"High-Precision Analysis Technology and Engineering Application of Multi-Physics, Multi-Scale, Strongly Coupled High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor" Passes Scientific and Technological Achievement Appraisal, Reaching Internationally Leading Level

On August 7, the China Nuclear Energy Association organized a scientific and technological achievement appraisal meeting in Beijing for the high-precision analysis technology and engineering application of multi-physics, multi-scale, strongly coupled high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. Ye Qizhen, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, served as the leader of the project review panel. The expert group unanimously agreed to pass the achievement appraisal, recognizing it as reaching an internationally leading level. Xu Weiqiang, General Manager of the Nuclear Energy Research Institute, attended the meeting, and Liu Wei, Director of the Reactor Engineering Institute, delivered a special report. This achievement was completed through five years of joint research by Huaneng Nuclear Energy Technology Research Institute and Xi'an Jiaotong University, targeting world-class challenges such as strong multi-physics coupling in the core of pebble-bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, limited in-core temperature measurement points, and complex bypass flow paths. For the first time internationally, it established...

2026-08-12

X-Energy and Centrus Sign HALEU Supply Agreement, Accelerating U.S. Advanced Nuclear Fuel Supply Chain

X-Energy and Centrus Energy have signed a low-enriched uranium and high-assay low-enriched uranium supply agreement, marking a more concrete commercialization phase in fuel assurance for U.S. advanced nuclear reactors. Under the agreement, Centrus will provide uranium enrichment services at its American Centrifuge Plant in Pike County, Ohio, with the HALEU to be supplied to X-Energy's fuel subsidiary TRISO-X for the production of TRISO-coated particle fuel at its Oak Ridge, Tennessee fuel fabrication facility, serving the Xe-100 high-temperature gas-cooled small modular reactor. The significance of this agreement lies not only in the supply itself but also in its phased advance payment arrangement. X-Energy will support Centrus through advance payments...

2026-08-07

US Firm Standard Nuclear's Two New TRISO Fuel Plants to Enter Production by 2026, Expanding Independent US Capacity

US nuclear fuel manufacturer Standard Nuclear announced that "major construction is substantially complete" at its two TRISO fuel production facilities, SN-TN in Tennessee and SN-ID in Idaho, and that the US Department of Energy has approved the Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis (PDSA) for both plants. The two facilities share an identical design and are expected to sequentially commence commissioning and licensing before the end of 2026. Authorized under the DOE's "Fuel Line Pilot Program," each plant will initially produce up to 1 metric ton of uranium (MTU) per year of TRISO fuel, with a combined ramp-up target of 5 MTU/year in the long term, forming a tiered supply alongside the company's existing SN-0 facility (0.5 MTU/year) operating in Oak Ridge. Standard Nuclear describes itself as "the only independent TRISO fuel manufacturer in the US," having been restructured from the fuel business of Ultra Safe Nuclear following its bankruptcy in 2024 (with USNC's reactor business acquired by Nano Nuclear). Its operations cover power reactor fuel as well as space and defense radioisotope power sources. The company also participates in the DOE's Fuel Line Pilot and Surplus Plutonium Disposition programs, has been allocated HALEU by the DOE for fuel fabrication, and has established a joint-venture TRISO line at Framatome's NRC-licensed fuel facility in Richland, Washington.

2026-08-06

Shidaowan Nuclear Power Company Successfully Completes Member Support Activity for Predictive Maintenance and Equipment Condition Monitoring

On July 24, Shidaowan Nuclear Power Company successfully completed the member support activity for predictive maintenance and equipment condition monitoring, laying the foundation for further optimizing the predictive maintenance and equipment condition monitoring management and technical systems of the High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) Demonstration Project, and promoting the transformation and upgrading of the equipment management model. The member support activity, lasting five days, was organized by the Nuclear Power Branch of the China Nuclear Energy Association, aiming to leverage the expertise of industry experts to drive the transformation of the equipment management model of the HTGR Demonstration Project from breakdown maintenance and periodic maintenance to data-driven predictive management, thereby strengthening the foundation of nuclear safety and operational economy. The expert team for this activity was led by Chen Lunshou, former Deputy Chief Engineer of Sanmen Nuclear Power Co., Ltd...

2026-07-30