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Unit 3 of Japan's Ohi Nuclear Power Plant Automatically Shuts Down

Kansai Electric Power Co. announced in the early hours of the 9th that Unit 3 of the Ohi Nuclear Power Plant, located in Ohi Town, Fukui Prefecture, Japan, automatically shut down during operation. The unit has a generating capacity of 1.18 million kilowatts. According to Kansai Electric Power, at around 23:56 on the 8th, an alarm was triggered at the unit, indicating that the generator had lost the conditions required to produce a magnetic field. Subsequently, the generator automatically stopped operating, and the reactor also automatically shut down. Preliminary information suggests that the anomaly may involve the exciter, a device used to establish the magnetic field for the generator. Kansai Electric Power stated that no radioactive material leakage occurred as a result of this incident, and there was no radiological impact on nearby personnel or the environment. The cause of the malfunction...

2026-08-10

SPIC Archives Management Project Selected for National Archives Administration AI Application Pilot

On July 29, the National Archives Administration issued the "Notice on Announcing AI Application Pilot Projects." The archives management AI application pilot project submitted by State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) stood out from 253 pilot projects and was successfully selected, thanks to its solid digitalization foundation for archives, clear AI integration implementation roadmap, and distinctive application scenarios characteristic of central energy enterprises, becoming an important practical vehicle for digital transformation of archives in central enterprises. In April this year, to safely, steadily, and orderly promote the application of AI in the archives industry, the National Archives Administration issued the "Notice on Carrying Out AI Application Pilot Work," requiring pilot efforts in five aspects: computing power, models, data, scenarios, and security...

2026-08-10

SPIC Signs Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Shandong Provincial Government

On August 7, SPIC and the Shandong Provincial Government signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Jinan. Prior to the signing, Liu Mingsheng, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Chairman of SPIC, held working talks with Lin Wu, Secretary of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Congress. Zhou Naixiang, Deputy Secretary of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and Governor of the Province, together with Liu Mingsheng, witnessed the signing of the strategic cooperation agreement. Zhang Haibo, Member of the Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and Executive Vice Governor, Shan Yi, Member of the Standing Committee and Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee, and Lu Hongzao and Chen Haibin, Members of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Presidents of SPIC, attended the events. Lin Wu, on behalf of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government, expressed gratitude to SPIC for its long-term strong support for Shandong's development and introduced the province's economic...

2026-08-10

Belarus Plans Nuclear Expansion: BelAES Unit 3 and Second NPP in Mogilev Region to Advance in Parallel

Belarusian Energy Minister Denis Moroz recently stated that nuclear energy has become a strategic energy direction for Belarus, bearing on national energy security, economic growth, and technological sovereignty. Since the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant was commissioned, it has helped the country reduce its dependence on imported natural gas, cumulatively replacing approximately 14.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas and saving over $600 million in budget funds. After assessing the multiplier effect of nuclear power on the economy, Belarus has decided to continue advancing its nuclear energy development. Moroz stated that the country has made a principled decision: on the one hand, to build a third unit at the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (BelAES) in Ostrovets, and on the other hand, to simultaneously study the plan for constructing a second nuclear power plant.

2026-08-09

U.S. Department of Energy Selects SHINE Technologies for Genesis Initiative, AI to Optimize Reprocessing of 95,000 Tons of Spent Nuclear Fuel

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected SHINE Technologies to participate in the Genesis mission, advancing the application of artificial intelligence in the nuclear industry. The core objective of the project is to develop an AI-assisted design system for engineers to plan more efficient spent fuel reprocessing facilities. The United States currently has approximately 95,000 tons of accumulated spent nuclear fuel, which has historically posed long-term storage and disposal challenges. The new approach seeks to recover still-valuable components from this material, reducing waste volume and improving resource utilization. The key to this project lies in transforming traditional engineering design methods. In the past, metrics such as throughput, final product quality, and waste volume in nuclear fuel reprocessing processes were typically evaluated separately...

