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U.S. SuperCritical Materials Corp. Completes Independent Engineering Assessment of Seawater Uranium Extraction Platform

SuperCritical Materials Corp. announced on August 26 that Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) has completed an independent engineering assessment of its seawater uranium extraction platform. The assessment covered the uranium extraction platform, deployment architecture, offshore operation plans, uranium recovery process, commercialization pathway, and key engineering conditions required for future large-scale deployment. The assessment reviewed SuperCritical Materials' conceptual production plan. Under this plan, the system would use approximately 10,000 metric tons of adsorbent and operate on a continuous 21-day deployment cycle, capable of supporting a uranium processing facility with an annual output of 1.85 million pounds of triuranium octoxide (U3O8)...

2026-08-27

Japan to Allocate Funds to Accelerate Preparations for Next-Generation Nuclear Reactor Reviews

The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) of Japan has decided to include funding in its budget request for the next fiscal year to investigate the effectiveness of safety measures for next-generation nuclear reactors and to make advance preparations for future review work. The Japanese government is promoting the development of next-generation nuclear reactors, including innovative light-water reactors that enhance safety design based on existing light-water reactor technology. Since November last year, Kansai Electric Power Co. has been conducting geological surveys at the Mihama Nuclear Power Station in Fukui Prefecture as part of preliminary preparations for potentially replacing existing units with next-generation reactors in the future. It has been reported that the NRA plans to include in its budget request for the next fiscal year...

2026-08-27

TEPCO replaces faulty motor of robotic arm at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 2

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) began replacing the faulty motor of the robotic arm used for fuel debris retrieval trials at Unit 2 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on August 26. The robotic arm, approximately 22 meters long, is planned for use in the third fuel debris retrieval trial. During a previous operational inspection inside the reactor building of Unit 2, TEPCO found that the motor driving the robotic arm had malfunctioned, preventing the brake from releasing and the arm from extending. As the robotic arm is already installed on site, workers will enter the "front chamber" in front of the containment vessel to perform the replacement manually. The company stated that radiation levels in the work area will be strictly controlled to prevent workers from receiving excessive exposure. After this replacement, TEPCO will...

2026-08-27

Chubu Electric Power Suspected of Falsifying Decommissioning Progress at Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant

According to disclosures, Japan's Chubu Electric Power Company (CEPCO) is suspected of submitting improper reports to the Japan Spent Fuel Reprocessing and Decommissioning Promotion Organization (NuRO), which manages decommissioning funds, during the cost declaration process for the decommissioning of Units 1 and 2 at the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant, overstating project progress and settling related costs accordingly. The Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant is located in Omaezaki City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Chubu Electric Power decided to shut down Units 1 and 2 of the plant in 2008, with related decommissioning work commencing in 2009. Sources say that when declaring decommissioning project costs, the company is suspected of reporting project progress as faster than actual conditions and using inaccurate data in documents submitted to the fund management organization...

2026-08-27

Belarus Advances Preparations for Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility

Belarus is advancing preliminary work on the construction of a centralized radioactive waste disposal facility. Mikhail Kisel, Director of the Belarusian Radioactive Waste Management Organization, recently stated at a public discussion on the environmental impact assessment report held in Mstsislaw that, according to the country's radioactive waste management strategy through 2050, existing storage facilities will need to be decommissioned in the future, and the new radioactive waste disposal facility is planned to be completed by 2030. Kisel noted that the sources of radioactive waste are not limited to the nuclear energy sector, but also include healthcare, industrial, and scientific research activities. Currently, centralized long-term storage of such waste is handled by the specialized enterprise Ekores. Belarusian radioactive waste...

2026-08-27

Hualong One Pressurizer Electric Heaters Achieve Coverage of Two Major Technical Routes

The pressurizer electric heater is an important safety-class component of the reactor coolant system (primary loop) in pressurized water reactor nuclear power plants, directly affecting unit pressure regulation and safe, stable operation. The localized pressurizer electric heater developed by Chuanyi Instrument Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of SINOMACH Instrumentation Group under SINOMACH Group, has been applied to China's self-developed Generation III nuclear power units such as "Hualong One." The photo shows the qualification prototype of the Hualong One pressurizer electric heater. With the batch construction of Hualong One units advancing, units adopting different technical routes have imposed new customized operating condition requirements on pressurizer electric heaters. In October 2019, Chuanyi Instrument, together with China General Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd., initiated the development of the CGN-version Hualong One pressurizer electric heater...

