IAEA sees enhancement of Swiss nuclear security

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts has completed a follow-up nuclear security advisory mission to Switzerland. The International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) mission concluded Switzerland has strengthened its nuclear security regime since a mission in 2018. IPPAS missions are intended to assist IAEA member states in strengthening their national nuclear security …

Construction schedule agreed for Paks II in Hungary

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and Rosatom’s Director General Alexei Likhachev have signed an agreement on the schedule for the construction of the Paks II nuclear power plant. Although the detail of the agreed schedule has not been released, Szijjártó (pictured, right, with Likhachev) said on his Facebook page: “We signed the Paks II schedule, based …

Russian nickel miner wants nuclear power for Arctic plant

Nornickel starts talks with Russia’s state nuclear energy company Rosatom on the building of a small-scale nuclear power station in Norilsk. A memorandum of understanding was this week signed by Nornickel owner and CEO Vladimir Potanin and Rosatom General Secretary Aleksei Likhachev. It outlines the building of a small-scale nuclear power station in the far …

How India Is Shifting Its Nuclear Power Plans Into High Gear

The country needs to decarbonise. Its renewables face charges of intermittency. Is nuclear the answer? On December 14 last year, Union minister of state for Atomic Energy and Space Jitendra Singh made an announcement with far-reaching consequences. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Singh said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government will commission …

Ukraine production planned of used fuel containers

The announcement, by Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy, came after a meeting in Washington DC, between Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko (pictured above, left) and Holtec President Chris Singh (pictured, right). Ukraine’s Centralised Spent Fuel Storage Facility (CSFSF), located in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, was commissioned last year. It is a dry storage site for used nuclear …

Akkuyu 3 reactor pressure vessel delivered

The 350-tonne reactor pressure vessel for Akkuyu unit 3 in Turkey has been delivered after a 1700-mile journey. The cylindrical reactor pressure vessel is 11.45 metres long and 5.7 metres wide and was produced by the Volgodonsk branch of AEM-Technologies JSC of Atommash, part of Atomenergomash, the machine production division of Rosatom. The Akkuyu plant, …

France’s clean power clout to be tested again this winter

France’s power sector is under fresh scrutiny as maintenance on several of the country’s critical nuclear reactors continues just as Europe braces for another winter, when regional heating demand typically peaks. Nuclear reactors generate 65% to 70% of France’s electricity, which is the highest share of nuclear generation globally and has historically enabled France to …

Containment shell in place for Chinese SMR

The steel containment dome was successfully hoisted into place at the ACP100 small modular reactor (SMR) demonstration project at the Changjiang site on China’s island province of Hainan, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has announced. The reactor building for the ACP100 – also referred to as the Linglong One – consists of three parts: the internal …