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AMPERA and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Collaborate to Develop Advanced Nuclear Fuel

AMPERA announced on August 26 that it has established a strategic partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), which operates under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) system. The two parties will collaborate on next-generation advanced nuclear fuels, with a focus on applications such as compact nuclear energy systems and subcritical reactor platforms. Under the collaboration arrangement, the two parties will jointly advance the development of manufacturing processes related to tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel. Project objectives include improving the reliability, licensability, and scalability of fuel manufacturing,...

2026-08-27

U.S. SuperCritical Materials Corp. Completes Independent Engineering Assessment of Seawater Uranium Extraction Platform

SuperCritical Materials Corp. announced on August 26 that Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) has completed an independent engineering assessment of its seawater uranium extraction platform. The assessment covered the uranium extraction platform, deployment architecture, offshore operation plans, uranium recovery process, commercialization pathway, and key engineering conditions required for future large-scale deployment. The assessment reviewed SuperCritical Materials' conceptual production plan. Under this plan, the system would use approximately 10,000 metric tons of adsorbent and operate on a continuous 21-day deployment cycle, capable of supporting a uranium processing facility with an annual output of 1.85 million pounds of triuranium octoxide (U3O8)...

2026-08-27

TEPCO replaces faulty motor of robotic arm at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 2

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) began replacing the faulty motor of the robotic arm used for fuel debris retrieval trials at Unit 2 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on August 26. The robotic arm, approximately 22 meters long, is planned for use in the third fuel debris retrieval trial. During a previous operational inspection inside the reactor building of Unit 2, TEPCO found that the motor driving the robotic arm had malfunctioned, preventing the brake from releasing and the arm from extending. As the robotic arm is already installed on site, workers will enter the "front chamber" in front of the containment vessel to perform the replacement manually. The company stated that radiation levels in the work area will be strictly controlled to prevent workers from receiving excessive exposure. After this replacement, TEPCO will...

2026-08-27

Belarus Advances Preparations for Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility

Belarus is advancing preliminary work on the construction of a centralized radioactive waste disposal facility. Mikhail Kisel, Director of the Belarusian Radioactive Waste Management Organization, recently stated at a public discussion on the environmental impact assessment report held in Mstsislaw that, according to the country's radioactive waste management strategy through 2050, existing storage facilities will need to be decommissioned in the future, and the new radioactive waste disposal facility is planned to be completed by 2030. Kisel noted that the sources of radioactive waste are not limited to the nuclear energy sector, but also include healthcare, industrial, and scientific research activities. Currently, centralized long-term storage of such waste is handled by the specialized enterprise Ekores. Belarusian radioactive waste...

2026-08-27

US Advances Preparations for High-Burnup Spent Fuel Shipment to Idaho for Research

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently stated that the Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) is participating in preparations for transporting a high-burnup spent nuclear fuel research cask. The cask is planned to be shipped from Dominion Energy's North Anna Nuclear Power Station in Virginia to the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for subsequent spent fuel-related research. INL was selected as the receiving site primarily because it possesses the specialized facilities, equipment, and personnel expertise required for handling spent nuclear fuel. The DOE noted that these capabilities are typically not part of routine commercial nuclear power plant configurations. High-burnup fuel refers to nuclear fuel that remains in the reactor for a longer period to increase energy output...

2026-08-26

U.S. HFIR Research Reactor Boosts Validation of New Nuclear Fuels

The High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is becoming a key facility in the U.S. research, development, and qualification system for new nuclear fuels. A research paper published on August 25 noted that amid growing demand for new commercial nuclear power and advanced reactor construction in the United States, research reactor resources available for new fuel testing are becoming strained, and HFIR is expected to help alleviate the shortage of related testing capabilities. Image credit: Gunes Ozcan/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy. HFIR is one of the world's highest-flux steady-state research reactors and has long been used for nuclear fuel and materials irradiation testing. The paper recognizes...

2026-08-26

IsoEnergy Signs Agreement with Kineepik Métis Local to Advance Uranium Exploration in Saskatchewan, Canada

On August 24, 2026, IsoEnergy Ltd. announced that it has signed an exploration agreement with Kineepik Métis Local Inc. to support its responsible uranium exploration activities in Saskatchewan, Canada. Under the agreement, the two parties will establish mechanisms for ongoing communication, information sharing, and collaboration around IsoEnergy's exploration activities in the relevant region. The agreement also provides that Kineepik community members and local businesses may participate in exploration-related work through business partnerships, employment opportunities, and training programs. Kineepik Métis Local Inc. represents Métis rights holders residing within the Kineepik use and occupancy area, including...

2026-08-26

DARPA Ships Insect Sterility Technique Irradiator to the United States with Panamanian Cooperation

An insect irradiator used for the sterile insect technique program was recently transshipped to the United States via Panama, where it will support U.S. efforts to address the New World screwworm threat. The equipment was acquired by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on July 8, 2026, and arrived in Panama, where it was subsequently transferred from the port to the airport with the assistance of Panamanian partners. The New World screwworm is a parasitic pest whose flies lay eggs in warm-blooded animals, with larvae burrowing into tissue and feeding, posing a threat to livestock production. Jon O’Rullian, president of the equipment manufacturer Foss Therapy Services, Incorporated, stated that threats of this kind are significant to all types of livestock producers.