2026-08-27

Construction of Access Tunnels Commences for Phase III of Taipingling Nuclear Power Project

On August 26, 2026, CGN's Guangdong Taipingling Nuclear Power Plant held a mobilization meeting for the construction of its Phase III project. At the meeting, the "Safety and Quality Responsibility Agreement for the Construction and Operation of CGN Guangdong Taipingling Nuclear Power Plant Phase III Project" was unveiled, aiming to further consolidate safety and quality responsibilities in nuclear power engineering construction, strengthen project quality management, and ensure the safe and orderly progress of project construction. At the mobilization meeting, Zhang Guoqiang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of CGN Huizhou Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., announced the official commencement of access tunnel construction for the Phase III project. Upon completion of the access tunnel construction, it will help improve the organizational efficiency of project construction in areas such as material transportation and module hoisting, and create conditions for the subsequent pouring of the first batch of nuclear island concrete.

2026-08-27

Symposium on Marine Radiation Monitoring and Emergency Response Technology Exchange Successfully Held

To further enhance the technical support capability for marine radiation environment monitoring and promote scientific research innovation and practical application in marine radiation monitoring and emergency response, the National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center (hereinafter referred to as the Marine Center) recently conducted a technical exchange with the Jinan Zhongke Nuclear Technology Research Institute. The two sides engaged in comprehensive discussions on technology development, equipment application, data analysis, and standards development, focusing on the new situation and new requirements facing marine radiation environmental safety. The Marine Center systematically presented its operational system, technical capabilities, and practical experience in the field of marine radiation monitoring and emergency response. The Jinan Zhongke Nuclear Technology Research Institute highlighted its core...

2026-08-27

Lanzhou Taiji Completes Key Commissioning of First Domestic Multi-Ion Therapy Device HiTS400

The first domestically produced multi-ion therapy device HiTS400, independently developed by Lanzhou Taiji and installed at Shandong Cancer Hospital, recently completed phased joint commissioning. After one week of operational testing, all beam parameters of the device met or exceeded contractual requirements, laying the foundation for subsequent clinical registration work. According to reports, HiTS400 is a medical ion accelerator independently developed by Lanzhou Taiji with full intellectual property rights. It can stably deliver four ion species: C^6+, H^+, He^2+, and O^8+, and is equipped with multi-angle fixed treatment nozzles and a lightweight superconducting heavy-ion rotating gantry, integrating modulated scanning technology to advance the development and application of multi-ion combined therapy devices. On August 14, 2026, the device obtained an amendment to its Radiation Safety License from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, granting qualification for commissioning and operation. In the early morning of August 20, the equipment achieved stable acceleration and precise extraction of carbon ion beams. Measured data show that the particle number after synchrotron acceleration reached 3.26E9 ppp, the terminal particle number reached 3.02E9 ppp, the extraction efficiency was 92%, and beam stability was no less than 95%.

2026-08-26

US Advances Preparations for High-Burnup Spent Fuel Shipment to Idaho for Research

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently stated that the Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) is participating in preparations for transporting a high-burnup spent nuclear fuel research cask. The cask is planned to be shipped from Dominion Energy's North Anna Nuclear Power Station in Virginia to the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for subsequent spent fuel-related research. INL was selected as the receiving site primarily because it possesses the specialized facilities, equipment, and personnel expertise required for handling spent nuclear fuel. The DOE noted that these capabilities are typically not part of routine commercial nuclear power plant configurations. High-burnup fuel refers to nuclear fuel that remains in the reactor for a longer period to increase energy output...

