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Successful Removal of Toppled Fuel Assembly at Palisades Nuclear Reactor in the United States

Holtec International, the owner of the Palisades nuclear reactor located in Covert, Michigan, announced on Wednesday that it had successfully removed the nuclear fuel assembly that had previously toppled during refueling through technological innovation, and stated that it would continue to advance the restart of the nuclear unit. Fadi Diya, Chief Nuclear Safety Officer of Holtec International, said the team consistently upheld safety standards and technical rigor in addressing this challenge. The Palisades nuclear reactor was originally commissioned in 1971, was acquired by Holtec International after its retirement in 2022, and now...

2026-10-24

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

China Institute of Atomic Energy Successfully Completes Full-Process Experimental Verification of Post-Irradiation Fuel Assembly Reassembly Technology for Integrated Fast Reactor

Recently, the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE) under China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) successfully completed the full-process experimental verification of post-irradiation fuel assembly reassembly technology for the integrated closed fuel cycle fast reactor nuclear energy system (referred to as the integrated fast reactor), and successfully developed a reassembly prototype, comprehensively verifying the technical feasibility. This achievement marks that CIAE has independently mastered the core technology of post-irradiation fuel assembly reassembly for fast reactors, laying a solid foundation for subsequent engineering applications and material and fuel research under higher irradiation dose conditions, and is of great significance for enhancing China's advanced nuclear fuel R&D level and promoting the development of the closed fuel cycle. The full-process experimental verification platform for post-irradiation fuel assembly reassembly technology...

2026-10-23

South Africa Advances High-Purity Low-Enriched Uranium Cooperation as Quantum Leap Energy Partners with Necsa to Build Facility

On October 19, 2026, Quantum Leap Energy, a subsidiary of U.S. advanced isotope technology company ASP Isotopes, and South Africa's state-owned nuclear energy company (Necsa) formally signed a binding letter of intent to establish a joint venture at the Pelindaba site in South Africa to jointly develop, finance, build and operate a test bench and commercial facility for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). It is understood that in the joint venture, Quantum Leap Energy will hold approximately 80% equity and be responsible for overall operations and fundraising, while Necsa will hold approximately 20% equity and provide site access, nuclear safety and regulatory support. The two parties also plan to sign an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC)...

2026-10-20

MIT Startup Develops "Desktop" Dual-Laser Fusion Device, Targeting Tritium Fuel Gap

Recently, Cambridge Heavy Industries, a startup based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) laboratory in the United States, has emerged from stealth, publicly disclosing for the first time its previously confidential micro "desktop" inertial confinement fusion (ICF) technology scheme. It is understood that, unlike the National Ignition Facility (NIF), which employs a massive third-generation spatial array of 192 laser beams, Cambridge Heavy Industries has developed a unique two-dimensional dual-laser ignition device. The first laser irradiates the fuel pellet in a concentric ring pattern to generate an inwardly propagating shock wave, while the second laser precisely irradiates the shock wave...

2026-10-19

Vietnam and Canada Deepen Cooperation in Nuclear Energy Development; Canada Promotes CANDU Heavy Water Reactor Technology

Le Xuan Dinh, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of Vietnam, met with Jim Nickel, Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam, on October 16 in Hanoi, and held bilateral working talks with a delegation from AtkinsRéalis Engineering Group led by Todd Smith, Vice President of Nuclear Power Business Development of Canada. The two sides conducted in-depth discussions on key topics including the peaceful uses of atomic energy, research and development of clean and low-carbon technologies, and joint training of nuclear-related professionals, aiming to advance practical cooperation between the two countries in the civilian nuclear energy field. Le Xuan...

2026-10-18

NRC Approves Holtec's Alternative Plan to Remove Tilted Fuel Assembly at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant

About two weeks after the fuel loading incident at the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert, Mich., the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved Holtec International's emergency License Amendment Request (LAR), allowing the use of custom-designed specialized equipment to remove the tilted fuel assembly from the reactor pressure vessel. The NRC stated that because the incident has halted the plant's fuel loading operations and part of the restart work, this license amendment was reviewed and issued under emergency conditions...

2026-10-17

Norway and Sweden Sign Long-Term Agreement for Cross-Border Processing of Spent Fuel from Decommissioned Research Reactors

Recently, the Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning (NND) and the Swedish nuclear technical service provider Studsvik formally signed a landmark agreement in Halden valid until 2055, under which the latter will take full responsibility for the cross-border transport, inspection, oxidation treatment, and interim storage of spent nuclear fuel from the former research reactors at Halden and Kjeller in Norway. It is understood that Norway has accumulated approximately 16.5 tonnes of spent research reactor fuel over the past 60 years, including metallic uranium fuel, aluminum-clad fuel, and various experimental fuels, the vast majority of which cannot be directly subjected to long-term safe disposal. Under the agreement, Studsvik will transport this spent fuel to its licensed facility outside Nykoping, Sweden, for oxidation and other key processing, after which it will be temporarily stored in Sweden until it is returned to Norway in the future for final geological disposal.

