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Philippines Fully Advances Feasibility Study for Restart of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

Recently, against the strategic backdrop of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s active promotion of the country's energy transition and nuclear power revival, the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which has lain dormant for nearly four decades, has ushered in a new opportunity for restart. South Korean enterprises are comprehensively conducting technical and economic feasibility studies, marking the return of the country's nuclear power program, shelved for decades, to its historical starting point. The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was first built in the 1970s. In response to the severe oil crisis at the time, it was initiated by the government of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., with the site selected at Napot Point, Bataan Province.

2026-11-09

Neural Network Surrogate Model Speeds Up Superconducting Magnet Simulation

Recently, a domestic research team has achieved an important breakthrough in the field of electromagnetic analysis and design of high-temperature superconducting magnets. The research paper "A Surrogate Model for High-Temperature Superconducting Magnets to Predict Current Distribution with Neural Networks," completed by Professor Qu Timing's team, has been officially accepted by the top journal in the superconductivity field, *Superconductivity*. This research innovatively introduces deep learning into the electromagnetic analysis of high-temperature superconducting magnets and successfully constructs a neural network-based surrogate model, providing a brand-new technical pathway for solving complex current distribution prediction and rapid optimization of magnet parameters...

2026-11-09

Palisades Nuclear Power Plant Restart: After Removing a Tilted Fuel Assembly, How Far Remains to Grid Connection?

At the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, Holtec manufactured a specialized lifting rig and transfer cask for a tilted fuel assembly. On October 21, the company confirmed that the assembly had been removed from the reactor pressure vessel and transferred to the spent fuel pool. On October 29, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright visited the plant, and Holtec's project update on the same day still listed fuel loading completion, testing, inspections, and operational readiness as return-to-service work. Palisades was shut down in 2022 and had entered the decommissioning pathway. This removal allowed the fuel loading project to continue, and also exposed a period in the restart plan that is easily underestimated—after equipment is brought back to condition...

2026-11-09

Salem Nuclear Power Plant Proposes Approximately 200 MW Uprate: How Can Old Units Generate More Power?

For a nuclear power plant to deliver 200 MW more to the grid, construction may begin with a steam component beside the turbine. Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) disclosed on November 2 that the two units at the Salem Nuclear Power Plant in New Jersey are jointly proposed to add approximately 200 MW of generating capacity, of which about 112 MW would belong to PSEG. Investor materials subsequently published by the company divide the modifications across 2027 to 2029, including both an approximately 7% increase in reactor thermal power and modifications to the steam-water loop. The former figure measures the additional capacity at the grid interface, while the latter measures the change in core heat output. Only by separating these two figures can one clearly see where the additional electricity from an old nuclear...

2026-11-09

NRC Plans to Develop Advanced Oversight Process for New Reactors

Recently, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) revealed that it is actively considering tailoring an Advanced Reactor Oversight Process (AROP) for new nuclear power and advanced reactor projects, aiming to systematically draw on the mature oversight experience gained from approximately 25 years of continuous operation of the existing fleet of nuclear power plants. As the long-standing core of regulation, the NRC's Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) is primarily used for inspection and safety assessment of the operating reactor fleet. With the emergence of a large number of new nuclear energy projects in the future that are fundamentally different from traditional unit designs, the NRC has recently held a series of public meetings to comprehensively introduce the AROP ...

2026-11-09

ITER Organization Successfully Completes Half-Current Test of Toroidal Field Magnet

Recently, the magnet cold test facility of the ITER Organization successfully completed the cryogenic cold test of the second Toroidal Field (TF) coil. The heavy superconducting coil, numbered 17, was cooled to an extreme environment of 4K (minus 269 degrees Celsius) and then successfully energized to 34 kiloamperes (kA), reaching half of its 68kA rated operating current. The coil was then officially removed from the test bench and transferred to the assembly process of the main tokamak device. As a standard unit of the ITER toroidal field magnet system, a single D-shaped TF coil is approximately 17 meters tall, about 9 meters wide, and weighs 330 tonnes, with windings made of advanced niobium-tin...

2026-11-09

Guorui Zhaovolt Achieves Mass Production and Delivery of FRC Fusion Power Supplies

Recently, Wuhu Guorui Zhaovolt Electronics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Guorui Zhaovolt) announced that its all-solid-state pulse power supply, developed specifically for Field-Reversed Configuration (FRC) nuclear fusion devices, has achieved mass production and delivery. This batch of products will be successively shipped to multiple fusion experimental device construction sites across China, providing core power supply support for research institutions and commercial fusion enterprises, marking a new milestone for China in the engineering and mass manufacturing of high-voltage, high-current pulsed power technology. As a new-generation pulsed magnetic confinement nuclear fusion technology, FRC, with its advantages of simple device structure, low construction cost, high modularity, fast iteration speed, and outstanding miniaturization potential...

2026-11-09

South Korea's Key Nuclear Fusion Technology and Demonstration Facility Project Passes Review

Recently, South Korea's nuclear fusion key technology development and demonstration infrastructure construction project passed the preliminary feasibility review of national R&D projects. The special program is scheduled to be implemented from 2027 to 2036, with a total investment of 1.4813 trillion won, of which the central government plans to bear 1.2877 trillion won, accounting for approximately 87% of the total. The funds will be used for key technology R&D for fusion reactors and the construction of demonstration facilities, with both tasks incorporated into the same ten-year implementation period. The R&D work will first focus on how to form and sustain plasma within a fusion reactor. The heating system is responsible for inputting energy into the plasma, the current drive system is used to sustain the plasma current, and the superconducting magnets provide the magnetic field required to confine the plasma...

