DOE charts commercialization paths for long-duration storage, advanced nuclear, clean hydrogen

Agency reports released Tuesday highlight possible solutions to the challenges facing the technologies and routes to commercializing them. The U.S. Department of Energy Tuesday issued reports charting pathways to commercialize long-duration storage, advanced nuclear reactors and clean hydrogen. The Pathways to Commercial Liftoff reports are designed to help industry, investors and stakeholders make decisions about the emerging …

French parliament votes nuclear plan with large majority

France’s parliament voted in favour of the government’s nuclear investment plan with a large majority on Tuesday, a day after the government narrowly survived a no-confidence vote over its pension reform plan. The nuclear renewal plan, whose key plank is the planned construction of six new nuclear reactors, was approved with 402 votes in favour …

USA, Indonesia announce partnership on SMRs

The USA and Indonesia have announced a strategic partnership to help Indonesia develop its nuclear energy programme, supporting Indonesia’s interest in deploying small modular reactor (SMR) technology to meet its energy security and climate goals. A Memorandum of Agreement, as well as affiliated grants and contracts, was signed during the Indo-Pacific Business Dialogue in Bali, Indonesia. The …

Japan regulator bypasses experts in declaring faults under nuclear plant not active

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has approved an electric power company’s claim that faults running just below a nuclear plant are “not active,” without seeking further opinion from a group of experts that indicated the possibility of the faults being active in 2016. After its decision to uphold the Hokuriku Electric Power Co.’s claim that …

UK urged to be world leader in nuclear-derived synthetic fuels

The RAF and Zero Petroleum set a Guinness World Record in 2021 for the world’s first successful flight using only synthetic fuel (Image: MoD/gov.uk) Large-scale production of nuclear-derived net-zero synthetic fuels could help hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as aviation and shipping, according to a report by energy consultants Equilibrion and the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA). The …

France mulls nuclear revamp as Ukraine war prompts an energy mix rethink

French lawmakers start examining a new bill on Monday aimed at speeding up the construction of new nuclear reactors, which President Emmanuel Macron says are crucial to bolstering France’s energy independence. Critics of the bill, however, say it ignores pressing concerns over the safety of the country’s ageing reactors as well as the industry’s dependence on uranium imported from Russia. …