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JAEA Plans to Adjust Decommissioning Plan for Monju Fast Breeder Reactor

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) announced on August 21 that it plans to adjust the decommissioning plan for the Monju fast breeder reactor in Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture. Under the revised plan, the remaining neutron shielding layers and other components inside the reactor, along with 227 dummy fuel assemblies, will no longer be removed separately in the current phase as originally planned, but will instead be handled together during the subsequent reactor pressure vessel dismantling phase. Monju is currently in the decommissioning process. Previously, JAEA had planned to proceed with the removal of internal reactor components within the current fiscal year, but due to two equipment failures, the related work was temporarily suspended, and the overall schedule is expected to be delayed by approximately one year. As of May 25, 595 shielding layers and related components in the reactor...

2026-08-22

Unit 3 of Beloyarsk NPP begins scheduled maintenance and equipment modernization

Unit 3 of Russia's Beloyarsk NPP entered scheduled preventive maintenance on August 18. This outage maintenance will be used for fuel reloading, equipment maintenance, and preventive repairs, along with partial modernization efforts to maintain reliable unit operation and improve equipment performance. The unit features a BN-600 sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor. During the maintenance period, the plant will carry out major repairs on the BN-600 reactor facility and replace 9 guide tubes in the control and protection system. Such operations are uncommon and are typically performed approximately once every 10 years. According to the maintenance schedule, the plant will also repair the unloading lift device and conduct operational monitoring inspections of the reactor pressure vessel metal...

2026-08-19

TerraPower Plans to Deepen South Korean Supply Chain Cooperation to Advance K-Sodium SMR Business Model

TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque recently stated that South Korea possesses strong nuclear supply chain capabilities, with both a foundation in small modular reactor (SMR) construction and familiarity with the stable power demands of AI data centers, semiconductors, and other industries. TerraPower plans to further strengthen cooperation with South Korean companies in supply chain and project manufacturing. Levesque stated that small modular reactors are not a technology intended to replace traditional large-scale nuclear power plants, but rather a new class of energy solution targeting incremental electricity demand in the AI era. He recently met with TerraPower Chairman Bill...

2026-08-19

Hyundai E&C Signs Framework Agreement with TerraPower for Natrium Nuclear Power Plant Project

Hyundai Engineering & Construction announced on the 18th that it has signed a framework agreement with U.S. nuclear energy company TerraPower for the execution of the Natrium next-generation nuclear power plant project. Under the agreement, Hyundai E&C has been granted priority status to serve as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) general contractor for up to eight additional Natrium nuclear units developed by TerraPower. The signing ceremony was attended by senior executives from both companies, including Hyundai E&C CEO Lee Han-woo and TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque. The two parties plan to expand cooperation in the nuclear energy sector and jointly explore new business opportunities...

2026-08-18

Bill Gates Visits South Korea to Promote TerraPower Small Modular Reactor Cooperation

Bill Gates recently held a series of intensive meetings in South Korea with government agencies, financial institutions, and nuclear power industry chain companies, discussing the commercialization of TerraPower's small modular reactor (SMR), supply chain development, and global market expansion. Gates is the founder of TerraPower, which is advancing a next-generation small modular reactor project based on sodium-cooled fast reactor technology. Korea Eximbank (KEXIM) President Hwang Ki-yeon said on the 14th that he had met with Gates, and the two sides discussed financial cooperation plans needed for SMR commercialization and global market entry. Korea Eximbank plans to provide Terra...

2026-08-15

Doosan Enerbility Secures Manufacturing Contract for Key Equipment for TerraPower's Small Modular Reactor

Doosan Enerbility announced on August 14 that it has signed a manufacturing contract with TerraPower to produce key equipment for the latter's Natrium advanced reactor project. TerraPower, founded by Bill Gates, is one of the advanced nuclear energy technology companies in the United States. Under the contract, Doosan Enerbility will be responsible for manufacturing key components required for the Natrium reactor, including the reactor protection vessel, reactor support structures, and reactor internal structures. The two parties have previously collaborated. In December 2024, Doosan Enerbility and TerraPower signed a manufacturability review contract for key equipment for the first unit of the initial small modular reactor, and...

2026-08-14

Study Reveals Three-Dimensional Pore Networks Inside Uranium-Zirconium Metallic Nuclear Fuel

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory (INL), conducted three-dimensional imaging studies on irradiated uranium-10 zirconium metallic fuel, revealing the internal pore networks within the fuel and their relationship with chemical changes and fuel-cladding interactions. The researchers believe these results will help improve metallic fuel performance models, providing references for extending the operating cycles of certain reactors and for the design of next-generation sodium-cooled fast reactor fuel systems. Uranium-10 zirconium (U-10Zr) is a uranium-zirconium alloy metallic fuel containing 10% zirconium, which has been extensively tested in sodium-cooled fast reactors such as Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) and the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF). As advanced reactor research and development progresses, this type of metallic fuel has regained attention, but the details of pore formation, swelling, heat transfer, and interactions with cladding materials under reactor irradiation conditions still require further clarification.

2026-08-13

India plans to build at least five domestically designed small modular reactors by 2033, and reports on nuclear power plant safety assessments

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha on August 12, Jitendra Singh, India's Minister of State for Atomic Energy, stated that a key objective of the Indian government under its nuclear energy mission is to develop and operationalize at least five domestically designed small modular reactors by 2033. According to the briefing, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is advancing the design and development of indigenous small modular reactor (SMR) technology, with projects including the 220 MWe Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR-200) and the 55 MWe SMR-55 for power generation. BARC is also developing a High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGCR) with a capacity of up to 5 MW, which can be coupled with suitable thermochemical cycles for hydrogen production. Singh stated that India...

2026-08-13

HD Hyundai Chairman to Meet Bill Gates to Advance SMR Cooperation

HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun will meet Bill Gates, who is visiting South Korea, on August 14, with the two sides planning discussions on cooperation in small modular reactors (SMRs). Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, also serves as chairman of TerraPower, a U.S. small modular reactor company. This will be the latest round of communication between Chung and Gates on related cooperation, following their meeting earlier this year at the Davos Forum in Switzerland. HD Hyundai and TerraPower have been steadily strengthening cooperation in SMR and advanced reactor manufacturing in recent years. In November 2022, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering invested $30 million in TerraPower. In December 2024, HD Hyundai secured an order to manufacture the reactor vessel for TerraPower's 345 MW sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) to be built in Wyoming, U.S.

2026-08-13

South Korea launches design of 250 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor Helios

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), in collaboration with Hyundai Engineering & Construction and KEPCO E&C, has initiated the design of the next-generation sodium-cooled fast reactor Helios. The reactor is planned to have an electrical output of 250 MWe, based on the existing 100 MWe-class sodium-cooled fast reactor Salus-100 design, targeting large-scale power consumption applications such as AI data centers and industrial parks. Lee Je-hwan, head of the Fourth Generation Reactor Technology Development Department at KAERI, stated that future demand for large-scale carbon-free electricity around AI data centers and industrial parks...

2026-07-30