NEWS |
round up
NEW BUILD A SECOND REACTOR pressure vessel has arrived at the Hinkley Point C construction site in the UK. The first reactor arrived in February, 2023, and is already installed and welded in place at unit one of the power station. The reactor was shipped from the Framatome Saint Marcel factory, in France, to Avonmouth Docks, in Bristol, before being transported by barge to Combwich Wharf on the River Parrett.
INDIA’S LARGEST POWER generator, state-run power producer NTPC (formerly National Thermal Power Corporation) is investigating at least 30 locations across India for NPP construction to expand its clean energy portfolio. The sites are spread across five or six states, including Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha. NTPC, in view of the national goal to reach 100 GWe of nuclear power capacity by 2047, wants to install 30% of that target. The company, hopes to firm up a selection by the middle of this year.
PLANT OPERATION RUSSIAN REGULATOR ROSTECHNADZOR has issued a licence to extend the service life of the RBMK reactor at unit 4 of the Leningrad NPP following a comprehensive analysis and check on the condition of the equipment and documentation. Rostechnadzor also issued a licence for the handling of radioactive substances during their production, transportation and storage, that is, for the production of isotope products at unit 4 until 2030.
TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER Company Holdings (Tepco) postponed the resumption of operations at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP in Niigata Prefecture scheduled for 20 January after a safety alarm failed to sound during pre-start checks. In November 2025, Japan had approved the restart of the unit, which had been closed for more than a decade since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The alarm failed during a test removal of a control rod.
EQUIPMENT UK-BASED AMARINTH, a designer and manufacturer of low lifecycle cost centrifugal pumps and associated equipment, has been commissioned to supply bespoke electro-submersible pumps to EDF Energy for use at the Sizewell B NPP in Suffolk. According to Amarinth, the new pumps will perform a range of duties including the removal of effluent from drainage tanks.
Consortium launched Maritime Nuclear
UK-based Lloyd’s Register (LR) has launched the Maritime Nuclear Consortium “to set the highest international standards for safe, secure and commercially viable nuclear-powered ships”. The group unites leading expertise from the nuclear, maritime, insurance and regulatory sectors. According to LR, the next generation of
advanced modular reactors (AMRs) will allow ships to sail for years without refuelling, with zero carbon emissions and rigorous safety built in from the start. With no need to trade efficiency for emissions standards, ships can run at full design speed instead of slow steaming. Core membership includes: Lloyd’s Register
(Lead, Safety & Secretariat), Rolls-Royce (Reactor Design), Babcock International Group (Ship Design, Construction and Support), Global Nuclear Security Partners (Security & Safeguards) -GNSP, Stephenson Harwood (Legal & Regulatory) and NorthStandard (Insurance). The consortium’s initial programme will:
● Demonstrate a Statement of Design Acceptability (SODA) for a generic, site- licensed advanced modular reactor;
● Develop a class certification framework integrating nuclear and maritime regulation;
● Define a security and safeguards architecture to meet regulatory requirements;
● Establish insurability pathways for nuclear- powered vessels;
● Publish guidance for industry and government to accelerate safe adoption.
More than 700 marine nuclear reactors
are in operation in naval fleets worldwide. The challenge is to adapt that technology for commercial use. By shaping rules for emerging reactor designs, the UK aims to position itself as a leading developer of maritime nuclear power and contribute to the net zero ocean economy. However, this is not the only initiative developing regulatory and other guidance
Czech Republic Upgrades for Temelín and Dukovany Czech utility ČEZ is to invest invest CZK3.8bn ($181m) this year to upgrade the Temelín NPP and CZK4bn for modernisation work at the Dukovany NPP. Two VVER-1000 units are in operation at Temelín, which began operation in 2000 and 2002. Four VVER-440 units are currently in operation at the Dukovany site, which began operating between 1985 and 1987. At Temelín, where ČEZ has already invested
almost CZK38bn, work planned for this year includes completing the transition to a longer fuel cycle, continuing to modernise the control system and expanding the use of artificial intelligence and modern control methods.
8 | January 2026 |
www.neimagazine.com
for nuclear shipping. In August 2024, the IAEA gave details of a new project, Atomic Technology Licensed for Applications at Sea (ATLAS), which was launched in 2025. ATLAS aims to establish a robust framework for the safe and secure deployment of peaceful civil nuclear applications at sea, drawing upon well-established IAEA standards and guidance for nuclear safety, security, and safeguards. One key document currently available
for reference is the International Maritime Organisation’s IMO’s International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the most recent version of which was adopted in 1974 and entered into force in 1980. However, the 1974 Convention has been updated and amended on numerous occasions since. It lays down regulations for the safe construction, operation and maintenance of passenger and cargo ships. It also specifies the regulations for the equipment to be used on the ship. The IMO is currently developing and
revising regulations for nuclear-powered shipping, with major steps taken in 2025 to update outdated rules to accommodate modern reactor designs and the potential of nuclear propulsion for decarbonisation, tasking its Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC) to begin work in January 2026. This revision aims to create a modern, technology-neutral framework, updating the existing 1981 Code of Safety for Nuclear Merchant Ships and relevant SOLAS Convention sections to address new technologies and IAEA standards. Then there is a whole body of legislation
and regulations already developed and implemented in Russia which covers nuclear powered icebreakers and small floating NPPs. Russia has also a class of specialised ships and floating facilities to service nuclear shipping which are covered by special regulations. ■
Energy engineers have been gradually
switching Temelín to a longer fuel cycle since 2023. Unit 2 will switch to a 16-month in spring followed by unit 1 in autumn unit. “Thanks to the extension of the fuel cycle, we will reduce the pumping life of the unit because of fewer shutdowns, and therefore reduce cooling and heating of the units. We will also get increased production of almost 2 TWh a year for both NPPs said Bohdan Zronek, ČEZ Board member and Director of the nuclear energy division. Temelín will continue to transition to a new
control system supplied by Westinghouse. Since last year, part of the new control system has been introduced at unit 1. In the first months of this year, this will also take place at unit 2. The
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