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France's Calogena Receives EU Funding to Build First SMR

Recently, French small modular reactor developer Calogena has secured €40 million (US$44.6 million) in funding through the European Commission's Innovation Fund to support the construction of its first commercial nuclear reactor in Pierrelatte, southern France. As a subsidiary of France's Gorgé Group, Calogena has been committed since its founding in 2021 to developing the CAL30 water-cooled small modular reactor, designed specifically to provide carbon-free energy for urban district heating networks. The reactor has a thermal power of 30 MWth and adopts a simple design based on a low-temperature, low-pressure pool-type reactor, offering extremely high safety and the ability to be reliably deployed near district heating networks...

2026-11-07

Singapore's Nuclear Energy Preparations Enter a New Phase: No Decision Yet to Build a Plant, Why Build Judgment Capacity First

When a country prepares to develop nuclear power, the first thing to appear may not be a reactor order. It may instead first establish a research team to analyze technical options, train regulatory personnel, and study how to handle spent fuel decades from now. This work is far from the construction site, yet it determines whether the country can understand the proposals put forward by suppliers in the future and whether it has the capacity to bear the corresponding responsibilities. On October 30, the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Institute (SNRSI) under the National University of Singapore announced a five-year cooperation arrangement covering reactor technology assessment, safety analysis, radioactive waste and spent fuel management, and other areas.

2026-11-06

Haiyang Nuclear Power Phase III Commencement: From First Concrete to the Real Threshold of China's Batch Nuclear Power Construction

The moment a nuclear power plant first enters public view is often when concrete begins to be poured. The reactor pressure vessel is not yet on site, nor is the turbine operating, but rebar, embedded parts and construction equipment have already been organized according to design. Part of the structural foundation on which decades of subsequent operation depend begins to take shape here. On October 31, the nuclear island of Unit 5 at Shandong Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant began pouring first concrete, marking the commencement of the Haiyang Nuclear Power Phase III project. Phase III plans to build two units, Units 5 and 6, adopting domestically produced third-generation advanced passive pressurized water reactor technology. For a site that already has operating and under-construction units, the value brought by new units is not only future...

2026-11-06

China Xuwu Unit 3 Plans First Concrete Pour for Nuclear Island

Recently, Unit 3 of the Phase I project of the Jiangsu Xuwu Nuclear Heating and Power Plant has finalized the plan for the first concrete pour of the nuclear island, marking an important preparatory milestone for the project construction. The unit is constructed and operated by CNNC Suneng Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., which is controlled and invested by China National Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. The project intends to advance the main construction of the nuclear island through this engineering milestone, while the actual implementation status remains subject to confirmation by subsequent engineering information. Regulatory licensing has provided the prerequisite for the relevant construction. The National Nuclear Safety Administration completed the review of the application documents, issued a construction license to Unit 3, and through on-site readiness supervision and inspection, confirmed that the conditions for the first concrete pour of the nuclear island foundation are met, allowing the relevant work to proceed. The license...

2026-11-06

Zhongke Qingneng Completes Development of China's First Ultra-Large Helium Refrigerator

Recently, Henan Zhongke Qingneng Technology Co., Ltd., in collaboration with the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, successfully held in Hefei the development summary meeting for the 20kW@4.5K ultra-large helium refrigerator, marking that this first domestically produced ultra-large equipment has officially passed expert panel review and is ready for rollout and delivery. Helium refrigerators are indispensable core cryogenic equipment for frontier large-scale scientific facilities such as magnetic confinement controlled nuclear fusion devices. For a long time, key core technologies such as 20kW ultra-large cooling capacity equipment in the 4.5K temperature range and high-power cryogenic turbo-expanders have been monopolized by a few leading international enterprises such as France's Air Liquide and Germany's Linde Group. This time, the joint R&D team successfully broke through a series of bottleneck technologies, including high-power deep cryogenic refrigeration processes, cold box integration, and independent development of key rotating components, achieving full localization of the complete unit and key parts, with the procurement cost per unit significantly lower than that of imported comparable products. The successful development of this equipment has enabled China to achieve a historic transformation from "following" to "running abreast" in the field of core equipment for fusion reactor cryogenic systems, providing an independently controllable "cryogenic heart" for strategic emerging industries prioritized in China's 15th Five-Year Plan, such as controlled nuclear fusion energy, large superconducting accelerators, large-scale quantum infrastructure, and deep space exploration. Project leader Lu Xiaofei pointed out that this is a major leap from quantitative accumulation to qualitative transformation in China's deep cryogenic systems engineering. Pan Weiwei, General Manager of Zhongke Qingneng, stated that since its establishment, the company has built a diversified product family covering all temperature ranges. In the future, the company will continue to increase R&D investment, accelerate the construction of a full-chain ecosystem covering R&D, manufacturing, and operations, fully serve national strategic emerging industries and future industries, and provide strong technical support for China to seize the competitive high ground in high-tech industries.

