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Helen of Finland Launches EIA for Helsinki SMR

Recently, Helen Ydinvoima Oy (Helen) of Finland officially announced the launch of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure, aimed at comprehensively assessing the environmental and social impacts of constructing a small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power plant at one of three potential candidate sites in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Helen is committed to achieving carbon-neutral energy production by 2040, and its nuclear energy plan aims to evaluate mature SMR technologies that can produce either heat only or combined electricity and heat. The EIA programme has been officially submitted for public consultation, marking the full launch of this statutory assessment procedure. The candidate sites include Salmisaari, Vuosaari, and Norrberget in Östersund.

2026-11-06

The scale of nuclear power units in operation and under construction in Chinese mainland continues to expand

Recently, the latest statistics show that the construction and operation scale of nuclear power units in Chinese mainland continues to maintain a globally leading momentum. As of October 31, 2026, Chinese mainland had 63 nuclear power units in operation, 37 units under construction, and another 20 units approved and awaiting construction. It is reported that this massive nuclear power engineering system fully covers third-generation pressurized water reactors with completely independent intellectual property rights as well as cutting-edge advanced reactor demonstration projects. With the batch construction and efficient and safe operation of advanced units such as Hualong One and Guohe One, China's nuclear power industry is playing an increasingly central supporting...

2026-11-02

Finland's Posiva Authorized to Operate the World's First Deep Geological Repository for Spent Fuel

Finnish radioactive waste management company Posiva has officially received an operating license from the Finnish government to operate the spent fuel encapsulation and final disposal facility at Olkiluoto. The facility thus becomes the world's first spent nuclear fuel repository to receive such an operating license. On December 30, 2021, Posiva submitted an operating license application to the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment for the spent fuel encapsulation plant and the Onkalo final disposal facility, with the requested operating period running from March 2024 through the end of 2070. The encapsulation plant and final disposal facility...

2026-10-24

Chasing the "Artificial Sun": Aerospace Xinli Fusion Key Component Project Approved as a Major Special Project of Guizhou Province

Recently, the project "Research on Key Components, Materials and Forming Processing Technology for Controlled Nuclear Fusion Devices," declared by Guizhou Aerospace Xinli Technology Co., Ltd., has been successfully approved as a 2026 Guizhou Provincial Science and Technology Major Special Project, marking a key step for the enterprise in deeply participating in the national future energy strategy and the localization of fusion equipment. The approved Science and Technology Major Special Project will take key components of the blanket system as its entry point, focusing on tackling materials and forming processes under extreme environments. The project advances simultaneously along three main lines: first, breaking through the development technology of special materials and components for the first wall that directly faces the plasma; second, overcoming the forming and processing challenges of core equipment such as blanket shielding blocks; third, establishing...

2026-10-22

ICC Arbitral Tribunal Rules Finland's Contract Termination Unlawful: Rosatom Wins in Hanhikivi-1 Nuclear Dispute

Rosatom publicly stated on Saturday that the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitral tribunal has issued a ruling in its long-running dispute with Finland's Fennovoima over the cancelled Hanhikivi-1 nuclear power plant project, ruling in Russia's favor. Rosatom pointed out that the tribunal found Fennovoima's unilateral termination in 2022 of the contract to build the nuclear power plant in northern Finland to be an unlawful breach, and determined that the nuclear project had been progressing well before it was halted. Since May 2022, shortly after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Fennovoima unilaterally halted the 7 billion euro (approximately 7.8 billion US dollars) nuclear power project, citing significant construction delays and geopolitical risks, and the two sides have since been mired in a battle of high-value claims and cross-border legal proceedings.

2026-10-11

Deployable Energy 1MW Microreactor UNB Achieves Initial Criticality: Scheduled to Enter INL DOME Test Bed in 2027 for Full-Power Testing

Houston-based nuclear energy startup Deployable Energy recently announced that its independently developed Microreactor, the Unity Nuclear Battery (UNB), has successfully completed its Initial Criticality Test. According to the established deployment plan, the system will officially arrive at the Demonstration and Operation of Microreactor Experiments (DOME), the dedicated microreactor test bed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), in 2027 to conduct full-power comprehensive performance testing. Although branded as a Nuclear...

2026-10-02

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

Unit 3 of Finland's Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant automatically disconnected from the grid due to a technical fault

On September 10, several hours before the start of a planned shutdown for maintenance, Unit 3 of Finland's Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant automatically disconnected from the grid due to a technical fault detected in the steam generator. The plant operator, Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO), said that at the time of the incident, Unit 3 was gradually reducing power as planned and was already operating at extremely low power. The automatic disconnection occurred earlier than the originally scheduled grid disconnection for maintenance. TVO stated that all plant systems were operating normally and that the event had no impact on nuclear safety. The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant is located on the Olkiluoto Peninsula along the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea in Finland. The plant has three operating units, of which Unit 3...

