US eyes safety rules for small modular reactors, as nuclear touted at UN climate meeting

Dive Brief: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering new safety rules for small modular nuclear reactors, new types of facilities that aim for faster permitting and construction, possibly relying on off-site development. Earlier this year, NuScale Power submitted designs for a new type of reactor to NRC — an initial step towards permitting smaller facilities that could be …

World Energy Outlook 2017

Global shifts in the energy system Four large-scale shifts in the global energy system set the scene for the World Energy Outlook 2017: the rapid deployment and falling costs of clean energy technologies, the growing electrification of energy, the shift to a more services-oriented economy and a cleaner energy mix in China, and the resilience …

Advanced Nuclear Finds a More Welcome Home in Canada

An early regulatory review may put Terrestrial Energy on track to commission the first fourth-generation reactor in North America. Canadian regulators announced that Terrestrial Energy has completed the initial phase of a design review for its molten-salt nuclear power plant, giving the Ontario-based company a small early lead in the race to commission the first …

China calls for stronger cooperation with US in next-generation nuclear power technology

BEIJING — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has called for closer China-US cooperation in developing the next-generation nuclear power technology, as he met with Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and chairman of TerraPower here Friday. Speaking highly of the China-US partnership in this field, Li said companies of the two countries have set up a joint …

Russia’s Rosatom to offer new reactor technologies in next 10 years

ABU DHABI, October 30. /TASS/. Russia’s civilian nuclear power corporation Rosatom expects to enter the market with new technologies in the next 10-12 years to offer fast neutron reactors for closed nuclear fuel cycle projects, Rosatom Head Alexei Likhachyov said at an IAEA ministerial conference on Monday. “Closing the nuclear cycle will allow peaceful atom …

China close to completing first offshore nuclear reactor

SHANGHAI – China’s first offshore nuclear reactor is set to be completed soon, engineers involved in the project said, bolstering Beijing’s maritime ambitions and stoking concerns about the potential use of atomic power in disputed island territories. Beijing hopes offshore reactors will not only help win new markets, but also support state ambitions to become a …

Centrus and ORNL Collaborate on Advanced U.S. Uranium Enrichment Technology

BETHESDA, Md. – Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE American: LEU) announced today it has signed a contract with UT-Battelle, LLC, as operator of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), to continue advancing the AC100, a U.S. gas centrifuge uranium enrichment technology, at the Company’s facilities in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The new contract …

Designs for ‘mini’ nuclear power plants proposed by Rolls-Royce led group set to be given go-ahead

An important report assessing the viability of new “mini” nuclear power plants for the UK to be published this week is expected to give the green light to develop designs proposed by a British consortium led by Rolls-Royce. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is set to issue a study which formally …

China National Nuclear, Shenhua team up to develop gen-4 reactor

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) has signed an agreement with the Shenhua Group, China’s biggest coal producer, to promote the development of advanced “traveling wave” reactor technology, the state nuclear giant said. At a ceremony on Tuesday, the two sides signed an investment agreement to promote fourth-generation traveling wave reactors (TWR), …

Japan weighs exports of safer, next-gen nuclear reactors

TOKYO — Japan’s government is mulling plans to export next-generation nuclear reactors that promise a greater degree of safety, with Poland lined up as the probable first destination. The move, which would involve high temperature gas reactors, or HTGRs, is part of the government’s infrastructure export strategy. Poland, which is turning to nuclear power as …