Niger coup sparks concerns about French, EU uranium dependency

Niger is the provider of 15 percent of France’s uranium needs and accounts for a fifth of the EU’s uranium stock. The military coup in Niger is raising fears, especially in France, over its potential impact on the import of uranium to power nuclear plants. Niger supplies 15 percent of France’s uranium needs and accounts for a fifth of the EU’s total uranium imports. …

Westinghouse Awarded Trio of Grants from UK Nuclear Fuel Fund

The Westinghouse Springfields Fuel Fabrication Facility in the U.K. has manufactured world-class nuclear fuel and related products and services for nearly 75 years. Government Funding Will Support Investment for Advanced Nuclear Reactor Fuels Westinghouse Electric Company announced today that the U.K. Government’s Nuclear Fuel Fund has awarded three grants to upgrade and expand the Springfields …

ICYMI: Senate Agrees to Manchin’s Bipartisan NDAA Amendment to Onshore Nuclear Fuel Production

Today, the U.S. Senate voted 96-3 to agree to Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-WV), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, S.Amdt.999, a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 that directs the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a nuclear fuel program with the purpose of onshoring …

Niger Army Chief Backs Attempted Coup in West African Country

Amadou Abdramane, center, during a televised statement, on July 26.Source: Télé Sahel/AFP/Getty Images Niger’s army chief has backed a coup in the West African country, a day after President Mohamed Bazoum was detained by soldiers. The army announced its support for the coup plotters in order to “avoid bloodshed,” it said in a letter released on social …

TVEL puts case at conference for TVS-K performance

Specialists from Rosatom’s TVEL have told an international nuclear fuel conference that the Russian-designed TVS-K fuel for Western-design pressurised water reactors (PWRs) had demonstrated “excellent behaviour under commercial operating conditions”. TVEL started PWR fuel fabrication at Novosibirsk in 2021 and says its modified versions of its TVS-K fuel is “the only nuclear fuel on the …

Urenco successful in bid for development of advanced fuels

Urenco has been awarded £9.56 million in funding from the UK Government that will support the production of advanced fuels for the nuclear reactors of tomorrow.  The company received the funding from The Nuclear Fuel Fund, as part of the British energy security strategy, which is supporting the nuclear fuel supply chain to develop new …

The US may soon get its first new source of nuclear fuel in 70 years

Next-gen nuclear plants could be critical to the energy transition, but first, they’ll need fuel. Centrus has overcome a key regulatory barrier to meeting that need. The U.S. government is committed to bringing an abundance of advanced nuclear reactors to market as part of its decarbonization strategy — but until now, there has been no domestic corporate supply of …

EU countries eye tighter subsidies in hunt for energy market deal

European Union countries are considering stricter limits on state aid for power plants in an upcoming revamp of Europe’s electricity market, after disagreements between Germany and France over the issue sunk a deal last week. EU energy ministers failed to agree the reforms last week, after countries including Germany, Austria and Luxembourg opposed plans to …

Framatome, EDF sign agreement to test PROtect enhanced accident tolerant fuel in French reactor

Framatome signed a collaboration agreement with EDF to test its enhanced accident tolerant fuel (EATF) technology in an operating nuclear power plant in France. As part of its PROtect EATF program, Framatome will manufacture and deliver four lead fuel assemblies (LFAs) that will be inserted in one of the EDF’s reactors in 2023.     Supported by the …