2026-11-06

Recycled chloride salt fuel prepares to enter research reactor: Can spent fuel become a resource, and what data must be obtained first?

Turning nuclear material into another kind of fuel. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) announced on November 2 that it will lead the IMPACT project to fabricate and test chloride salt fuel containing recycled transuranic elements. The project has received $7 million in support from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and plans to use nuclear materials already available at the laboratory to complete fabrication and property testing, and to conduct irradiation in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). This research advances the improvement of spent fuel utilization to a specific question: after recovered materials form new fuel, how exactly do they change in the reactor environment? Moltex participates in modeling and design-related work.

2026-11-05

Urenco USA Completes Production of First Commercial Upgraded Low-Enriched Uranium Product Cylinder

Recently, Urenco USA completed the production of its first upgraded low-enriched uranium (LEU+) product cylinder at the National Enrichment Facility in New Mexico, advancing this fuel feedstock from production readiness to the commercial product supply stage. This development provides a new enriched uranium option for operating light water reactors and some advanced reactors, but completing the production of enriched product does not equate to fuel assemblies having been manufactured or loaded into a reactor. LEU+ is Urenco's product name for enriched uranium with uranium-235 assays of approximately 5% to 10%, higher than the typical enrichment levels of fuel commonly used in operating commercial nuclear power plants. Fuel made from this material is expected to support longer operating cycles and reduce refueling outages...

2026-11-05

First Steam Generator Tube Order Placed for U.S. Advanced Small Modular Reactor Project

Recently, X-energy, Alleima, and Doosan Enerbility announced the placement of the first steam generator tube procurement order for the Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor project. The order is for the proposed four-unit project in Texas, United States, being advanced through the collaboration between X-energy and Dow, moving long-lead critical components into the specific procurement phase. Under this collaboration, Alleima will manufacture specialized stainless steel tubing, which Doosan Enerbility will then fabricate into helical coiled tubes. The coiled tubes are a key component of the Xe-100 steam generator, designed to support the generation of high-temperature steam up to approximately 565 degrees Celsius, enabling the reactor to serve both power generation and industrial process heat supply. The first batch of proc...

2026-11-05

First Concrete Pour Completed for Nuclear Island of Unit 5 at China's Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant

Recently, the first concrete pour (FCD) for the nuclear island of Haiyang Nuclear Power Unit 5 was completed, with a cumulative concrete placement of 7,008 cubic meters, marking that the main works of the nuclear island have fully entered the construction phase and laying the foundation for the subsequent construction of Phase III of the Haiyang Nuclear Power Project. The nuclear island base slab of this unit is a raft foundation shared by Zone 5 of the reactor building, auxiliary building and annex building, adopting a cast-in-place reinforced concrete structure. The pouring operation was carried out in four stages and organized as a one-time monolithic pour. Shandong Nuclear Power, together with the supervision, general contracting and construction units, established a dedicated organizational structure to implement safety and quality management throughout the pouring process. The project team, drawing on experience feedback from Phase II, optimized construction organization and process interfaces to ensure continuous pouring of mass concrete.

2026-11-04

Russia Delivers First Steam Generator for MBIR Fast Neutron Research Reactor

Recently, the Podolsk Machine-Building Plant (ZiO-Podolsk), a subsidiary of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom), has officially completed the manufacture and delivery of the first of two steam generators for the Multipurpose Fast Neutron Research Reactor (MBIR). The unit is currently under intensive construction at the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (NIIAR) in Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk Oblast. It is reported that as the world's largest 150 MW sodium-cooled fast neutron research reactor of its kind, the MBIR employs a unique three-circuit heat transfer scheme and a counter-flow steam generator design, with its technology continuing and optimizing the experience from the BOR-60 reactor, which has been operating smoothly for decades. Each unit weighs 9 tonnes...