2026-08-26

U.S. NRIC Selects 13 Nuclear Energy Launch Pad Projects

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) announced on August 24 that 13 new projects have been selected for the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad program. NRIC is based at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). NRIC Director Brad Tomer stated that this round of selections reflects developers' growing commitment to advancing related technologies. The program will provide companies with a priority pathway to DOE authorization, as well as access to expert resources, facility conditions, and targeted regulatory support to adv...

2026-08-26

South Korea's Gijang County and KHNP Discuss Communication Issues with Residents near Kori Nuclear Power Plant

Gijang County, Busan, South Korea, said on August 25 that it held talks with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) that day on pending issues related to the Kori Nuclear Power Plant, focusing on resident communication, allocation of co-prosperity support funds, dry cask storage facilities for spent fuel, and the small modular reactor project. According to Gijang County, KHNP President Kim Hoe-cheon visited the Gijang County government that day and met with County Governor Woo Sung-bin. Since taking office on March 18, Kim Hoe-cheon has been visiting nuclear power plant sites to understand local concerns, and this visit to Gijang County, the site of the Kori Nuclear Power Plant, is part of that ongoing communication effort...

2026-08-26

Dry Spent Fuel Storage Facility Planned at Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant in South Korea

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) held a resident briefing session on August 25 at the Hongnong-eup Community Center in Yeonggwang-gun, South Jeolla Province, to introduce its plan to build an on-site interim spent fuel storage facility at the Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant. Approximately 200 residents from villages near the plant, along with officials from Yeonggwang-gun and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), attended the meeting, which proceeded in an orderly manner. KHNP stated that the existing wet spent fuel storage pools at Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant have reached 86% capacity and are expected to approach saturation by 2030, necessitating the construction of a new on-site storage facility. According to the plan, the proposed facility will be located within the Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant site, covering approximately 7,328 square meters, and will employ dry storage methods for interim spent fuel storage...

2026-08-26

Ministry of Ecology and Environment North China Regional Office of Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision Conducts Supervision of First Fuel Loading at Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant Unit 7

Recently, the first fuel loading of Unit 7 at Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant was officially initiated, with the first fuel assembly successfully loaded into the reactor core, marking the unit's formal transition into the commissioning phase with nuclear operation. This unit is a key cooperative project witnessed by the heads of state of China and Russia via video link at its groundbreaking ceremony. This fuel loading marks a significant milestone achievement in the largest strategic cooperation project in China-Russia nuclear energy cooperation. As a core and critical procedure in nuclear power engineering, the first fuel loading serves as a comprehensive and holistic verification of the unit's engineering construction quality, system commissioning effectiveness, and safety control capabilities, and is of decisive significance to the subsequent safe and stable operation of the unit. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment North China Regional Office of Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision (hereinafter referred to as the North China Regional Office) has consistently upheld the nuclear safety regulatory work style of "rigorous, prudent, meticulous, and practical," closely focusing on the core and critical aspects of the first fuel loading, and implementing full-coverage, full-chain, and whole-process supervision and control over this fuel loading operation, effectively safeguarding the safety and quality defense line of the loading operation.

2026-08-26

Russian team develops machine learning model to predict stability of rare earth and actinide complexes

Researchers from the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Intelligent Chemical Design at the Department of Chemistry of Lomonosov Moscow State University, in collaboration with colleagues from the Department of Mechanics and Mathematics, have developed a new machine learning model for evaluating the stability of complexes of rare earth elements and trivalent actinides. The results have been published in the Journal of Chemical Physics. The research team stated that machine learning can reduce time and material costs in chemical research, which is particularly important for rare, expensive, or hazardous lanthanides and actinides. Lanthanides, along with scandium and yttrium, are commonly classified as rare earth elements and are widely used in permanent magnets, batteries, electronic components, lasers, and other applications. Since rare earth elements in nature...

2026-08-25

Kazakhstan's Kazatomprom Says the Era of "Cheap Uranium" Is Fading

Meirzhan Yussupov, CEO of Kazakhstan's national atomic company Kazatomprom, said during a semi-annual financial results conference call that the global uranium market is entering a new supply-demand phase and the era of cheap uranium is fading. The company also disclosed arrangements for natural uranium concentrate trading and the latest updates on the delay of the TQZ sulfuric acid plant project. Yussupov said that 38 countries worldwide have signed commitments to support tripling nuclear power capacity by 2050, with these countries collectively accounting for more than 70% of global GDP. In his view, nuclear energy development has moved beyond policy discussions and entered the stage of actual deployment...

2026-08-25

Madouela Uranium Project Rights in Niger Re-Secured

Atomic Eagle Limited has reached a new mining agreement with the Republic of Niger to re-secure the rights to the Madouela uranium project. The project is located in Niger, and its mining rights were revoked in 2024 from the previous holder, GoviEx Uranium Inc. Phil Hoskins, CEO of Atomic Eagle Limited, stated that re-acquiring the Madouela mining rights will significantly expand the company's resource base and add a more advanced-stage uranium project to its portfolio. He noted that Madouela is a large-scale, high-grade uranium project with substantial historical...

2026-08-25