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round up
NEW BUILD AN IAEA TEAM of experts has concluded an Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) mission to Viet Nam to review its infrastructure development for the Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Project. In 2024, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam decided to restart the project, which had been cancelled in 2016.
RUSSIA’S SHCHELKOVO PLANT ENA has supplied two electric pump units for the Brest-OD-300 lead cooled fast reactor under construction at the Siberian Chemical Combine in Seversk, Tomsk region. Brest is part of the pilot demonstration power complex, being built under the Breakthrough (Proryv) project intended to demonstrate closed fuel cycle technology.
CHINA NATIONAL NUCLEAR Corporation (CNNC) said cold testing at unit 3 of the Xudabao NPP in Liaoning Province has been completed. The cold functional test aims to verify the overall performance of related systems and equipment under cold, high-pressure conditions. CNNC said “the successful completion of this test fully demonstrates that the primary loop pressure boundary of unit 3 at the Xudabao NPP is intact and the equipment performance is reliable”.
THE SANTEE COOPER Board of Directors has approved a memorandum of understanding that establishes a formal feasibility period regarding the potential sale and completion of two partially built AP1000 units at the VC Summer project to Brookfield Asset management. Santee Cooper launched the project to build two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at the site in 2009. However, construction was abandoned in July 2017, four months after Westinghouse (then owned by Toshiba) declared bankruptcy.
UPGRADES FRAMATOME HAS BEEN awarded a contract to upgrade several digital control systems at Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station. The project includes system design, engineering, manufacturing, testing and installation for new digital feedwater level control and feedwater heater vents and drains systems. The upgrades are part of Energy Northwest’s ongoing commitment to strengthening the supply of energy for their customers.
PLANT OPERATION THE TENNESSEE VALLEY Authority (TVA) announced that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating licences for all three units of the Browns Ferry NPP, allowing continued operation to the mid-2050s. Browns Ferry, in Alabama, comprises three General Electric boiling water reactors with Mark I containment.
6 | January 2026 |
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BWRX-300 completes UK GDA
The GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 nuclear reactor design has completed the second stage of the UK’s GDA programme.
UK nuclear regulators have completed Step 2 of the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for the GE Vernova Hitachi (GVH) BWRX-300 nuclear reactor design. Through the GDA, UK regulators assess the safety, security and environmental implications of new reactor designs. The two- or three-step process is carried out by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the Environment Agency (EA) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW). Completion results in the issue of a Design Acceptance Confirmation (DAC) from ONR and a Statement of Design Acceptability (SDA) from EA. GE Vernova Hitachi chose the two-step version for the BWRX-300. The BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) is a single unit, direct-cycle, natural circulation, boiling water reactor with generating capacity of 300 MWe and is designed to have an operational life of 60 years. ONR noted that the BWRX-300 design assessed in GDA is predominantly based on the ‘standard’ BWRX-300 design being developed by GVH as it was in March 2024. “Whilst the design has been fixed for the purposes of GDA, GVH has continued to develop the design in support of its other international projects.” The two-step GDA began with Step 1 in January
2024 during which regulators worked with GE Vernova Hitachi to establish a foundation for the assessment process. Under Step 2, which began in December 2024, regulators complete a comprehensive assessment of the BWRX-300 reactor design. This focused on evaluating the fundamental adequacy of the design and its safety, security, safeguards and environmental protection documentation. The regulators confirmed that their assessment identified no fundamental safety, security, safeguards or environmental protection shortfalls with the design that could prevent its deployment in England and Wales. “GE Vernova Hitachi opted for a shorter
two-step GDA, making it the first requesting party to take advantage of the flexibility we introduced in our modernised GDA process,” said Rob Exley, ONR’s Head of the BWRX- 300 GDA. “t is the quickest GDA engagement
completed to date.” This was facilitated by the quality and maturity of GVH’s submissions, experience from previous GDAs, and collaboration with regulators in the US and Canada who are also evaluating the BWRX-300. Currently, there are no plans to deploy the BWRX-300 in England and Wales, and no sites have
been identified. Any organisation seeking to deploy the SMR would require regulators to undertake a further period of detailed design assessment before construction could begin and environmental permits could be issued. This assessment could involve GVH returning to the process to complete Step 3, or it could be undertaken with a licensee or constructor as part of a site-specific development. ONR noted that, based upon assessment to
date it “has not identified any significant issues that: may prevent ONR from issuing a Design Assessment Confirmation (DAC), might prevent ONR granting permission for the construction of a nuclear power plant based upon that design, or which might be in conflict with relevant government policy”. This judgement “does not guarantee that ONR
will grant permission for the construction of a power station based on the BWRX-300 design at a particular site in Great Britain”. The judgement is valid for ten years and “will be taken into account by ONR in any subsequent work as part of a GDA or to grant a future permission”. The statement from EA and NRW noted:
“The agreed GDA scope is comprehensive with regards to environmental protection from radioactive substances and contains all the systems, structures and components that have a bearing on the generation and management of radioactive waste for the life cycle of the plant. The life cycle encompasses design through operations to decommissioning and site clearance.” It added: “We have not been requested to carry out Step 3 of GDA… so this conclusion is subject to carrying out that detailed assessment and any future developer gaining the necessary site-specific permissions.” To date, GDAs have been completed for the
EDF/Areva UK EPR, the Westinghouse AP1000, the Hitachi-GE UK ABWR and the CGN/EDF/ GNI UK HPR1000 (Hualong One) designs. Assessments are underway for Rolls-Royce SMR Limited’s small modular reactor design and Holtec International’s SMR-300. Westinghouse’s AP300 was accepted for a GDA review in 2024 and TerraPower recently submitted its Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor and energy storage system to undergo the GDA process. ■
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