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 …

Section 123 Agreement With the UK Critical for US Nuclear Exports, Jobs

The president yesterday transmitted to Congress for review a bilateral agreement for peaceful nuclear energy cooperation, known as a Section 123 Agreement, between the United States and United Kingdom. Following is a statement from Dan Lipman, vice president of suppliers, new reactors, and international programs at NEI. “We commend the Trump administration for submitting to …

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 …

Bill Gates in Search of Nuclear Nirvana

His company, TerraPower, aims to build a safe, nearly waste-free reactor that won’t contribute to weapons proliferation or climate change Bill Gates originally became famous (and rich) for co-founding Microsoft; more recently, he’s become better known, through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as a philanthropist working to improve global health and sustainable economic growth. …

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 …

Small modular reactor a potential replacement for natural gas energy for Logan

Nuclear energy isn’t considered renewable, but Logan’s Renewable Energy and Conservation Advisory Board, or RECAB, is interested in hearing about its capability to complement renewables. On Friday, RECAB hosted Doug Hunter, CEO of Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, or UAMPS, for a discussion on what he said is the county’s first nuclear production company. Hunter …