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Sichuan Advances Cluster-Based Breakthroughs in Nuclear Medicine, Leveraging "One Chain, Four Poles" to Accelerate Clinical Translation and Deployment

At the 2026 Nuclear Technology Application and Nuclear Medicine Industry Innovation Development Conference held in Mianyang, Sichuan, participants focused on the strategic emerging industry track of deep integration between nuclear technology and modern medicine. As a key vehicle for developing new quality productive forces, Sichuan's nuclear medicine industry, relying on its long-accumulated advantages in scientific research and reactor irradiation resources, continues to expand in scale; according to the China Isotope & Radiation Association, Sichuan's nuclear medicine output value is projected to surpass the 10 billion yuan mark in 2026. In the fields of basic raw materials and therapeutic equipment, Sichuan possesses outstanding advantages in resource security and manufacturing concentration. More than 80% of the nation's medical isotopes rely on reactor irradiation for production, and the relevant reactors currently owned by Sichuan...

2026-09-24

Purdue University Completes the First Remote Real-Time Autonomous Power Control Experiment on a Nuclear Reactor in the United States, Building a Cross-State Digital Twin Closed Loop

Purdue University, in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), has for the first time in the United States achieved remote, automatic, and real-time experimental regulation of nuclear reactor power. The demonstration validated a three-site control closed loop spanning Indiana, Idaho, and Virginia, providing a cutting-edge engineering paradigm for future centralized remote monitoring and automated scheduling of advanced reactors from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. The experiment relied on Purdue University's 64-year-old Reactor Number One (Purdue University Reactor Num...

2026-09-24

Škoda JS of the Czech Republic to Supply Control Rod Drive Mechanisms for Rolls-Royce SMR

Czech nuclear engineering equipment manufacturer Škoda JS has signed a binding strategic cooperation agreement with Rolls-Royce SMR, confirming that it will serve as a core supplier to manufacture and supply Control Rod Drive Mechanisms (CRDMs) for the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) designed and developed by Rolls-Royce. The control rod drive mechanism is the central nervous system and a key safety-class component that ensures the safe operation of a nuclear reactor, directly responsible for regulating reactor power output and rapidly inserting control rods under abnormal or accident conditions to achieve safe shutdown...

2026-09-24

Miniaturized Plug-and-Play Platform R&D Accelerates, Poised to Revolutionize Novel Positron Emission Tomography Radiotracer Preparation Workflow

A research team at the Keck School of Medicine of USC is developing a miniaturized plug-and-play microfluidic platform aimed at significantly accelerating the synthesis and R&D cycle of novel positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracers. The project has received a four-year, $2.6 million dedicated research...

2026-09-24

Italian Parliament Votes to Approve Meloni Government's Nuclear Power Restart Plan

Italy's upper parliamentary chamber, the Senate (Senato della Repubblica), formally voted on Wednesday to approve the government's statutory plan to restart nuclear power generation, marking a substantive step back toward the nuclear energy camp nearly four decades after the country shut down all nuclear reactors within its borders in 1987 following an anti-nuclear referendum (Referendum) triggered by the Chernobyl accident. The government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is vigorously promoting the deployment of Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs), aiming to break the historical ban through technological upgrades and a substantial increase in safety margins, provide stable clean energy for deep decarbonization of energy-intensive industries, and at the same time...

2026-09-24

Argonne National Laboratory develops new monitoring system that can accurately diagnose hidden faults inside nuclear reactors

U.S. researchers have developed a new monitoring system that combines fiber-optic temperature sensors with artificial intelligence (AI) to identify hidden internal channel blockage risks before they cause costly reactor shutdowns. The technology was developed by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and is specifically designed for key heat exchanger components in molten-salt-cooled reactors (MSCRs). Heat exchangers ser...

2026-09-24

U.S. Team Advances Offshore Engineering System for Uranium Extraction from Seawater, Accelerating Toward Industrial-Scale Application

Nuclear fuel startup SuperCritical Materials and the University of Michigan (U-M) have formally established a research collaboration to jointly design and test an offshore mechanical system for uranium-from-seawater extraction, aiming to advance this cutting-edge technology toward industrial-scale engineering application. SuperCritical Materials had previously obtained an exclusive commercial license for a patented adsorbent manufacturing process that captures dissolved uranium in seawater. This joint research and development effort shifts the focus to the field of engineering machinery, primarily developing the capability to support high-frequency deployment and long-duration...

2026-09-24

US Department of Energy Study Shows: Deep Borehole Disposal Option Can Significantly Reduce Nuclear Fuel Cycle Back-End Waste Disposal Costs

Results from a three-year US Department of Energy (DOE)-funded project show that Deep Boreholes technology can provide a safe and low-cost permanent disposal pathway for radioactive waste remaining after Nuclear Fuel Recycling. Deep Isolation Nuclear conducted a systematic assessment of multiple recycling waste disposal scenarios, and the results showed that the estimated costs for all tested scenarios were below the project's control target of "0.1 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity generation." Long-term safety modeling also confirmed that under normal expected conditions, all options meet...

2026-09-24

Afrikantov Experimental Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering Completes Manufacture and Delivery of MBIR Fast Reactor Primary Coolant Circulation Pumps

The machine-building division of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation (Госкорпорация «Росатом» / Rosatom), Afrikantov Experimental Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering (АО «ОКБМ Африкантов» / OKBM Afrikantov), has completed the manufacture and delivery of the primary coolant circulation pumps (Главные циркуляционные насосы, ГЦН) for the multi-purpose fast neutron research reactor (МБИР / MBIR). As core equipment of the reactor facility, these circulation pumps will be responsible for driving the coolant to circulate within the reactor core...

