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Canada's Pickering Nuclear Power Station in Toronto is about to shut down for refurbishment

Nicole Butcher, CEO of Ontario Power Generation (OPG), announced at the Canada Investment Summit that the four units at Pickering Nuclear Power Station's B plant, namely Units 5 through 8, will be gradually taken out of service and enter a comprehensive refurbishment phase lasting five to seven years. Since these four units began operation in the mid-1980s, they have consistently provided about one-tenth of Ontario's electricity supply. With the shutdown of these units, all eight reactors at Pickering Nuclear Power Station will cease generating electricity. According to OPG's financial plan, the refurbishment project will begin first with Unit 5, which is expected to be reconnected to the grid in 2031, while the entire project is planned to be fully completed by 2034. This pr...

2026-09-20

ARC and Idaho National Laboratory Forge Strategic Partnership to Advance First Reactor Deployment

ARC Clean Technology announced earlier this week that it has signed a Strategic Partnership Project agreement with Battelle Energy Alliance, the operating and management contractor for Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The agreement establishes a multi-year collaboration framework aimed at advancing in-depth cooperation between ARC and INL on the design, demonstration, and first project deployment of the ARC-100, a 100 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor. Among the many emerging nuclear reactor startups, Washington, D.C.-based ARC stands as one of the oldest members. The company was founded in 2006, even earlier than well-known industry players such as TerraPower (...

2026-09-20

X-energy and Centrica Partner to Launch the UK's First Xe-100 Advanced Modular Nuclear Power Plant Project

The UK government has approved the regulatory assessment phase for advanced reactors, marking an important step forward for the construction of a new generation of nuclear power plants. X-energy and Centrica are collaborating to build a new generation of nuclear power plants in the UK using the Xe-100 advanced modular reactor, with the first project sited at Hartlepool. This collaboration is of great significance, marking substantial progress on the UK's nuclear energy development path and laying the foundation for broader nuclear power plant construction in the future. Alistair Black, Vice President and UK Market Lead at X-energy, emphasized that since signing the cooperation agreement with Centrica, both parties have been working together on the first project at Hartlepool...

2026-09-18

Centrus Energy to Supply HALEU Fuel to Antares Nuclear, Enabling Micro Nuclear Reactor Applications for Military and Space

U.S. nuclear fuel supplier Centrus Energy has signed a multi-year contract with advanced microreactor developer Antares Nuclear, under which Centrus will supply high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to Antares. This agreement is expected to expand the application scenarios of micro nuclear reactors to locations where traditional power sources are difficult to use, such as military facilities and space environments. As part of the agreement, Antares Nuclear will make advance payments to support Centrus in expanding HALEU production capacity in the United States. Compared with conventional low-enriched uranium, HALEU contains more uranium-235, with an enrichment level above 5% but below 20%. This new type of fuel can support smaller, higher-energy-density reac...

2026-09-18

North China Regional Office Formulates Risk Grading List and Implements Differentiated and Targeted Supervision

The North China Regional Office of Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment is committed to enhancing the level of nuclear safety control and has innovatively built a risk-informed supervision system. Through the implementation of a risk grading list, it promotes differentiated and targeted supervision, thereby advancing safety control and effectively improving supervision efficiency. By comprehensively identifying risk points in the design and manufacturing activities of Class 1E electrical equipment, the North China Regional Office has established the "Class 1E Electrical Equipment Supervision Risk Grading List." This list classifies risk hazards into four levels and establishes a closed-loop supervision mechanism featuring pre-event warning, in-process tracking, and post-event review. This enables supervision intensity to be dynamically adjusted according to risk levels, ensuring...

2026-09-18

Ningde Nuclear Power adopts AR maintenance solution, greatly boosting the efficiency of frontline operation and maintenance personnel

On September 9, at the production command center of Ningde Nuclear Power Plant, staff members only need to put on lightweight AR smart helmets and can obtain the required work information through voice commands. Equipment temperature and vibration data are automatically entered into the system, greatly shortening the time for inspection data entry. This AR smart helmet is an important benchmark project of Ningde Nuclear Power as a pilot enterprise for digital transformation under SASAC. It integrates information such as operation data, equipment drawings, work packages, and training materials, changing the traditional model in which nuclear power personnel rely on paper documents for on-site operations. This AR maintenance platform relies on technologies such as diffractive optical waveguides, 5G real-time transmission, and cross-system data interoperability, and integrates temperature measurement, vibration measurement...

2026-09-18

Microstructure Imaging's MICSI-PET Software Receives FDA Clearance to Enhance Neurological PET Imaging Using MRI

Microstructure Imaging's software platform has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The platform is designed to enhance neurological positron emission tomography (PET) images using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The software, called MICSI-PET, can denoise and super-resolve PET images using MRI guidance while preserving quantitative PET information. It supports PET exams for amyloid, Tau, and FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose), and can provide automated Centiloid measurements for amyloid imaging and CenTauR measurements for Tau imaging....

2026-09-18

US and OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Call for Unified Regulatory Standards to Break the Vicious Cycle of Cost Overruns and Delays in New Nuclear Power Plants

The U.S. Department of Energy stated that it is engaged in close communication with partner countries, aiming to promote the unification of global nuclear power regulatory standards, thereby accelerating nuclear power capacity expansion and reducing construction costs. During the New Nuclear Roadmap conference organized by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) in Paris, U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary James Danly emphasized to the media that countries should establish a unified regulatory mechanism. He pointed out that many countries have decades of mature experience in nuclear power regulation, and it would be very regrettable if unnecessary obstacles were placed on nuclear power development due to a lack of consistency in regulatory systems. The United States is currently actively promoting greater regulatory consensus among countries. The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency...

