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A US FEASIBILITY study has concluded that Slovakia could lead the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs). The study was part of the US State Department’s Project Phoenix. It was undertaken in cooperation with US-based international engineering company Sargent & Lundy, the Slovak Economy Ministry Slovak power plants and Slovenské elektrárne (SE) as partner.
FINNISH POWER company Fortum and the technology company Steady Energy have signed a framework agreement under which Fortum will support development of Steady Energy’s small modular reactor (SMR) for district heating. The agreement could enable Fortum to provide the operation and maintenance services required by Steady Energy’s SMRs in Finland and Sweden.
AT THE DEMONSTRATION ACP-100 small modular reactor (SMR), being built at China’s Changjiang NPP site in Hainan Province, a turbine unit has been tested using external steam without the use of nuclear fuel, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) reported. The multi-purpose 125 MWe SMR (also known as Linglong One) is a pressurised water reactor designed for electricity generation, heating and cooling.
HOLTEC INTERNATIONAL has submitted its first construction permit application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for two SMR-300s, Pioneer 1&2, at the Palisades Energy Centre (PEC) in Covert, Michigan. This is the first part of an application for a construction permit application and represents a step up from the pre-licensing topical reports and white papers submitted thus far.
FUSION NEW JERSEY-BASED fusion technology company Thea Energy has announced certification of its preconceptual Helios pilot plant design by the US Department of Energy (DOE). This followed a detailed review by a panel of independent fusion experts from national laboratories, research institutions and universities focused on fusion. Thea Energy (formerly Princeton Stellarators) is the first awardee company to receive certification.
SCIENTISTS AT THE Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP) in Hefei, Anhui Province said experiments at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) had achieved a plasma density that was previously thought impossible using a new process called plasma-wall self organisation (PWSO).
TNPP. They ensured that the “transportable” aspect of the plant met the rigorous safety standards required for a first-of-a-kind deployment in Canada. They performed the high-level safety analysis required to prove that the facility could be manufactured in a shipyard and then towed to a remote location without compromising the integrity of the nuclear core. To complement Kinectrics’ nuclear expertise, the other partners handled the specialised marine and risk aspects. C-Job Naval Architects designed the hull and marine systems. Lloyd’s Register provided the maritime classification and safety certification. Serco & Risktec focused on the advanced safety case and human factors. The conclusion of this work officially moved
the project from theoretical to technically proven, allowing Prodigy to begin seeking firm commitments for their first commercial orderbook. Prodigy is developing two sizes of facilities:
the Prodigy Microreactor Power Station TNPP and the SMR Marine Power Station TNPP, which can integrate different sizes and types of nuclear reactors. Prodigy’s TNPPs are not barges with reactors onboard – they are purpose-designed, marine fabricated buildings qualified to house operating nuclear reactors. The TNPP is designed upfront to be completely removed and centrally decommissioned at end of service life.
Japan Second Kashiwazaki-Kariwa restart Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) has restarted unit 6 at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP in Niigata Prefecture, after technical problems in January delayed the process. Tepco initially tried to restart unit 6, a 1356 MWe Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR), on 21 January but closed it down again the following day after a monitoring system alarm sounded. The alarm had picked up slight changes to the electrical current in one cable even though these were still within a range considered safe, Tepco officials told a news conference. The alarm settings have since been changed. The unit’s power output will now be gradually increased with the aim of starting commercial operation around mid-March following another comprehensive inspection. The start-up procedure involves removing
205 rods in batches of 26. Tepco said after the failed restart in January that it had suspected a malfunction in the control rod operating system after the alarm sounded but, after a component was replaced, the problem had persisted. Although Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, unlike
Fukushima Daiichi, was unaffected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, all seven of the plant’s reactors had already been offline for two to three years following the earlier 2007 Niigata- Chuetsu earthquake, which caused damage to the site. Work has since been carried out to improve the plant’s earthquake resistance. Tepco submitted information on safety
upgrades across the site and at the newest units (6&7), which began commercial operation in 1996
12 | January 2026 |
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and 1997 and were the first Japanese boiling water reactors (BWRs) to be considered for restart. The National Regulation Authority (NRA) cleared safety screenings for the two units in 2017 but security breaches and delays in completing safety upgrades caused delays. The Kashiwazaki- Kariwa complex has been fitted with a 15-metre- high (50-foot) tsunami wall, elevated emergency power systems and other safety upgrades. Fuel assemblies had been loaded into unit 7 in April 2024 in preparation for its restart. However, as the unit cannot be restarted before completion of the antiterrorism facility, which is scheduled for August 2029, the fuel was removed. Tepco then prioritised restarting unit 6, where fuel loading was completed in June 2025. The company has until September 2029 to implement similar anti-terrorism safety measures at unit 6, but was authorised to operate until then, pending local approval. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 6 is the 15th restart since
all 54 of Japan’s nuclear power reactors were closed in the wake of the Fukushima accident.
Italy Terra Innovatum aligns supply chain Terra Innovatum (TI) has reported that it has secured all key components of its SOLO reactor unit and has completed supply-chain alignment for both critical nuclear-grade and non-nuclear- grade components and systems. TI said this derisks manufacturing and construction timelines while ensuring future deployment readiness. All components have been aligned with vendors qualified to meet the strictest nuclear and industrial performance requirements. The SOLO Micro-Modular Reactor (MMR) is
a 1 MWe (5 MWt) high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) designed for autonomous, off-grid operation. Its primary technological innovation is a “rule of precedent” approach, utilising commercially available, pre-licensed components to bypass typical regulatory delays. It uses helium gas as a coolant and a solid heterogeneous composite moderator. It is designed to use standard low-enriched uranium (LEU) UO2 pellets in Zircaloy cladding but is future-proofed to accept LEU+ and HALEU fuels when they become commercially available. I can operate for15 years without refuelling (extendable to 45 years via core swap) and fits in a standard 40ft shipping container. Its 2.5-metre-thick concrete biological shield reduces the radiation dose to below public limits, eliminating the need for a large emergency planning zone. Terra Innovatum said it has secured supply
pathways for the following safety-critical, nuclear-grade components: fuel, control and shutdown mechanisms, graphite, pressure vessel, isolation valves, reactor cooling tubes, core support structure, instrumentation & controls. engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. TI has also secured supply arrangements for non-nuclear-grade but mission-critical primary and secondary systems, ensuring full plant-level integration and execution continuity. ■
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