| NEWS At the final stage, designers and
technologists worked out industrial manufacturing methods and created full-size mock-ups of individual structural elements. These included a support element 1650 mm high (a set of which serves as a support for a graphite fuel assembly core) and a working element of the control and protection system (a long flexible structure assembled from separate sections each 500 mm high). “It is important to emphasise that the development of the technology for manufacturing structural elements for the HTGR was carried out using industrial equipment available at the site of our technological partner, said Fedor Grigoriev, project curator at Rosenergoatom. “This will make it possible in the future to apply the experience gained not only for the manufacture of other structural elements for the HTGR, but also to use the technology in other innovative projects of the Russian nuclear industry.” Russia is currently developing next-
generation HTGR technology with a primary focus on large-scale hydrogen production. A key project is development of a NPP featuring four 200 MWt helium-cooled HTGR units. In early 2025, Rosatom’s Science Division launched a pilot-industrial line at Research Institute Scientific and Production Association (NPO Nauchno Proizvodstvennoe Obedinenie LUCH) to produce TRISO (TRI-structural ISOtropic) fuel pellets for the reactor.
Kazakhstan Second NPP site selected The Kazakh government has approved the location for its second NPP. According to an official decree, the facility will be constructed in the Zhambyl district of the Almaty region, adjacent to the site selected for the first NPP. The Ministry of Justice published Government Resolution No 40 On the Construction and Construction Site of the Nuclear Facility Second Nuclear Power Plant, in the Adilet system of regulatory legal acts. Earlier reports indicated that contracts for
the construction of Kazakhstan’s second and third nuclear plants had been awarded to China’s CNNC. The first plant is being developed by Russian state corporation Rosatom in the village of Ulken, also in Zhambyl district, on the shore of Lake Balkhash, approximately 400 km northwest of Almaty. The design capacity of the first plant is 2.4 GWe, comprising two VVER-1200 reactors. Rosatom has already begun preparatory work on the site. The foundation is scheduled to be poured in 2029, with commissioning planned for 2035. Kazakhstan is the world’s leading producer
of uranium. Although it does not currently use nuclear energy, it is not without nuclear experience: it has three operating research reactors, and a Russian-designed BN-350 sodium-cooled fast reactor operated near Aktau for 26 years, until 1999.
Kazakhstan has been preparing for a
nuclear power programme to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, diversify its energy mix and reduce carbon emissions for some time. Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP), a subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund, was set up in 2014. As well as being designated as the owner/ operator of a future plant, KNPP was tasked with pre-project work including a feasibility study to justify the need for nuclear power (carried out in 2018) and locating a site. As well as the proposed first nuclear power plant, there are also options for using small modular reactors to replace retiring coal plants, with the government targeting a 5% nuclear share of the national generation mix by 2035..
United States Reorganisation at NRC The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said it is launching a significant reorganisation to streamline decision making, consolidate functions, and align with national goals for more efficient licensing and deployment of safe, innovative nuclear technology. It will reorganise around core business lines
of new reactors, operating reactors, and nuclear materials and waste. Licensing and inspection functions will be integrated within each business line to create a single point of accountability and improve coordination between licensing and inspection teams from the onset of projects. In addition, functions carried out under the corporate support business line will be consolidated to improve efficiency. “We are in one of the most consequential periods in the NRC’s history, and this reorganisation enables us to meet the moment with more efficient and timely decision making,” said Chairman Ho Nieh. “This reorganisation focuses the NRC’s structure around national priorities aimed at accelerating the safe deployment of nuclear technologies. This reorganisation is also aimed at achieving greater consistency in the implementation of agency safety programmes across the NRC regional offices.” The changes meet requirements in Executive
Order (EO) 14300, Ordering Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and EO 14210, Implementing the Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimisation Initiative, enhancing the agency’s ability to respond effectively to current and future demands. Executive Director for Operations Mike King
said: “We will maintain a continued focus on the safety and security of operating facilities while creating a structure and regulatory culture that ensures accountability and service for Americans.” NRC’s near-term priorities will include the appointment of key leaders for the reactor safety programme, and the staff’s development of a new organisational chart. NRC said it will strive to implement the reorganisation plan by the end of September.
round up
USED FUEL THE US DEPARTMENT of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) is restarting uranium recovery operations at the Savannah River Site (SRS) H Canyon facility in South Carolina. The decision enables the facility to once again recover uranium and valuable isotopes through its chemical separations capabilities while continuing to safely process used nuclear fuel as part of the site’s clean-up mission.
THE US DEPARTMENT of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy has awarded more than $19m to five US companies to research and develop recycling technologies for used nuclear fuel. The projects will aim to maximise reliable power production, end US reliance on foreign sources of enriched uranium, and drastically reducing the volume of stored used fuel. The projects will last up to three years and require a minimum 20% cost share from each award recipient.
CLEAN-UP US DEPARTMENT OF Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) crews have cleared all 497 converters (large process components) from the C-333 Process Building at the Paducah site in Kentucky. The clean-up of the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (GDP) is a multi-decade undertaking with a total project cost is estimated at $17bn for a projected completion date between 2065 and 2070.
THE UK’S SELLAFIELD Ltd and the Robotics & AI Collaboration (RAICo) have completed the first trial of a specially designed, patent-pending contamination swabbing tool, mounted on a quadruped robot, in an area containing radioactive material. Spot, the quadruped walking robot from Hyundai Motor Group’s robotics subsidiary Boston Dynamics, was used in the trials.
THE OAK RIDGE OFFICE of Environmental Management (OREM) and clean0up contractor United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) continue to make steady cleanup progress at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The latest advancement involves taking the final steps to ready the Old Steam Plant for demolition.
ADVANCED REACTORS BELGIAN MINISTER OF Energy Mathieu Bihet has announced cooperation between the European EAGLES consortium and French-based nuclear start-up newcleo for development of the LEANDREA (Lead-cooled European Advanced Nuclear DEmonstrator for Research and Applications) project being developed in Belgium.
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