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U.S. Microreactor Project Submits All Eighteen Chapters of Safety Analysis Materials

Recently, all 18 chapters of the preliminary safety analysis report for the SOLO micro modular reactor have been submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), entering the readiness review prior to formal application. Project developer Terra Innovatum had previously provided 14 of the chapters, and this submission of the remaining materials further completes the safety analysis documentation, advancing one step toward the subsequent formal submission of a construction permit application. The readiness review focuses on assessing the completeness and quality of the application materials, helping to identify content that needs to be supplemented or improved before formal submission. Throughout this process, the project team will continue technical exchanges with regulatory staff, addressing review comments and information requests, so that the react...

2026-11-05

First Steam Generator Tube Order Placed for U.S. Advanced Small Modular Reactor Project

Recently, X-energy, Alleima, and Doosan Enerbility announced the placement of the first steam generator tube procurement order for the Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor project. The order is for the proposed four-unit project in Texas, United States, being advanced through the collaboration between X-energy and Dow, moving long-lead critical components into the specific procurement phase. Under this collaboration, Alleima will manufacture specialized stainless steel tubing, which Doosan Enerbility will then fabricate into helical coiled tubes. The coiled tubes are a key component of the Xe-100 steam generator, designed to support the generation of high-temperature steam up to approximately 565 degrees Celsius, enabling the reactor to serve both power generation and industrial process heat supply. The first batch of proc...

2026-11-05

Startup and Grid Connection Procedure for Unit 1 of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant in Romania

Recently, Nuclearelectrica announced that, after meeting the minimum necessary conditions, it has initiated the procedures for reconnecting Unit 1 of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant to the national power grid. This action marks a new implementation phase in the unit's return to operation; actual restoration of power supply still requires the completion of corresponding operations and compliance with nuclear safety requirements. The reconnection of a nuclear power unit to the grid is a complex operation subject to strict regulation. During the outage, the plant's professional team continued to carry out necessary work to maintain the unit in a safe state. Upon entering the grid reconnection preparation phase, all operations must still comply with applicable procedures to ensure that the return-to-service process meets nuclear safety...

2026-11-05

Canada Approves Increased Operating Limits for Two Bruce Nuclear Units

Recently, the CNSC approved an adjustment to the licensing basis for the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station, allowing Units 7 and 8 of Bruce-B to operate up to 310,000 effective full-power hours, an increase of 10,000 hours over the previous 300,000-hour limit. The Commission reviewed submissions from Bruce Power, regulatory staff, and nine intervenors, assessing the operator's qualifications and safety assurance measures for continuing the relevant activities. The Commission confirmed that Bruce Power is qualified to carry out the adjusted licensed activities and will take appropriate measures to protect human health, safety, and the environment. The decision concerns adjustments to the licensed operating conditions of the units. This change pertains to the licensing basis and does not constitute a change to the licence itself...

2026-11-05

First Concrete Pour Completed for Nuclear Island of Unit 5 at China's Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant

Recently, the first concrete pour (FCD) for the nuclear island of Haiyang Nuclear Power Unit 5 was completed, with a cumulative concrete placement of 7,008 cubic meters, marking that the main works of the nuclear island have fully entered the construction phase and laying the foundation for the subsequent construction of Phase III of the Haiyang Nuclear Power Project. The nuclear island base slab of this unit is a raft foundation shared by Zone 5 of the reactor building, auxiliary building and annex building, adopting a cast-in-place reinforced concrete structure. The pouring operation was carried out in four stages and organized as a one-time monolithic pour. Shandong Nuclear Power, together with the supervision, general contracting and construction units, established a dedicated organizational structure to implement safety and quality management throughout the pouring process. The project team, drawing on experience feedback from Phase II, optimized construction organization and process interfaces to ensure continuous pouring of mass concrete.

2026-11-04

Beyond 5% Uranium Enrichment: Why Does Nuclear Power Fuel Upgrading Require an Integrated Delivery Chain?

Nuclear Power Operational Needs Behind a Single Product Container On November 2, Urenco USA announced the completion of production of the first commercial LEU+ enriched uranium product container in New Mexico. This development brings fuel upgrading to a concrete industrial milestone: enrichment plants are beginning to supply new products, downstream enterprises need to process them into fuel, and power plants must demonstrate that these fuels can improve operations within established safety boundaries. For operators seeking to extend refueling cycles, higher enrichment levels provide more options, but whether these options can be translated into benefits still depends on whether manufacturing, transportation, licensing, and in-core use can be linked together. Urenco uses LEU+ to...

2026-11-04

UKAEA Completes Heavy Enclosure Lift for Spherical Tokamak

Recently, the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) flagship spherical tokamak experimental device (MAST Upgrade) reached an important engineering milestone with the successful lifting and installation of a 12-tonne dual-layer beam enclosure. The enclosure is specifically designed to house two additional neutral beam injectors (NBI). With the subsequent installation of related infrastructure and supporting systems, the neutral beam heating power of the MAST Upgrade device is planned to increase from the current 4.4 MW to 8.8 MW, doubling its heating capability. The core strategic objective of this upgrade is to explore plasma physics behavior under extremely high temperature and pressure conditions, and to focus on testing the ultimate capability of the core heat exhaust system (such as the Divertor) to handle the heat load of higher-performance plasmas, thereby providing key technical and physics parameter support for the UK's prototype fusion power plant (STEP) project.

