Innovation is key to industry’s resilience, says Westinghouse

Westinghouse Electric Company is starting the next phase in its long history with one key message: The nuclear industry, which has always provided safe, clean and reliable energy, needs innovation now more than ever before. Speaking at the World Nuclear Association Symposium 2018 in London, Westinghouse President and CEO José Gutiérrez described the company’s strategy following its …

CNNC completes design of district heating reactor

The preliminary design of the Yanlong swimming pool-type low-temperature reactor for district heating has been completed, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced yesterday. CNNC launched its independently researched and developed Yanlong reactor (referred to as the DHR-400) for district heating in November 2017. The move came shortly after the “49-2” pool-type light-water reactor developed by …

Japan taps private sector for safer, cheaper reactors

Japan will launch a public-private initiative to develop next-generation nuclear reactors that are safer and less expensive, hoping to spur a renewal of aging plants and keep atomic power as a viable energy source. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is in talks to create a forum within fiscal 2018 that will include power companies and reactor …

Can Japan-France cooperation help open new vistas for fast N-reactors?

Will Japan continue its participation in a French nuclear reactor development project that has an uncertain prospect of being put to practical use? The matter should be thoroughly studied by the government. The French nuclear power authority has announced that the development of a fast reactor called ASTRID (Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration), …

Russia Joins China’s Race for Next-Generation Nuclear Reactors

China has agreed to pursue building next-generation nuclear reactors designed by Russia’s Rosatom Corp., the latest player seeking a boost for its new technology from China’s embrace of atomic power. A plan to build four Russian units was among four deals signed Friday during a ceremony in Beijing attended by presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir …

DOE announces funding for innovative nuclear technology

Ten projects have been selected to receive a total of up to USD24 million in funding under a new programme from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) initiative. The projects selected include a transportable gas-cooled reactor, and technology to support load-following, improve safety and reduce costs in advanced reactors. ARPA-E’s …