2026-11-09

Norway Funds Pilot Project for Marine Micro Nuclear Reactor Propulsion

Recently, the Research Council of Norway has officially provided NOK 20 million in funding support to the Norwegian branch of Emerald Nuclear, a startup headquartered in Seattle, United States, to jointly lead the Marine Nuclear Power Propulsion System (MarNuPS) pilot project, comprehensively promoting the deep integration of small nuclear reactors in commercial shipping and offshore operations. The project core adopts Emerald Nuclear's 5 MWe Gem High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) design...

2026-11-09

China Academy of Engineering Physics Unveils Conceptual Design of Z-Pinch Fusion Facility

Recently, the Institute of Fluid Physics of the China Academy of Engineering Physics, in collaboration with research teams from the Beijing Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics and the Tianfu Innovation Energy Research Institute, officially unveiled the overall conceptual design of the China Z-pinch Fusion Facility (CZFF). The related research findings have been published online in the professional academic journal *Pulsed Power* and featured as a cover recommendation, marking an important advance in China's efforts to promote the Z-pinch-driven Fusion-Fission Reactor (Z-FFR) program and the demonstration of thermonuclear ignition. As a next-generation high-energy-density physics platform for demonstrating thermonuclear ignition and advancing the fusion energy program, CZFF...

2026-11-09

US Advances Development of Nuclear-Powered Lunar Rover and Awards Transportation Contract

Recently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) decided to advance the development of the nuclear-powered lunar rover PROMISE and awarded a lunar surface transportation contract to Blue Origin. Blue Origin will use the Mark 1 lander to deliver the six-wheeled rover to the lunar south pole and complete its deployment. The base contract value is $94 million, with an additional contract option worth $140 million contingent on performance. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is responsible for the rover's overall development, and will modify the chassis, electronics, and drive systems based on the engineering test platform of the Curiosity Mars rover, and integrate spare parts and test components from the Curiosity and Perseverance...

2026-11-09

US Blue Laser Fusion Completes $34 Million Financing

Recently, Blue Laser Fusion (BLF) completed a private placement totaling $34 million, with approximately $25 million closed in the first tranche. The financing is combined with a business combination and reverse merger arrangement, providing funding support for the company's subsequent engineering R&D, manufacturing capability development, and technology deployment. Laidlaw & Company served as the sole placement agent for the transaction. This capital operation involves the co-acquisition of Unite Acquisition 2 Corp., with the combined entity operating under the name Blue Laser Fusion and becoming a publicly reporting company. Through this arrangement, the company is adjusting its corporate structure and capital structure, integrating its existing laser...

2026-11-07

UK fusion device completes key lift of twelve-tonne dual-beam box

Recently, the UK's MAST Upgrade spherical tokamak device completed a key engineering operation: the lifting and positioning of a 12-tonne dual-beam box, creating conditions for the installation of new neutral beam heating equipment. The device is located at the Culham campus and operated by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). It is expanding its experimental capabilities through a heating system upgrade to support the physics and engineering research required for future fusion power plants. The dual-beam box features a two-tier layout and is designed to house two new neutral beam injectors. The equipment transfers energy by injecting high-energy neutral atoms into the plasma. After the upgrade is completed, the device's neutral beam heating power is expected to increase from 4.4 MW to 8.8 MW, and the plasma...

2026-11-07

CNNC Mechanical Engineering Wins Bid for Jinqimen Nuclear Power Phase II Hoisting

Recently, CNNC Mechanical Engineering Co., Ltd. officially announced that it had successfully won the bid for the heavy-lift hoisting engineering project of Zhejiang Jinqimen Nuclear Power Phase II (Units 3 and 4). As another core project undertaken by the company at Jinqimen Nuclear Power following the heavy-lift hoisting engineering for Units 1 and 2, this project is the first approved nuclear power project in Zhejiang Province during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Once fully completed, it will provide strong support for energy and electricity supply security and green, low-carbon transformation in Zhejiang Province and the Yangtze River Delta region. Zhejiang Jinqimen Nuclear Power Phase II fully adopts the Hualong One Version 2.0 pressurized water reactor nuclear power units and is among the first batch of demonstration projects for this advanced reactor type. With the continuous iterative upgrading of nuclear power technology, hoisting modules...

2026-11-07

Floating Molten Salt Reactor Approaches Licensing Readiness: What New Issues Must Be Addressed When Putting Nuclear Power on a Barge

Coastal industrial parks need stable power, but onshore land, cooling conditions, and construction resources may not be easy to coordinate. Placing power generation facilities on floating platforms and having them centrally manufactured by shipyards has therefore become a deployment approach explored by some nuclear companies. It may change the construction location, but it will not detach the reactor from site, regulatory, and long-term operational responsibilities. Information published on November 3 shows that Denmark's Saltfoss is preparing to engage in pre-application communication with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and plans to submit a regulatory communication plan in the first quarter of 2027. The company hopes to establish a licensing pathway for offshore molten salt reactor platforms. What has been disclosed so far is preparatory work and corporate goals, and should not be understood as having obtained...

2026-11-07