2026-10-17

Bluecore Energy Completes $50 Million Financing and Secures Nuclear Fuel Supply, Accelerating Its First Floating Nuclear Power Plant Project

Recently, Bluecore Energy, a nuclear energy startup headquartered in California, USA, completed a $50 million seed round of financing to advance its compact water-cooled nuclear reactor project designed specifically for marine environments. The company has procured Low-Enriched Uranium Hexafluoride from nuclear fuel trader WMC Group. The batch of raw material is currently stored at a facility in California and will subsequently be converted into Uranium Dioxide and fabricated into fuel pellets for future hardware and system testing. It is understood that Bluecore Energy is conducting fuel-free...

2026-10-15

South China Regional Office of the National Nuclear Safety Administration Completes Refueling Outage Inspection of Yangjiang Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2

The South China Regional Office of Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment successfully completed the nuclear safety supervision and inspection of the first criticality control point for the eighth refueling outage of Yangjiang Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2 on October 11. After verifying item by item the prerequisites for reactor recriticality and confirming that the primary loop and related systems and equipment were in a controlled and compliant state, the supervisors signed off and released the criticality control point in accordance with the law, marking the successful completion of the on-site nuclear safety supervision task for the Y208 refueling outage of the unit. During the overlapping period of the 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, multiple operating units at several nuclear power bases along the South China coast successively entered routine refueling outage cycles, with on-site maintenance activities highly concentrated, and nuclear safety...

2026-10-15

Review of Continued Operation for Kori NPP Units 3 and 4 Launched; Accident Management Plan Included in Review Process

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) of South Korea is scheduled to hold its 16th plenary meeting of 2026 on October 15, formally placing the continued operation license application for Units 3 and 4 of the Kori Nuclear Power Plant in Gijang, Busan, on its agenda for deliberation. Notably, these two nuclear units, which are currently in a shutdown state, have directly initiated the continued operation licensing procedure in parallel, even as the Accident Management Plan (AMP) has yet to complete final approval. According to the meeting schedule, the first agenda item of this plenary meeting...

2026-10-14

Slovakia's Mochovce NPP Unit 4 First Grid Connection Delayed Due to Retest, Full Commercial Operation Expected Within the Year

Slovenské elektrárne announced on October 13 that due to the need to repeat a scheduled technical test, the grid synchronization and connection of Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant Unit 4, originally scheduled for that day, will be postponed by several days. The commissioning start-up procedures for the unit are still progressing steadily, and the overall project remains on track to enter full commercial operation before the end of this year. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had previously stated that the grid connection ceremony was scheduled for Tuesday, and he had originally planned to personally attend the event at the nuclear power plant site. Slovenské elektrárne stated in its...

2026-10-14

Iran Signs Memorandum on Nuclear Technology for Medical Applications to Control Dengue Fever Through Radiation-Sterilized Mosquitoes

Recently, the Iranian Ministry of Health and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) signed a memorandum of understanding to expand the application of nuclear technology in the healthcare sector. Iranian Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarqandi and AEOI Chairman Mohammad Eslami signed the agreement, with the primary goal of controlling the Aedes mosquito population through the sterile insect technique (SIT) to combat dengue fever, chikungunya, and Zika virus. It is understood that SIT is an environmentally friendly pest control method: male mosquitoes are mass-reared, sterilized using radiation, and then released to significantly reduce mosquito populations. Both parties will utilize Iran's scientific, research, and technological capabilities to establish a mass-rearing center for Aedes aegyp...

2026-10-13

3-meter-wide hole found at bottom of Unit 3 reactor pressure vessel at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station: molten nuclear fuel burned through the base plate, TEPCO advances evaluation of debris removal project

The latest investigation data released by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) shows that an irregular circular hole with a maximum diameter of 3 meters exists at the bottom of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) of Unit 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (Fukushima No. 1 NPP). This is the first time since the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake triggered a tsunami and caused core meltdown that TEPCO has determined the specific shape and dimensions of the damaged bottom of the pressure vessel among the three reactors that experienced meltdown. The conclusion is based on image data obtained by a technical team in March this year using palm-sized micro-drones to conduct 21 flight surveys inside the containment vessel of Unit 3. Based on the multi-angle...

2026-10-11

U.S. NRC Expedites Review of License Amendment for Palisades Nuclear Plant Fuel Loading Tilt Incident: Advancing Vanguard SMR Construction Permit Review in Parallel

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is reviewing an emergency operating license amendment request (LAR) submitted by Holtec International. The request was triggered by a nuclear fuel loading tilt incident at the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant (Palisades NPP) in Covert, Michigan, during its restart process, which has resulted in the temporary suspension of some on-site restart recovery operations. According to the application documents publicly available in the NRC's public records system, fuel assembly number DD41 tilted after being released by the fuel handling machine. The lower nozzle of the assembly remains in the core grid position H-1, but the upper portion forms an approximately 30-degree tilt angle with the core plate...

2026-10-09