2026-08-26

U.S. STREAMLINE Project Advances Nuclear Quantum Many-Body Research with Artificial Intelligence

On August 25, 2026, a new project named STREAMLINE is combining artificial intelligence, machine learning, and supercomputing to address the nuclear quantum many-body problem in nuclear physics research, aiming to more accurately simulate the interactions between protons and neutrons within atomic nuclei and provide theoretical support for frontier topics such as neutron stars and fundamental interactions. The difficulty of the nuclear quantum many-body problem lies in the fact that as the number of particles increases, the possible interactions among them grow rapidly, and traditional computational methods quickly hit the ceiling of computing power. Even with high-performance supercomputers, only quantum systems of relatively limited scale can typically be handled. The STREAMLINE project hopes to...

2026-08-26

Target Image of "Artificial Sun" China Huanliu-4 Released

The 2026 Fusion Energy Conference and Fusion Energy Week opened in Shanghai on the 25th. The target image of the "Artificial Sun" China Huanliu-4 was released at the opening ceremony. China Huanliu-4 is a fourth-generation magnetic confinement fusion large-scale scientific experimental device and the world's first high-temperature superconducting strong-field steady-state burning experimental platform. It will systematically verify the reliability of high-temperature superconducting strong-field magnets in complex fusion environments, demonstrate full-domain intelligent control of fusion reactors, and achieve long-duration steady-state operation of the device. Fusion energy is an important direction for the future development of human energy, and major countries around the world are competing to position themselves in the new track of fusion energy. Zhang Guangjun, Vice Minister of Science and Technology, pointed out on the same day that the 15th Five-Year Plan will incorporate controlled nuclear fusion as a future energy technology into key directions for energy innovation development, and list controlled nuclear fusion as a major national frontier science and technology project.

2026-08-26

U.S. HFIR Research Reactor Boosts Validation of New Nuclear Fuels

The High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is becoming a key facility in the U.S. research, development, and qualification system for new nuclear fuels. A research paper published on August 25 noted that amid growing demand for new commercial nuclear power and advanced reactor construction in the United States, research reactor resources available for new fuel testing are becoming strained, and HFIR is expected to help alleviate the shortage of related testing capabilities. Image credit: Gunes Ozcan/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy. HFIR is one of the world's highest-flux steady-state research reactors and has long been used for nuclear fuel and materials irradiation testing. The paper recognizes...

2026-08-26

U.S. Research Reveals Diamond Melting Mechanism at High Pressure, Potentially Enhancing Inertial Confinement Fusion Performance

A research team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the U.S. recently published a study in Nature Physics reporting that the latest dynamic compression experiments have, for the first time, directly recorded atomic structural changes during diamond melting under extreme high pressure. The experiments showed that under high-pressure conditions, solid diamond can float in liquid metallic carbon, similar to ice floating on water. Diamond is not only a high-hardness carbon material but is also used as the fuel target capsule shell in inertial confinement fusion experiments. When intense lasers drive the capsule implosion, the compression and melting behavior of the diamond shell can affect whether the fusion fuel reaches the required high-temperature, high-pressure state. Meanwhile, the planetary science community has long focused on the high-pressure behavior of carbon in the deep interiors of ice giant planets...

2026-08-26

Bitumen Solidification Facility at Unit 2 of Japan's Ikata Nuclear Power Plant Returns to Normal

Shikoku Electric Power Co. reported on August 25, 2026, that the bitumen solidification facility at Unit 2 of Japan's Ikata Nuclear Power Plant, currently in a decommissioned state, had returned to normal operation at 10:45 a.m. that day. The gasket at the joint of the mixer top cover, where the earlier abnormality had been detected, had been replaced, and trial operation results showed no abnormalities. The incident occurred on April 28. On that day, when operators started the bitumen solidification facility in the controlled area of the reactor auxiliary building, they observed a steam-like phenomenon near the mixer thermometer, which subsequently disappeared on its own. Maintenance personnel later inspected and confirmed at 3:05 p.m. that the steam-like gas originated from inside the mixer and had escaped through the joint of the mixer top cover; at 5:06 p.m., the bitumen solidification facility was shut down.

2026-08-26