2026-08-09

Estonia's Nuclear Power Plant Site Selection Enters New Phase, with All Six Candidate Locations on the Northern Coast

Estonia's special plan for building a nuclear power plant has entered a critical screening phase. Following the government's decision launched last spring, six potential sites have been identified, all located on Estonia's northern coast. Three of the sites are in Lääne-Viru County, and the other three are in Ida-Virumaa County, indicating that the northern coastal region has become a key focus area for nuclear power project development. The planning is being organized by Estonia's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, with Fermi Energia AS being the company interested in the plan and its implementation. The two parties will introduce the candidate sites and the criteria for final site selection through public events in early August. Relevant information was already presented on Wednesday in Rakvere, indicating the project is moving from internal assessment toward public engagement.

2026-08-09

Low Danube Water Level Tests Bulgaria's Nuclear Operations, Energy Minister Says Kozloduy Plant Can Sustain Operations for About a Week and a Half

Bulgarian Energy Minister Iva Petrova said on August 7 that if the Danube River water level remains at its current level, the Kozloduy nuclear power plant can continue normal operations for about a week and a half. She described the situation facing the plant as difficult and dynamically changing, while emphasizing that the plant is currently operating stably with no direct failures affecting power generation. The Kozloduy nuclear power plant is a critical facility in Bulgaria's power system, and the high attention paid to Danube water level changes is mainly related to the cooling conditions required for plant operations. Persistently low water levels may increase operational dispatch pressure and require the energy sector to more frequently assess safety margins and subsequent response measures.

2026-08-08

Russia Offers Brazil Nuclear Technology Cooperation and Small Modular Reactor Projects, Including Floating Nuclear Power Plants and Arctic/Antarctic Scientific Research

During his visit to Brazil, Nikolai Patrushev, aide to the Russian President and head of Russia's Maritime Board, proposed cooperation initiatives involving nuclear energy, scientific research, and maritime security to the Lula administration. This agenda indicates that Brazil continues to pursue a relatively autonomous diplomatic approach in its relations with major powers, while seeking to expand external cooperation space in areas such as energy transition, defense technology, and protection of maritime rights. In the nuclear energy sector, the Russian side focused on promoting small nuclear reactors and low-power nuclear technologies, including the Elena-M small nuclear power plant and floating offshore power generation units. The Russian side described these technologies as capable of long-term operation, relatively cost-effective...

2026-08-08

Russia Advances Rare Earth Extraction Technology Using Hyperaccumulator Plants, Plans Field Trials

August 7 news - Russian researchers have developed a technology for extracting rare earth metals using hyperaccumulator plants. The technology involves planting crops such as mustard, buckwheat, and sunflower at engineered landfill sites, allowing them to absorb metal elements from the soil and concentrate them in their biomass; after harvest, the plants are incinerated, and valuable elements are extracted from the ash. Mustard plantation. Photo: Pustovoit All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Crops. According to reports, under natural conditions in Russia, the relevant crops can be harvested two to three times per growing season. Estimates indicate that a single landfill site can yield up to 15 tons of rare earth metals annually. Currently, the laboratory has conducted tests using phosphogypsum waste from the Voskresensk and Balakovo areas, as well as loparite from the Lovozersky Mining and Processing Plant. The project plans to conduct field trials under real-world conditions this year, with pilot planting scheduled for next year.

2026-08-09

Kazakhstan's National Nuclear Center Advances Full-Chain Nuclear Talent Development

On August 7, the National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NNC RK) presented the status of its human resource development system in the field of atomic energy. Alua Mirzagazkyzy Kabdrakhova, scientific secretary of the center, stated that the modern nuclear energy industry is highly dependent on scientific research and engineering capabilities, and that talent development must begin with early career guidance and continue throughout higher education, research practice, and professional career development. According to the center's plan, nuclear talent development is first directed at secondary school students. The National Nuclear Center holds an annual summer school for young physicists and organizes student visits to research and technical facilities, helping high school students understand modern science,...

