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 …

NASA successfully tests a nuclear reactor that works in space

NASA and the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have successfully demonstrated a new nuclear reactor power system that could enable long-duration crewed missions to the Moon, Mars, and destinations beyond. NASA announced the results of its Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY) experiment, during a news conference Wednesday at its Glenn Research Center in …

USA and France Sign Statements of Intent on Advanced Fast Neutron Sodium-Cooled Reactors

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry and François Jacq, Chairman of France’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), seized the occasion of President Trump’s Head-of-State welcome for French President Emmanuel Macron to sign two Statements of Intent (SOIs). The signing ushers in a new era of DOE-CEA research and development (R&D) cooperation …

$60 Million for U.S. Industry Awards for Advanced Nuclear Technology Development

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced today that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 13 projects to receive approximately $60 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development for advanced nuclear technologies. These selections are the first under DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy’s U.S. Industry Opportunities for Advanced …

Saudi Arabia Has Options if U.S. Walks From Nuclear Power Deal

Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih speaks during an interview in Washington, DC, U.S. March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Valerie Volcovici Saudi Arabia has international partners it can work with if the United States walks away from a potential deal on nuclear power technology over concerns about nuclear proliferation, Khalid al-Falih, the kingdom’s energy minister, said in …

Canada begins small modular reactor strategy roadmap

Canada has launched a process to prepare a roadmap to explore the potential of on- and off-grid applications for small modular reactor (SMR) technology. The roadmap will help position Canada to become a global leader in the emerging SMR market, according to Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). The roadmapping process, which is part of NRCan’s Energy …

Top Energy Department official hopes small reactors can help fading nuclear industry overcome ‘tipping point’

The U.S. is at a “tipping point” with its fading nuclear power sector, and the industry’s future is increasingly reliant on developing small nuclear reactors, a top Energy Department official said Tuesday morning. “We are in an extremely challenging moment in time, an inflection point in terms of the future of our nuclear fleet,” said …