Fuel Cladding Failures at Nuclear Power Plants Explained

The China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) informed the IAEA yesterday that a minor fuel cladding failure  had occurred at the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant. What are fuel cladding failures, and what do they mean for safety? Read our explainer to find out. Nuclear power plants are designed with multiple back-up and diverse safety systems as part of …

Samsung to Explore MSR Nuclear Power for Zero Emission Shipping

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries will undertake a joint research and development project with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), for the first modern exploration of nuclear-powered ships. Under the strategic cooperative agreement, they plan to explore the opportunities to use nuclear power as a solution for carbon-neutral shipping. There was great interest …

ROSATOM starts construction of unique power unit with BREST-OD-300 fast neutron reactor

The construction of a 300 MW nuclear power unit with an innovative lead coolant BREST-OD-300 fast reactor has begun at the site of the Siberian Chemical Combine (an enterprise of TVEL Fuel Company of ROSATOM) in Seversk, Russia’s Tomsk region. The event was attended by Tomsk regional governor Sergei Zhvachkin, ROSATOM Director General Alexey Likhachev, …

New Rolls-Royce ‘mini’ nuclear power plant could light million homes

A fresh design for a compact nuclear power station being developed by hundreds of Rolls-Royce engineers in Derby has been revealed. Nuclear power experts in the city have also helped increase the power of the small modular reactors (SMR), working as part of a large consortium led by Rolls-Royce. The consortium estimates that the nuclear …

Three Indigenous-owned corporations show support for small modular reactors

‘Small modular reactors have a role to play in moving forward on climate change,’ CEO says Three Indigenous-owned companies in Saskatchewan have announced they’re exploring small modular reactors (SMR). Kitsaki Management, Athabasca Basin Development and Des Nedhe Group have all signed a memorandum of understanding concerning their support for nuclear power in Saskatchewan. “We think …

Lightbridge demonstrates SMR fuel manufacturing process

Lightbridge Corporation has demonstrated the manufacturing process for surrogate fuel rods for commercial-scale small modular reactors, using an internally developed and patented high-temperature coextrusion process. The six-foot (1.8 metre) length of the surrogate rods is typical of the fuel rods used by many small modular reactors now in the development and licensing phases, the Reston, Virginia-based …

DOE project supports microreactor deployment

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is planning to build a microreactor to help researchers and end-users understand how microreactors can integrate with other technologies. The Microreactor Applications Research Validation and EvaLuation (MARVEL) liquid-metal cooled microreactor could be operational within three years. Microreactors are very small, factory fabricated, transportable reactors which could provide power and …

Japan’s JGC invests in NuScale Power

Japanese engineering, procurement, and construction firm JGC Holdings Corporation (JGC HD) has agreed to invest USD40 million in small modular reactor developer NuScale Power. It will also partner with Fluor Corporation – NuScale’s majority investor – on the deployment of NuScale power plants. JGC HD said it will invest USD40 million in NuScale through a …

BWXT Awarded $28 Million Contract for Continued Mobile Microreactor Design

BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) today announced a $28 million, 12-month contract award from the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) for the final design of a transportable microreactor prototype under the second phase of its Project Pele initiative. SCO is partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop, prototype and demonstrate …