2026-09-24

Unit 2 of Leningrad NPP-2 with a VVER-1200 reactor has been taken out of service as planned for a mid-term major overhaul

At 00:30 Moscow time on September 21, 2026, Unit 2 of Leningrad NPP-2 (Ленинградская АЭС-2 / Leningrad NPP-2) with a VVER-1200 (ВВЭР-1200) reactor was formally disconnected from the grid and entered a planned mid-term major overhaul (Плановый средний ремонт) in accordance with established approval procedures and the maintenance schedule of the Russian Power and Energy Group's Rosenergoatom Concern (АО «Концерн Росэнергоатом» / Rosenergoatom). The overhaul program covers hundreds of individual works, with a focus on the reactor and...

2026-09-24

Balakovo NPP in Russia Conducts Steam Generator O&M Experience Exchange and Technical Support

Recently, at the Balakovo NPP in Saratov Oblast, Russia, a peer support mission focused on steam generator (Steam Generators / Парогенераторы) O&M technology and experience was successfully held. This event was a routine technical exchange organized by the WANO Moscow Centre (WANO-MC / ВАО АЭС-МЦ), aimed at bringing together industry expertise from multiple parties to further enhance the safety and reliability of nuclear power unit operation. The team participating in this support mission was composed of technical backbone personnel from multiple industry organizations and nuclear power plants, including the World Association of Nuclear...

2026-09-24

Nova Fusion and Fuyao University of Science and Technology Jointly Established Fusion Innovation Research Institute and Innovation Laboratory Unveiled

On September 22, 2026, the Fuyao UST·Nova Fusion Innovation Research Institute and the Fuyao University of Science and Technology·Nova Fusion Innovation Laboratory were officially unveiled and established. Wang Shuguo, President of Fujian Fuyao University of Science and Technology, Guo Houyang, founder of Nova Fusion Energy Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Nova Fusion"), and personnel from relevant departments including the Fujian Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Department of Education, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of Industry and Information Technology attended the unveiling ceremony. Zhang Fuli, Executive Vice President of Fuyao University of Science and Technology, presided over the ceremony. The Fuyao UST·Nova Fusion Innovation Research Institute and the Fuyao University of Science and Technology·Nova Fusion Innovation Laboratory established this time are jointly built by Fuyao UST and Nova Fusion, dedicated to promoting fusion energy technology from the laboratory to commercial application.

2026-09-23

Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4 Officially Connected to the Grid

According to the operator Slovenské elektrárne, Unit 4 of the Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant in Slovakia officially began generating electricity at 15:33 on Monday. This marks the last major stage before the unit enters commercial operation. The unit reached criticality and minimum controlled power in early August. Before approving entry into the latest stage of trial operation, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of the Slovak Republic conducted a comprehensive inspection and assessed the relevant documents. The transition from physical startup to energy startup means that the heat generated by the reactor will be used to heat water and produce steam, thereby driving the turbine to generate electricity. Next, the reactor's output power will be gradually increased in stages—5%, 20%, 35%, 55%, 75% and 90%—with inspections and tests at each power level before further increases. When power reaches 20%, the unit will be officially connected to the Slovak power system. The final test will be continuous operation at 100% full power for 144 hours. Branislav Strýček, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Slovenské elektrárne, said: "With the successful completion of this stage, Slovakia will gain a new stable source of electricity. In the coming decades, it will make an important contribution to the country's energy security and the achievement of climate goals." Martin Mráz, Director of the Mochovce Completion Project, said: "We have successfully completed the fuel loading and physical startup stages... The achievement of this milestone is a recognition of the high level of professionalism of the Slovenské elektrárne project team and the quality of work of all those involved in the completion."

2026-09-23

Framatome of France Secures First U.S. High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium Nuclear Fuel Contract

French nuclear company Framatome announced that it has signed a commercial contract to supply one operating nuclear reactor in the United States with the world's first nuclear fuel with uranium-235 concentration higher than the industry standard of 5%, for use in replacing reactor fuel. Under the agreement, as part of the Advanced Fuel Management (AFM) program, Framatome will use AFM technology to supply higher-concentration fuel in batches starting in early 2028. The agreement includes the supply of a range of fuels to support long-term use of AFM fuel in the reactor, and includes additional fuel supply options for the future. The company did not disclose the name of the reactor that will use the fuel. Uranium-235...

2026-09-23

Weilan Stellar Completes China's First Stellarator Magnet Cryogenic Comprehensive Test Platform in Three Months, First Round of Magnet Testing Launched

Weilan Stellar recently completed the construction of China's first stellarator magnet cryogenic comprehensive test platform, and the first round of magnet testing has been launched. Qiu Lilong, a review expert for the cryogenic system, stated that from independent design and system integration to domestically sourced supporting equipment, Weilan Stellar took only three and a half months to integrate vacuum, cryogenics, power supply, measurement, and protection into a comprehensive test platform. The test platform fully demonstrates the team's outstanding capabilities in scientific research, engineering, and project management. As the foundation for stable operation of a stellarator, the cryogenic system's vacuum level, sealing performance, and cooling capacity are all crucial. Unlike conventional paced R&D models, Weilan Stellar has always adhered to a pragmatic,...

2026-09-23