CONTENTS AND COMMENT | WNE2025 Contents
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3 Welcome to WNE2025
Features 7 SMRs & Advanced reactors Paving the way for SMRs With around 100 small modular reactor designs in active development, what is needed to take projects forward?
15 Fuel & fuel cycle Fuelling the future A series of Executive Orders has reaffirmed US plans to ensure it has domestic control of the fuel supply chain
25 Plant life extension Life beyond 40 As operators aim to extend reactor lifetimes, what are the plans and approaches that can support it?
30 Waste management Forsmark vaults make advances A look at progress on the development of an underground storage complex at Forsmark.
43 Fast reactors The Brest fast reactor The Brest-OD-300 lead-cooled fast reactor is now being constructed in Seversk. The goal is a closed fuel cycle.
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©Business Trade Media International 2025
ISSN 0029-5507
57 Argentina: Looking for long-term operation 59 Belgium: A new era for nuclear 61 Canada: Life extension and new build plays 63 China: Creating a giant nuclear fleet 65 Czech Republic: New build plans accelerate 67 Finland: Building the nuclear energy landscape 69 France: Boosting capacity 71 Germany: Fusion and a nuclear future 73 Hungary: Powering up on Paks II 75 Italy: SMRs and a new approach to nuclear 76 Japan: Restarts and reforms for nuclear rebirth 79 South Korea: Shifting nuclear power policy 81 Norway: Taking the next steps on nuclear 83 Poland: On the road to nuclear power 85 Romania: New build plans take shape 87 Slovenia: Life extension and more 89 Spain: Fighting the nuclear phase out 91 Sweden: Exploring all stages of the life cycle 93 Ukraine: Expanding capacity with diversity 95 United Kingdom: A momentous year for nuclear 97 United States: Aiming for a global powerhouse 98 WNE innovation awards
Nuclear today, tomorrow and beyond
WELCOME TO THIS DEDICATED Nuclear Engineering International supplement for the 2025 World Nuclear Exhibition. Taking place in Paris, France, from November 4th to November 6th, there are two over-arching themes of this event: ‘Nuclear Today and Tomorrow’ and ‘Beyond Electricity’. With more than 25,000 delegates and over 850 exhibitors
from close to 100 countries, participants will explore the key drivers behind the nuclear industry’s development and those topics critical to sustaining its renewed sense of passion and optimism. Project deliverability, AI, and new financing strategies are just some of those issues that are central to delivery, but there are fundamental underlying factors that support the remarkable projections for the future of nuclear. Nuclear today is already being powered by mega-trends
such as the climate change imperative, socio-economic development, enhanced energy security and sovereignty concerns. Nuclear tomorrow is underpinned by events from far beyond the immediate nuclear community too. At COP28 at the end of 2023, for example, more than 20 countries from four continents launched the ‘Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy’ and many more nations subsequently added their voices to this groundbreaking pledge. In 2022, the EU included nuclear generation within its taxonomy, designed to direct investments to those areas most needed for the clean energy transition. This decision was recently upheld by the General Court which said that the European Commission “was entitled to take the view that nuclear energy generation has near to zero greenhouse gas emissions and that there are currently no technologically and economically feasible low-carbon alternatives at a sufficient scale”. And, in June, the World Bank Group and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signed an agreement to work together to support the use of nuclear energy in developing countries, marking the Bank’s first concrete step to reengage with nuclear in decades. Two key focus areas are extending the lifespan of existing nuclear power plants in developing countries and accelerating the development of small modular reactors. These are themes that are reflected across each of the more than 30 nations that already rely on nuclear energy and the WNE conference programme. Nuclear is also emerging as more than a source of reliable
baseload power. Delegates have an opportunity to discover nuclear applications beyond electricity, including those in the medical, agricultural, marine propulsion and space sectors, as well as new and emerging industrial applications like hydrogen, process heat and desalination – with many more still to emerge. The world is gathering at WNE in Paris to explore the
wonderous power of the atom – for electricity and beyond, for today, for tomorrow and for all.
David Appleyard, Editor
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