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Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences Discovers a New Phase Transition in Cesium Plasma: Abrupt Conductivity Jump and a Rare Double Critical Point

A research team from the Joint Institute for High Temperatures of the Russian Academy of Sciences (JIHT RAS / ОИВТ РАН) has achieved an important physics advance in the study of extreme high-temperature and high-pressure states: researchers have discovered a previously undescribed phase transition in cesium (Cesium) under dense plasma conditions, accompanied by a dramatic jump-like change in electrical conductivity. The study focuses on the microscopic physical behavior of matter at temperatures from 500 to 20,000 Kelvin (K) and pressures ranging from about 1 hectopascal (hPa) to several terapascals (TPa). Under such severe extreme conditions, interatomic distances are greatly compressed, matter undergoes multiple deep ionizations, and the traditional criteria for distinguishing solid, liquid, and gas states can no longer...

2026-10-08

Russian Scholars Analyze the Technical Secrets Behind the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics: How IceCube Uses Photomultiplier Tubes to Capture Neutrino Tracks

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for a major scientific discovery in the field of astrophysical high-energy neutrino detection. The key engineering foundation that made this historic breakthrough possible is a giant scientific facility located near the South Pole——the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The facility uses nearly 1 cubic kilometer of highly transparent deep Antarctic ice as a natural detection medium, and densely arrays thousands of digital optical modules deep within the ice. Genrikh Scheibler, senior researcher and Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at the Institute of Semiconductor Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISP SB RAS), has...

2026-10-08

German Research Team Completes First Phase Analysis of Chernobyl "Hot Particles": Nuclear Fuel Crystal Structure Still Exhibits Unexpectedly High Chemical Stability After 40 Years

Nearly 40 years after the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, a research team from Leibniz University Hannover and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) in Germany has completed the world's first synchrotron radiation X-ray-based precision crystal phase analysis of 6 micron-sized highly radioactive fragments (commonly known in the industry as Hot Particles) ejected from the destroyed reactor. The related breakthrough research findings have been officially published in the top-tier journal in environmental and radioecology, the Journal of Hazardous Materials.

2026-10-07

Google Plans to Sign Over $1 Billion Long-Term Power Purchase Agreement with Constellation Energy: Locking in Existing Nuclear Baseload to Support AI Computing Expansion

Recently, Google's parent company Alphabet (Alphabet Inc., Nasdaq: GOOGL) is nearing a multi-year nuclear power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy. Google will pay $1 billion or more, and the agreement could be announced as early as this week. It is understood that this potential agreement comes as the massive electricity demand driven by the artificial intelligence boom is reigniting interest in nuclear energy, which can provide emissions-free power around the clock. Recently reached agreements have mainly focused on existing nuclear facilities, because permitting and construction of new reactors can take more than a decade, while next-generation fission technology still requires years before large-scale deployment. This news follows Amazon...

2026-10-06

Russia's Kurchatov Institute to Receive 5.7 Billion Rubles in Fiscal Budget Support: Focusing on Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion and Advanced Plasma Technology R&D

The National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute" will receive approximately 5.7 billion Rubles in dedicated funding support from the Russian federal budget during the period from 2027 to 2029. This fiscal allocation will be specifically used to advance key technology breakthroughs in Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion, as well as the R&D and experimental validation of innovative Plasma Technologies. The above funding plan is explicitly stated in the draft explanatory document of the 2027–2029 federal budget bill published in the electronic database of the Russian State Duma...

2026-10-03

Department of Nuclear Medicine at Peking University First Hospital Receives EARL Theranostics Advanced-L2 Certification, Bringing Theranostics in Line with International Standards

The Department of Nuclear Medicine at Peking University First Hospital has recently officially received the Theranostics Advanced-L2 certification issued by EARL (EANM Research Ltd.), an affiliate of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, becoming one of the few nuclear medicine theranostics centers in China to obtain this high-level certification. The certification audit standards are rigorous, covering comprehensive dimensions including PET/CT quantitative accuracy, therapy center operations, patient safety management, and clinical competency. Passing the certification means that the department's quantitative imaging and targeted therapy data meet internationally mutually recognized standards and can achieve high-level alignment with advanced nuclear medicine centers in Europe and the United States. During the certification review, EANM President-Elect Professor Felix M. Mottaghy and Ms. Iva...

2026-10-03

"Linglong One" Global First-of-a-Kind Unit Enters Hot Functional Testing Sprint Toward Fuel Loading: Hainan Nuclear Power Details Fully Passive Safety and Multi-Layer Defense Logic

At the Hainan Changjiang Nuclear Power Base, the highly anticipated Linglong One multi-purpose modular small pressurized water reactor global first-of-a-kind demonstration project is in the hot functional testing phase, making an all-out sprint toward the goals of first core nuclear fuel loading and grid-connected power generation within the year. As the world's first onshore commercial modular small reactor to pass the International Atomic Energy Agency's generic safety review, its safety margins and engineering design logic have drawn widespread industry attention. Currently, the civil engineering works of the Linglong One unit have been fully completed, and the installation and commissioning of core main equipment are essentially ready. Following the completion of cold functional testing in October 2025, the ongoing hot functional testing is raising the primary loop system temperature and pressure to near actual rated operating conditions...

2026-10-02

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

Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics Makes Important Progress in Electrolyzer Design and Electrocatalytic Materials Research

Recently, the National Key Laboratory of Thorium-based Nuclear Fission Energy at the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has made important progress in the fields of membrane-divided electrolyzer design and electrocatalytic materials. Researchers combined electrolyzer reactor design with electrocatalytic material innovation to develop an anion exchange membrane-divided H-type electrolysis system based on nonporous metal-organic framework (MOFs) materials, achieving efficient electrochemical recovery of uranium resources and complete degradation of organic ether solvents in uranium-containing organic ether wastewater. The related results, titled "Nonporous Metal-Organic Framework Enables Record-High Uranium Extraction and Complete Diglyme Degra...