2026-09-11

Yanchaojuneng Completes VPI of Stainless Steel-Jacketed Superconducting Prototype Coil for Stellarator

Recently, Yanchaojuneng (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd. completed vacuum pressure impregnation (VPI) of a next-generation stellarator stainless steel-jacketed three-dimensional shaped superconducting prototype coil. Previously, the prototype coil had completed two core processes: three-dimensional precision winding and ground insulation wrapping. The completion of VPI signifies that the company has established an autonomous process chain from coil winding and forming, insulation wrapping, to integrated insulation curing. The stellarator is an important device type for steady-state operation in the field of controlled nuclear fusion, capable of reducing the risk of major plasma disruptions. Three-dimensional shaped superconducting coils are the core components for building the magnetic field that confines plasma in a stellarator. Public information shows that Germany's W7-X stellarator uses aluminum alloy jackets...

2026-09-10

Finland's Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant Signs 22-Year Power Purchase Agreement with Google

On September 9, 2026, Google announced that it will invest at least 13 billion euros in Finland over the next two years for artificial intelligence infrastructure construction. The investment includes building and expanding data centers in Finland, along with supporting energy projects. Among them, Google signed a 22-year power purchase agreement with Finnish energy company Fortum to purchase up to 50% of the electricity generated by the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant. Google President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat stated that this arrangement is Google's first nuclear energy deal outside the United States. Google said this investment is its largest single investment in Europe, and the related infrastructure will support services including Gemini, Search, Maps, and YouTube. Lovi...

2026-09-10

US Lightbridge Aims to Accelerate Advanced Nuclear Fuel Commercialization via INL Project

Lightbridge Corporation, a US advanced nuclear fuel technology company, announced on September 8 that it has been selected for the "Launchpad" program advanced by the US Department of Energy (DOE) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and plans to leverage this opportunity to accelerate the deployment of Lightbridge Fuel™ in commercial reactors. According to a shareholder letter from Lightbridge Chairman and CEO Seth Grae, the company will pursue a two-track commercialization strategy: on one track, under DOE authorization, it will build the Specialized High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium Extrusion Demonstration (SHED) facility to produce Lead Test Assemblies (LTAs); on the other...

2026-09-09

IAEA Completes Review of Finland's Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Preparedness

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert team recently concluded a review of Finland's nuclear and radiological emergency preparedness and response framework. The Emergency Preparedness Review (EPREV) was conducted at the request of the Finnish government, hosted by the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), with the mission taking place from August 24 to September 2. The review team focused on assessing Finland's arrangements and capabilities for responding to nuclear and radiological emergencies, benchmarking them against IAEA safety standards. Finland currently operates five nuclear power reactor units at two sites: the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant and the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant. The Loviisa plant is located approximately 90 kilometers northeast of Helsinki, while the Olkiluoto plant is situated approximately 270 kilometers northwest of Helsinki. The Olkiluoto site also hosts the Onkalo spent nuclear fuel geological repository, the world's first geological disposal facility for final disposal of spent fuel.

2026-09-03

U.S. Lightbridge Selected for DOE LaunchPad INL Program to Advance Commercialization of Advanced Nuclear Fuel

Lightbridge Corporation, a U.S. advanced nuclear fuel technology company, announced on August 31 that it has been selected for the Nuclear Energy LaunchPad program (LaunchPad INL) managed by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The company stated that the program will provide an accelerated pathway for it to design, construct, and operate a dedicated facility at INL to manufacture lead test assemblies (LTAs) of Lightbridge Fuel™, with subsequent testing supported at U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. Lead test assemblies are generally regarded as a critical qualification step for nuclear fuel after reactor testing and before commercial fuel sales...

2026-09-01

Finland's 2025 Environmental Radiation Monitoring Shows No Harmful Effects from Nuclear Power Plant Operations

The 2025 environmental radiation monitoring results released recently by the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland (STUK) show that radioactive substance levels in the Finnish environment generally remained low, and the operation of the Loviisa and Olkiluoto nuclear power plants has not caused harmful radiation impacts on the public or the environment. STUK continuously tracks Finland's radiation situation through its environmental radiation monitoring program. The monitoring includes continuous measurement of external radiation, as well as monitoring of radioactive substances in air, radioactive fallout, water bodies, food, and the human body, with the aim of promptly detecting changes in radiation levels and confirming the safety of the living environment. Finland's automatic external radiation monitoring network covers essentially the entire country. In 2025, 255 monitoring...

2026-08-31

Finland's Onkalo Spent Fuel Disposal Facility Starts Drilling of First Disposal Hole

On the afternoon of August 26, 2026, Finland's Onkalo spent fuel final disposal facility commenced drilling of its first disposal hole deep in the bedrock at Olkiluoto. Posiva stated that the drilling operation is being carried out at a depth of more than 400 meters underground, with the drill bit beginning to cut into the approximately 1.9-billion-year-old Olkiluoto bedrock. Kimmo Lehtola, Posiva's Operations Construction Manager, explained that a kick-off meeting had been held the day before the operation, focusing on reviewing safety matters, technical specifications, and the detailed drilling plan. On the morning and early afternoon of the drilling day, the team completed final adjustments to the equipment, after which the drilling rig began its work. He noted that the team had previously completed...

2026-08-28