2026-09-18

Professor Yan Lixin's Research Group in the Department of Engineering Physics at Tsinghua University Collaborates to Achieve a Beyond-Megawatt Average Power Laser Optical Enhancement Cavity

Recently, the research group of Professor Yan Lixin from the Department of Engineering Physics at Tsinghua University, in collaboration with the team of Professor Fabian Zomer from IJCLab at Université Paris-Saclay, France, published important progress in the field of high-finesse optical enhancement cavities. The research team achieved a four-mirror bow-tie optical cavity with an average laser power exceeding 1 megawatt and its stable operation at the Tsinghua University Accelerator Laboratory, with a maximum intracavity average power of 1.15 MW, while maintaining an excellent Gaussian fundamental mode. This is the first published work internationally on an optical enhancement cavity with an intracavity average laser power reaching the megawatt level, which will lay a solid foundation for important applications such as the development of steady-state microbunching (SSMB) extreme ultraviolet light sources, quantum electrodynamics (QED) vacuum nonlinearity detection, ion beam photoneutralization for magnetic confinement fusion, and the development of future inertial confinement fusion reactors.

2026-09-18

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Foundation and MicroNuclear Collaborate to Advance Molten Salt Nuclear Battery Technology

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Foundation and MicroNuclear, LLC today announced a collaboration agreement to jointly advance the development of MicroNuclear's Molten Salt Nuclear Battery© (MsNB). The MsNB is a compact molten salt microreactor concept designed to provide stable power and process heat. This collaboration will support the next phase of MsNB development, including detailed engineering design, safety and licensing approval, prototype manufacturing, first fission testing, and the development of a reusable model for future deployment and commercialization. The agreement brings together complementary expertise in engineering, reactor technology, manufacturing, quality assurance, training, operations, and commercialization...

2026-09-18

Two UK nuclear companies sign memorandum of understanding to jointly develop nuclear microreactor

Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE) and Cambridge Atomworks have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which the two companies will engage in deep collaboration on a UK-built nuclear microreactor. Cambridge Atomworks is an ambitious and vibrant nuclear engineering startup whose core goal is to build a nuclear microreactor in the UK for off-grid applications. The signing of this memorandum of understanding marks that the two companies will jointly explore how to maximize CVE's deep expertise in electron beam welding, including the company's Ebflow technology, which has been proven to significantly accelerate the production process of key nuclear power components such as reactor vessels...

2026-09-18

Rwanda Plans to Introduce Nuclear Technology to Boost Agricultural Production and Address Climate Change

Armand Zingiro, Minister of State in Rwanda's Ministry of Infrastructure, stated at the 70th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held in Vienna that the government is exploring the use of nuclear and isotope technologies to improve agricultural productivity, ensure food security, and enhance capacity to address climate change. The conference was held from September 14 to 18, and Zingiro led the Rwandan delegation to attend the meeting. Zingiro pointed out that Rwanda fully recognizes the enormous potential of nuclear and isotope technologies in the fields of agriculture and food security. The application of nuclear technology in agriculture is mainly reflected in improving crop yields, controlling...

2026-09-17

Focusing on Nuclear Safety Assessment and Future Strategic Priorities, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency's Working Group on Accident Analysis and Management (WGAMA) Holds Its 29th Annual Meeting

The Working Group on Accident Analysis and Management (WGAMA), a subsidiary body of the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA), held its 29th Annual Meeting from September 7 to 9, 2026, at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris, France. Sixty-one delegates from 21 countries, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European Commission (EC), attended the meeting. Participants included experts from regulatory bodies, technical support organizations, research institutions, industry, and international organizations, who jointly assessed current activities, approved new projects, and discussed future strategic priorities in the field of accident analysis and management. As an international platform advancing the technical basis for nuclear reactor safety assessment, WGAMA at this meeting...

2026-09-17

CNNC 404 Overcomes Krypton Isotope Technical Challenges, Multiple Krypton Isotope Thickness Sources Achieve "Fully Domestic Production"

It was learned from China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) that CNNC 404 Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of CNNC, has achieved a breakthrough in the field of radioisotope technology, marking China's leap from reliance on imports to fully domestic production of krypton isotope thickness sources. It is understood that krypton isotopes, as important radioisotopes, are widely used in industrial thickness measurement, instrument and meter calibration, tracer monitoring, and other fields, and are particularly indispensable in quality control for high-end manufacturing such as new energy batteries, specialty papermaking, and thin films. In this instance, CNNC 404 successfully developed multiple specifications of krypton isotope thickness source products with independent intellectual property rights, capable of matching the needs of different industrial thickness measurement application scenarios, which has provided solid support for the sustainable and high-quality development of China's high-end...

2026-09-17

Canada's Cameco Signs Exclusive Offtake Agreement to Lock Up All Future Output from U.S. Paducah Laser Enrichment Plant

Canadian nuclear fuel giant Cameco has signed a new exclusive offtake agreement with Global Laser Enrichment (GLE), under which Cameco will purchase all nuclear fuel products from the future production of the Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility (PLEF) that GLE plans to build in Kentucky, United States. This major agreement was formally announced by Australia's Silex Systems. GLE was founded in 2007 to develop and commercialize laser-based uranium enrichment technology in the United States. The company is currently 51% owned by Silex Systems, the developer of SILEX laser enrichment technology, and 49% by Cameco. Silex Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Mike...

2026-09-17