2026-11-04

Wedbush Initiates Coverage of Nuclear Energy Sector, Bullish on Oklo and X-energy

Recently, Wedbush, a well-known investment firm on Wall Street, officially announced the initiation of coverage on six publicly listed companies in the advanced nuclear energy and small modular reactor (SMR) space. The firm explicitly expressed confidence in the commercialization prospects of Generation IV advanced reactor types, initiating coverage with "outperform" ratings on Oklo, X-energy, and Nano Nuclear Energy, while downgrading NuScale Power to "underperform." According to reports, Seth Basham, a senior analyst at Wedbush, noted in a research report that the capital market is significantly undervaluing the commercialization delivery capability of advanced nuclear energy companies. Among the companies rated "outperform," Oklo, with its Groves isotope test reactor achieving criticality in less than 11 months, has been confirmed as the fastest-advancing microreactor developer in the United States...

2026-11-04

Steel Containment Vessel Second Ring of Guangdong Lianjiang Nuclear Power Unit 2 Hoisted into Place

Recently, the second ring of the steel containment vessel (CV) for Guangdong Lianjiang Nuclear Power Unit 2, manufactured by State Nuclear Equipment, was successfully hoisted into place, creating favorable conditions for subsequent main construction of the nuclear island. It is reported that the second ring of the steel containment vessel hoisted this time is assembled from four layers of curved steel plates, with an overall height of approximately 16 meters, an inner diameter of nearly 40 meters, and a total hoisting weight of up to 1,124 tons. Throughout the assembly and hoisting process, the project team fully drew on the engineering and construction experience of Unit 1, strengthened on-site coordination and quality control, and ensured that the entire hoisting process was safe, smooth, and precisely positioned. The Lianjiang Nuclear Power Project, as a key batch construction project independently built by China based on CAP1000 third-generation nuclear power technology...

2026-11-04

Wyoming Signs MOU to Accelerate Uranium Mine Permitting

Recently, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and Emily Domenech, Executive Director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council), formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at comprehensively accelerating the federal and state permitting processes for infrastructure and uranium mining projects in the state. It is reported that the agreement was developed under the framework of Chapter 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41). By signing the memorandum, Wyoming becomes the 10th state in the nation to join the FAST-41 coordination mechanism. This mechanism allows federal and state regulatory agencies to synchronize on a unified dashboard...

2026-11-04

South Korea and Türkiye Sign Financing Agreement to Advance Nuclear Power Cooperation

Recently, during a bilateral meeting held in Seoul between South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) and Türkiye's nuclear energy company formally signed a memorandum of cooperation on financing for energy projects. It is reported that the agreement aims to provide solid financial guarantees for South Korean companies intending to participate in the construction of Türkiye's second nuclear power plant at Sinop on the Black Sea coast. Türkiye's Ministry of Energy stated that the two sides will establish a joint working group to discuss specific financing arrangements and information exchange. Prior to this, South Korea's state-owned Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) had...

2026-11-04

ITER Successfully Completes Half-Rated Current Test of Toroidal Field Coil #17

Recently, ITER's D-shaped superconducting toroidal field coil #17, weighing approximately 330 tonnes, was successfully energized to 34 kA (half of its 68 kA rated operating current) in the Magnet Cold Test Facility and has been smoothly transported out of the facility, ready to enter the tokamak assembly phase. It is reported that during the test, the magnet was cooled to a superconducting operating temperature of 4 K (minus 269 degrees Celsius). ITER Chief Mechanical Engineer Adrien Dedecker stated that reaching 34 kA and verifying that its actual performance is consistent with model predictions is not only a key step in magnet testing, but also accumulated valuable operational experience for subsequent integrated commissioning. The team used this opportunity to fully compare and confirm the coil structural deformation data under electromagnetic loads.

2026-11-04

The National Development and Reform Commission Deploys the 15th Five-Year Plan to Designate Nuclear Fusion as a Future Industry

Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) held the first press conference of the "Striving for the 15th Five-Year Plan" series, systematically introducing the strategic planning and key task deployments for cultivating and strengthening new growth drivers during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, marking the official unveiling of China's macro-level blueprint for emerging and future industries in the next stage. It is reported that Ren Zhongbao, Deputy Director of the Department of Innovation and High-Tech Development, stated at the meeting that the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, after comprehensively assessing technological trends, have explicitly designated fusion energy, together with quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen energy, brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, and sixth-generation mobile communications, as the main directions for future industry development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. The state will adhere to a nationwide coordinated approach and support regions with favorable conditions in selecting sub-sectors for development in accordance with local conditions.

2026-11-04

Russian Ministry of Construction and Kursk Oblast Inspect VVER-TOI Unit Under Construction

Recently, Irek Faizullin, Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation, and Alexander Khinshtein, Governor of Kursk Oblast, jointly inspected the key construction site of Kursk II NPP in Kurchatov. It is reported that, accompanied by Andrey Osharin, Acting Director of Kursk NPP, the delegation focused on Unit 2 under construction, which is undergoing system commissioning. At present, the reactor building of the unit is intensively carrying out preparations for safety system tests, i.e., advancing toward the stage of primary circuit hydrostatic testing and circulating flushing...

2026-11-04

Russia's Leningrad Nuclear Icebreaker to Be Launched in December

Recently, Russia's Baltic Shipyard (Baltic Shipyard) is stepping up construction of the Leningrad, the fifth Project 22220 universal nuclear-powered icebreaker, with a launching ceremony scheduled for December 3 this year, Russian Nuclear Icebreaker Fleet Day. It is noted that choosing December 3 for the launch carries profound historical commemorative significance. On December 3, 1959, the world's first nuclear-powered icebreaker, the Lenin, officially raised its flag, and this day was established as Russian Nuclear Icebreaker Fleet Day. As the fifth production vessel of Project 22220, the smooth progress of the Leningrad marks that Russia's polar nuclear-powered ship construction is maintaining...

2026-11-04