2026-09-30

China Institute of Atomic Energy Holds Advanced Scientific and Technological Achievements Transformation Conference: Releases Small Reactor 9-Type Product Matrix, Signs Agreements on Curie-Level Terbium-161 Preparation and SMR Overall Scheme Design

On September 29, the China Institute of Atomic Energy (abbreviated as CIAE) held in Beijing an Advanced Scientific and Technological Achievements Transformation Conference themed "Innovation · Nuclear Fusion of New Quality." The conference showcased CIAE's practical breakthroughs in deepening scientific and technological system reform, advancing the pilot program for empowering scientific and technological achievements from job-related inventions, and integrated institute-enterprise operations, and officially released multiple major scientific research achievements covering advanced reactors, nuclear medical equipment, and isotope preparation, vigorously promoting the acceleration of nuclear technology from the laboratory to the production line. In the report on reform experience and benchmark incubation platforms, the conference systematically summarized three landmark reform achievements: SASAC Pilot Reform for Empowering Scientific and Technological Achievements from Job-Related Inventions: CIAE used...

2026-09-30

Bechtel and Westinghouse Consortium Formally Signs EPC Turnkey Contract for Poland's First Nuclear Power Plant, Construction Scheduled to Begin in 2027

A consortium comprising U.S. engineering giant Bechtel and nuclear technology supplier Westinghouse Electric Company has formally signed an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract with Poland's state-owned nuclear power company Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) to advance the construction of Poland's first-ever commercial nuclear power plant. The nuclear project is located in Choczewo on the Baltic Sea coast in the Pomerania province of northern Poland. PEJ officially stated that the site is planned to host 3 Westinghouse AP1000 Generation III+ advanced pressurized water reactor units, with a designed total installed capacity of 3750 megawatts (3750 MWe), and the first unit is expected...

2026-09-30

State Nuclear Electric Power Planning Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. convened the first Party Committee (enlarged) meeting of 2026 and the second meeting of the 2026 Safety Production and Emergency Management Committee

On September 28, State Nuclear Electric Power Planning Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd. convened the first Party Committee (enlarged) meeting of 2026 and the second meeting of the 2026 Safety Production and Emergency Management Committee. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the meeting thoroughly studied and implemented Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions and directives on safety production, fully implemented the relevant work requirements of the Group Company's Safety Production Deployment Enhancement and Third Quarter Safety Risk Control Meeting, comprehensively reviewed the work of the first three quarters, scientifically assessed the current safety development situation, and arranged and deployed key tasks for safety production and ecological environmental protection in the next stage. Wang Chengli, Secretary of the Company's Party Committee, Chairman, and Director of the Safety Committee...

2026-09-30

Argonne National Laboratory Achieves Latest Research Progress in Advanced Reactor Passive Safety, Revealing Flow Characteristics of Reactor Cavity Cooling System Using NSTF Facility

A research team at Argonne National Laboratory, under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has achieved the latest research progress on passive shutdown decay heat removal mechanisms for next-generation advanced nuclear reactors. Under unplanned reactor shutdown or sudden emergency accident conditions, nuclear fuel continues to release decay heat. Ensuring continuous and reliable heat removal under complete power loss and without manual intervention is a core issue in the inherent safety design of Generation IV advanced reactors. The Argonne research team recently focused on the transient thermal-hydraulic response characteristics of key passive heat removal systems under realistic dynamic decay heat curves. This...

2026-09-30

Standard Technical Specifications for Passive Nuclear Power Plants, Chiefly Compiled Under the Leadership of Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute, Officially Released

Recently, the National Nuclear Safety Administration officially released the Standard Technical Specifications for Passive Nuclear Power Plants and its explanatory document, chiefly compiled under the leadership of Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute, aiming to promote the standardization and normalization of technical specifications for passive nuclear power plants, continuously improve the nuclear safety supervision and management system, and further enhance the operational safety level of China's nuclear power plants. Based on the framework and format, screening criteria, and other foundations for technical specifications established by the Special Working Group on Technical Specification Optimization of the National Nuclear Safety Administration, Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute, targeting the passive design characteristics of AP and CAP series nuclear power plants and fully incorporating the operating experience and safety regulatory practices of China's passive nuclear power plants, completed the compilation of China's first standard technical specifications and explanatory document for passive nuclear power plants...

2026-09-30

Shanghai Electric Delivers the First Domestic Steam Generator Water Chamber Head Forging for the "Guohe One"

On September 28, the first domestic water chamber head forging for the Guohe One steam generator, manufactured by Shanghai Electric, completed acceptance and was officially shipped at Shanghai Electric Shangzhong Casting and Forging Co., Ltd. The water chamber head is a key pressure-bearing core component of the Guohe One steam generator, with a single-piece net weight of 90 tons. It features a complex structure with ultra-large dimensions, ultra-thick cross-sections, and irregular multi-nozzle geometry, making it the world's largest nuclear power irregular complex-structure large forging, with manufacturing difficulty far exceeding that of similar products for existing domestic nuclear power reactor types. Facing this world-class extreme manufacturing challenge, Shanghai Electric concentrated its efforts to successively break through 500-ton-class ultra-pure low-segregation large steel ingot manufacturing, integrated forging forming technology for multi-nozzle spherical heads,...

2026-09-29