2026-11-04

America's First "Large Reactor in a Chemical Plant" Clears the Hurdle: X-energy Xe-100 Ushers in the Conclusion of Safety Review and a Key Springboard to Commercialization

In the global race to industrialize advanced nuclear energy technologies, the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor is reaching a milestone. In late October 2026, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) formally issued the Final Safety Evaluation Report (FSER) for the construction permit application of the Long Mott Generating Station, proposed to be built at Dow Chemical's Seadrift site along the Texas Gulf Coast. This means that the Xe-100 high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, developed by X-energy with an installed capacity of 320 megawatts electric, has successfully passed the most central safety examination at the U.S. nuclear regulatory level, clearing...

2026-11-03

Unit 2 of Phase I of the Sanao Nuclear Power Project Completes First Fuel Loading

Recently, Unit 2 of Phase I of CGN's Zhejiang Sanao Nuclear Power Project successfully completed its first nuclear fuel loading, marking the unit's official transition from the engineering installation phase to the new stage of commissioning with nuclear fuel in the main systems, and representing a key step toward the full completion and commercial operation of Phase I. It is reported that the fuel loading operation adopted a semi-automatic refueling system, precisely transferring 177 nuclear fuel assemblies sequentially into the reactor core. Since the commencement of nuclear island installation, the Sanao project department of China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Co., Ltd., the contractor, has strictly followed the principles of "safety first, quality first, pursuit of excellence," and completed a series of major prerequisite tests—including nuclear circuit flushing and cold and hot performance tests—to a high standard...

2026-11-03

First Steam Generator of Xudapu NPP Unit 2 Hoisted into Place

Recently, Xudapu Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2 reached a major engineering milestone as its first steam generator was successfully hoisted into place, with safety and quality fully controlled throughout the entire process. The precise positioning of this key equipment marks that the installation of the primary system of the unit's primary loop has officially entered a new stage. It is reported that the steam generator, as one of the core main equipment items in the nuclear reactor building, is a key hub connecting the primary loop and the secondary loop of the nuclear island, mainly responsible for absorbing core heat and producing dry saturated steam to drive the turbine generator. A single steam generator of Xudapu Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 2 is approximately 22 meters long, about 5 meters in outer diameter, and weighs about 600 tonnes, making it an extra-large heavy nuclear power component. To ensure high...

2026-11-02

CNNC Atom High-Tech Sodium Iodide Capsules Supplied Directly to Macao for the First Time

Recently, sodium iodide [¹³¹I] capsules independently developed and produced by Atom High-Tech Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Isotope & Radiation Corporation under CNNC, successfully arrived at clinical frontlines in Macao, achieving the first stable supply of domestically produced sodium iodide [¹³¹I] capsules to Macao and completely filling the previous gap in Macao's lack of this clinical diagnostic and therapeutic service. It is understood that sodium iodide [¹³¹I] capsules are core radiopharmaceuticals widely used clinically for the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid diseases. Previously, Atom High-Tech had successfully achieved routine supply of short-half-life radiopharmaceuticals to Macao; the successful launch of this new product will strongly support Macao medical institutions in carrying out systematic radionuclide therapy and effectively reduce the burden of cross-border medical treatment on local patients.

2026-11-02

US Centrus Energy Ships First Centrifuge to Support Piketon Expansion

Recently, the technology and manufacturing center of US-based Centrus Energy in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, has completed the manufacture of its first new advanced centrifuge and officially shipped it to the uranium enrichment plant in Piketon, Ohio. This milestone marks the entry of Centrus' multi-billion-dollar uranium enrichment capacity expansion project into the on-site cascade assembly phase. The project adopts Centrus' independently developed AC-100M advanced centrifuge technology. The first batch of expanded enrichment capacity is expected to officially enter operation in 2029, aiming to simultaneously meet the commercialization and national security needs of low-enriched uranium (LEU) and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU)...

2026-10-31