2026-08-09

Research Reactors Support Kazakhstan's Safe Nuclear Energy Development

Against the backdrop of growing demand for low-carbon electricity, nuclear energy is being regarded by many countries as a key energy option. Kazakhstan is also advancing its own nuclear energy development. Equally critical to the construction of nuclear power plants is the long-term research, testing, and validation of nuclear fuel, structural materials, reactor operating conditions, and safety systems. Research reactors and experimental facilities are precisely the core platforms undertaking such work. Unlike power reactors, which primarily target electricity generation, research reactors are closer to specialized nuclear science laboratories. Researchers can study the behavior of nuclear fuel and structural materials, simulate different reactor operating states, including off-normal conditions, test new technologies, and validate engineering solutions subsequently used in nuclear...

2026-08-09

Another access control irregularity at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station: exit gate fails to intercept unauthorized passage

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced on August 7 that an irregularity related to access control occurred at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station. An operator improperly used his own ID card to allow a colleague who had left his ID card in the central control room to pass through the gate and exit. TEPCO stated that the access control system failed to display an error message at the time and was unable to prevent this unauthorized passage. According to disclosed information, the incident occurred during the exit process and involves management matters related to nuclear material protection. TEPCO has not yet publicly disclosed the specific date of the incident, the identities of the personnel involved, the detailed reasons why the system failed to trigger an alarm, or subsequent disciplinary actions and preventive measures. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa...

2026-08-08

Jiangsu's First uLinac HalosTx Integrated Ring-Gantry CT Linac Enters Clinical Use

On August 7, the first uLinac HalosTx integrated ring-gantry CT linear accelerator in Jiangsu Province was officially put into clinical use at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University (Changzhou Second People's Hospital). The system integrates a diagnostic-grade CT scanner and a ring-gantry accelerator on a single platform, shifting regional tumor radiotherapy from the traditional step-by-step positioning approach to a same-platform real-time model. Radiotherapy is one of the important modalities for cancer treatment. In the conventional split-system radiotherapy workflow, patients typically need to be transported between the CT room and the treatment room, and treatment plans are mostly formulated based on static images acquired beforehand. In cases such as tumor regression or changes in patient weight, previous images may not fully reflect the actual condition on the day of treatment...

2026-08-08

Rising Seawater Temperatures Prompt New Nuclear Safety Rules: TEPCO Sets Temporary Shutdown Criteria for Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Plant

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings announced on August 7 that it has established a set of self-determined criteria for evaluating whether to temporarily halt nuclear reactor operations at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture, in response to rising seawater temperatures in the surrounding area. These criteria are not mandatory requirements directly imposed by external regulatory authorities, but rather proactive measures voluntarily implemented by TEPCO based on safe operational needs. According to the conditions announced by TEPCO, the company will consider temporarily shutting down the relevant nuclear facilities when the 7-day average seawater temperature in the waters surrounding the plant exceeds 31 degrees Celsius, when water temperatures above 34 degrees Celsius are observed, or when water temperatures above 33 degrees Celsius persist for 12 hours. These numerical thresholds indicate that seawater temperature has been incorporated as a key variable in nuclear power plant operational risk management.

2026-08-08

Canadian laboratory validates molten salt separation process with real spent fuel, extracting nearly 90% of plutonium in 24 hours

A chemical experiment in Canada involving real commercial reactor spent fuel has achieved noteworthy progress. Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, in shielded hot cells at Chalk River, used irradiated spent fuel from CANDU reactors to validate the first phase of Moltex Energy's waste-to-stable-salt process. The experiment showed that within 24 hours, 89.4% of the plutonium was transferred into the molten salt; by 60 hours, this proportion rose to 94.3%. Meanwhile, the vast majority of uranium remained outside the salt phase, indicating that the process exhibits strong selectivity in separating target elements. This process, named WATSS, is not a plutonium purification route but rather a group separation technology. In addition to large quantities of uranium, spent fuel contains fission products as well as transuranic elements such as plutonium and americium, the latter being a significant source of long-term radiological risk. WATSS uses high-temperature chloride molten salt and specific reducing metals to convert transuranic oxides into salt-soluble forms, while most uranium oxides remain solid. In this experiment, researchers used niobium as the reducing metal; after 24 hours, only 0.05% of uranium entered the salt, dropping to 0.02% after 60 hours, demonstrating that it does not carry large amounts of uranium into the molten salt system.

2026-08-09