proactive action and rose to the challenge, promptly organizing a "look-back" special inspection on typhoon and flood prevention work for Units 1 and 2 of Changjiang Nuclear Power Plant. Through comprehensive, multi-level rigorous supervision, the systematic and standardized nature of the operator's natural disaster response work was once again verified. Focusing on key links, consolidating responsibilities. To prevent and mitigate flood season safety risks at the source...

2026-08-12

Cooling seawater temperature at South Korean nuclear power plants approaches design limit

South Korean Climate, Energy and Environment Minister Kim Sung-hwan said on August 11 that due to recent rises in seawater temperature, the temperature of seawater used for cooling at South Korean nuclear power plants has approached the design limit. The government is working with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to study countermeasures such as adjusting the location of water intake points. Kim Sung-hwan made the remarks on the same day while answering a question from lawmaker Park Ji-hye at a plenary session of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee, stating that the temperature of seawater used for cooling at nuclear power plants has recently approached the limit, and that KHNP and the government are closely monitoring the situation. He said nuclear power plants cannot be easily shut down over this issue...

2026-08-12

Brazil's uranium imports from Russia hit highest since 1997 in July, reaching $84.5 million in a single month, a 168-fold surge month-on-month

Brazil's uranium imports from Russia in July this year reached $84.5 million, equivalent to approximately 430 million reais, the highest level since 1997. Compared with the import value of only $504,000 in June, the single-month increase was as high as 168-fold, indicating that this transaction was not a general monthly fluctuation but a concentrated procurement of exceptionally large scale. Looking at historical data, Brazil's uranium imports have typically remained at the level of hundreds of thousands of dollars per month, and even previous periodic peaks were far below the scale seen in July. Materials show that there was an import peak exceeding $1 million in August 2025, but it still pales in comparison with this $84.5 million figure. This means that the July data not only changes...

2026-08-12

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Reveals Mechanism of Canine Brain Recognizing Human Negative Emotions

August 11 news, Hungarian ethologists from Eötvös Loránd University, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Vienna in Austria and the National Autonomous University of Mexico, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study how canine brains process human facial emotions. The related paper was published in iScience. The research team designed two experiments. To avoid the influence of dogs' emotional responses to familiar people on the results, facial photos of strangers were used in the experiments. The first experiment included 8 dogs aged 18 to 53 months, including 6 Border Collies, 1 Labrador Retriever, and 1 Golden Retriever. The dogs remained in a stationary position in the scanner and could leave the device at any time. The experiment first compared happy and neutral human face images...

2026-08-12

Brazil's IRD Radiometric Metrology Laboratory Receives CTBTO Certification, Joins International Nuclear Test Monitoring Network

The Radiometric Metrology Laboratory of Brazil's Institute of Radiation Protection and Dosimetry (IRD/ANSN) has recently received certification from the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), officially qualifying it to join the international verification system. The certification was granted following an on-site audit conducted by the CTBTO in Rio de Janeiro from June 16 to 25, marking the Brazilian laboratory as the 15th certified unit among the 16 treaty-designated radionuclide laboratories. The certification primarily confirmed that the laboratory meets CTBTO requirements in high-precision analysis, result reliability, data traceability, and standardization of technical procedures. The audit covered sample reception and preparation, equipment calibration, result interpretation,...

2026-08-12

CT "5-Star" Image Quality Scoring May Help Reduce Radiation Dose

A multinational study involving the International Atomic Energy Agency and Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States shows that a standardized 5-star scoring system that considers both radiation dose and CT image quality can produce relatively consistent evaluations across different radiologists and help identify opportunities to reduce patient radiation exposure. This retrospective study included 2,737 adult CT examinations performed at 6 hospitals across 5 European countries, including 1,247 chest CTs and 1,490 abdominal CTs, involving 13 CT scanners. At each hospital, 3 radiologists independently evaluated the examinations using the 5-star framework. Unlike traditional image quality assessments that may favor lower noise...

2026-08-12

India's Bihar signs memorandum of understanding for $2.3 billion small modular reactor project

The government of Bihar, India recently signed investment memorandums of understanding totaling approximately $6 billion (about €5.2 billion) with several industrial enterprises, covering sectors such as steel, textiles, food processing, pharmaceuticals, and nuclear energy. Among these, the nuclear energy project investment amounts to approximately $2.3 billion, making it the largest investment proposal among the signed agreements. According to a statement issued by the office of Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Global Renewable Advanced Clean Energy, a recently registered company headquartered in Hyderabad in central India, signed the nuclear energy memorandum of understanding. Further details...

2026-08-12

Bulgaria's Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant Faces Shutdown Risk Due to Low Danube Water Levels

On August 11, Bulgaria's Ministry of Energy warned that the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant is facing the risk of reduced output or even shutdown due to the continuously declining water level of the Danube River. The plant relies on the Danube to provide cooling water for its two 1,000 MW reactors. If the water intake capacity continues to be constrained, it will directly affect the safe operation of the reactors and the stability of power supply. Bulgaria's Ministry of Energy stated that measures have been taken to ensure water supply to the cooling system, including dredging the channels connecting the Danube to coastal pumping stations to maintain the necessary flow. This summer, the Danube's water level has dropped to historic lows due to prolonged drought. Near Ruse, Bulgaria, the river's flow is already more than one meter below the safe navigation level, and it has continued to decline over the past 24 hours...

2026-08-12