NEWS |
round up
NUCLEAR FUEL US START-UP Standard Nuclear will in future operate under US Department of Energy (DOE) oversight rather than the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), with the aim of significantly expanding TRISO (TRIstructural-ISOtropic) fuel manufacturing capacity. Standard Nuclear will move operations of its Tennessee and Idaho facilities to DOE oversight.
THE US DEPARTMENT of Energy (DOE) has announced $11m in awards to five US companies to develop transportation packages for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). The awards will support industry-led efforts to design, modify, and license transportation packages through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
UK-BASED PERPETUAL Atomics and US QSA Global have turned americium dioxide into stable, large-scale pellets using an industrially scalable process suitable for use in sealed sources for radioisotope power systems. Perpetual Atomics, spun out from the University of Leicester and is based at the university’s Space Park Leicester.
ROSATOM’S FUEL DIVISION TVEL has delivered the first supply of nuclear fuel for the initial load of the VVER-1000 reactor at unit 3 of India’s Kudankulam NPP. The fuel assemblies were produced by the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant, part of TVEL.
USED FUEL US-BASED HOLTEC has been awarded the contract to provide used fuel dry storage systems for Taiwan’s Chinshan and Kuosheng NPPs each with two shut-down boiling water reactor (BWR) units. Chinshan 1&2 were shut down in 2018 and 2019; Kuosheng 1 was shut in 2021 and Kuosheng 2 in 2023 in line with Taiwan’s nuclear phase-out policy.
RADWASTE RUSSIA’S AKADEMIK IOFFE research vessel has uncovered a previously unknown burial site of radioactive waste in the Barents Sea during its Arctic expedition. The site lies in the Bay of Currents, a location not identified in any public sources and missing even from Soviet-era inventories of nuclear legacy.
BECHTEL HAS WON a three-year extension from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to continue managing and operating the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Under the leadership of the Bechtel-led Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO), the site has surpassed its waste-shipment targets every year since the start of the contract, reaching its 1,000th shipment earlier this year.
for cooling with natural circulation, making it suitable for remote, permafrost regions. The decision to close the reactors was
approved in March 2016. Unit 1 was shut down in 2018 and used fuel from the reactor core has been transferred to the holding pool. In 2004, the operating life of unit 2 was extended for 15 years. Following its closure, units 3&4 will also be shut down by the end of the year. Bilibino NPP produced 80% of the electricity
generated in the isolated Chaun-Bilibino power system, and provided heat for the city of Bilibino. However, since 2020 it has been replaced by power from the Akademik Lomonosov floating NPP (PATES – Plavuchaya Atomnaya TeploElektroStantsiya) located in Pevek. The decommissioning phase is expected
to last about eight years. Andrey Kuznetsov, Chief Engineer of the Bilibino NPP, said: “Specialists will need to carry out a whole range of operations, including the removal of used fuel, dismantling of equipment and structures, as well as waste management – all this is work for decades to come. Thus, the complete rehabilitation of the site is not expected until after 2054.” The position of the plant personnel will be decided in stages. During the unloading used nuclear fuel, which will last approximately two years (2026-2027), the vast majority of the positions will remain, and some employees will be transferred to understaffed departments. After 2027, in line with the documents already developed by Rosenergoatom, specialists will be offered employment in other divisions of Rosenergoatom and Rosatom with compensation for expenses when moving to a new place of residence. Decommissioning a NPP in Far North will be
complex and the experience of the Bilibino NPP will be the first site in Russia to shut down all its power units at the same time.
Japan
Vietnam nuclear withdrawal Japan has withdrawn from a key NPP project in Vietnam citing an overly tight timeline. Japan’s Ambassador to Vietnam, Naoki Ito, told Reuters: “The Japanese side is not in a position to implement the Ninh Thuận 2 project.” Ninh Thuan 2 is scheduled to come online
by 2035 alongside Ninh Thuan 1. In 2009, Vietnam’s National Assembly approved investment in the Ninh Thuận nuclear power project, planning two plants with a combined capacity exceeding 4,000 MWe. However, economic and financial difficulties led to a temporary suspension in 2016, although nuclear research continued, maintaining a skilled workforce and preserving decades of expertise. Russia had been awarded the Ninh Thuận 1 project, and Japan Ninh Thuận 2. The National Power Development Plan VIII
recognises nuclear power as a strategic resource for long-term stable operations and a key contributor to achieving net-zero emissions by
10 | January 2026 |
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2050. At the end of 2024, the National Assembly officially restarted the nuclear programme with Resolution 174/2024/QH15. The Government’s subsequent Resolution 70/NQ-CP outlined clear steps for preparation, emphasising mastery of nuclear technology, absolute In April, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính
officially assigned the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) and the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) as investors the projects , while delegating Khánh Hòa Province to manage resettlement and land clearance. The total land to be prepared for Ninh Thuận 1 and 2 exceeds 1,130 hectares, affecting 1,153 households with 5,229 residents. The estimated cost for land clearance, relocation, resettlement, and livelihood stabilisation stands at VND12,392bn ($469m), of which the central government has so far allocated VND3,236bn. Ninh Thuận 1 will be built in Phước Dinh Commune on 485.54 hectares and Ninh Thuận 2 in Vĩnh Hải Commune on 643.6 hectares. After the nuclear energy programme
was resumed, Vietnam had asked Japan and Russia to implement the projects, Ito said. However, he added that, after meetings with Vietnamese officials, Japan had decided in November that it would pull out as the deadline for completion was too close. Vietnam had been expected to sign agreements in September for Ninh Thuan 1 and in December for the second plant. Although no final agreement has been signed, in September Rosatom and the Vietnamese company Power Engineering Consulting Joint Stock Company 2 signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on the Ninh Thuận-1 NPP project, including updating the feasibility study and site profile, as well as to deepen cooperation in infrastructure development and personnel training. Rosatom said its “potential participation in this project could become the driving force behind a strategic partnership for decades to come”.
Kenya KenGen to operate first NPP Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum, Opiyo Wandayi, has announced that Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) will be the owner-operator of the country’s first nuclear power plant, to be developed in partnership with the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA). Wandayi said the decision aligns with
President William Ruto’s call for Kenya to add about 10 GWe of electricity to boost the economy. He noted that the first nuclear development will be approximately 2 GWe, with plans to scale up to 6 GWe over time. “This marks the beginning of Kenya’s nuclear- power era,” he said. “Assigning KenGen the owner-operator role ensures the programme is anchored in strong technical capability, public trust, and long-term national interest.”
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