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round up
NEW BUILD THE TOP HEAD OF THE steel containment vessel (inner dome) has been installed at unit 1 of China’s Xudabao NPP in Liaoning Province. China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said this “marked the transition of the unit’s construction from civil engineering to the installation phase”.
COLD TESTING AT UNIT 3 of China’s Sanmen NPP in Zhejiang province, has been successfully completed, according to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). Cold testing is a key milestone in the nuclear power commissioning process and lays a solid foundation for subsequent unit hot tests, charging start-up and other work.
CONCRETING OF THE FIRST tier of the internal containment shell has been completed at the reactor building for unit 3 of the El-Dabaa NPP under construction in Egypt. The work was carried out by specialists from the Cairo branch of TITAN (part of Rosatom). During concreting, 426 cubic metres of concrete mixture was laid The inner containment is erected in stages, tier by tier, with subsequent integration into a monolithic structure.
PLANT OPERATION UNIT 6 OF BULGARIA’S KOZLODUY NPP was taken offline for the replacement of a defective rupture disk on the turbine’s moisture separator reheater, located in the conventional (non-nuclear) part of the unit, according to the Kozloduy NPP website. No pollutants have been released into the environment, the NPP said.
DATA CENTRES & AI THE US DEPARTMENT OF Energy (DOE) has announced 26 science and technology challenges of national importance to advance the Genesis Mission and accelerate innovation and discovery through artificial intelligence (AI). The Genesis Mission, launched in
November 2025, is a DOE-led national initiative designed to accelerate scientific discovery by integrating AI with federal research capabilities.
THE US DEPARTMENT OF Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) is implementing three key projects to improve nuclear safety and efficiency using AI. These efforts emphasise both the innovative technologies under development and the broader impact on regulatory frameworks and safety measures. Argonne researchers are working with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to explore how AI can be used in the nuclear industry.
6 | March 2026 |
www.neimagazine.com Paks-II first concrete
A graphic showing Hungary’s Paks-II expansion project. Source: Rosatom
First concrete has been poured for unit 1 of Hungary’s Paks-II expansion project (also known as Paks unit 5). The Paks II project was launched in 2014 by an inter-governmental agreement between Hungary and Russia for two VVER-1200 reactors (units 5&6) to be supplied by Rosatom. The contract was supported by a Russian state loan to finance the majority of the project. The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority issued the licence for the units in August 2022. In December 2024, Hungary’s National Atomic Energy Authority (OAH – Országos Atomenergia Hivatal) approved the preliminary safety report required for pouring first concrete for Paks II. The pouring of first concrete marks the
transition of the facility to the status of a nuclear power plant under construction, according to IAEA standards.
The event was attended by International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi, who recalled that the project had faced “strong headwinds and was a good example of determination and willpower. “We can only celebrate the fact that together they have been able to overcome these difficulties - be they political, demographic, financial or otherwise - and move the project forward.” Hungarian Minister of Foreign Economic
Relations & Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó said completion of Paks-II “will mean we will be able to produce, using nuclear energy, around 70% of Hungary’s electricity demand”. He added: “This will significantly reduce our dependence on international markets and their often completely irrational price increases.” He noted that the Hungarian government
had taken the decision to upgrade the Paks NPP at a time when nuclear energy had been disparaged but said the critics had since come to acknowledge that nuclear was the cheapest and most environmentally friendly way to reliably generate large amounts of electricity. He added Paks II would give Hungary a big advantage in future. “We have agreed with President Donald Trump that the United States will abolish the sanctions previously adopted in connection
with Paks II. In Brussels, we ourselves have prevented and are preventing the European Union from imposing sanctions against the nuclear sector. And we will defeat the opposition,” he emphasised. “Today we have reached an important milestone, and after that milestone we will have even more important tasks. The investment must be accelerated and completed as soon as possible,” he said. “A few more years, a few more years of construction, a few more years of great work, and
we can connect Paks II to Hungary’s electricity network, and thereby take a huge step towards achieving Hungarian energy sovereignty.” Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev
noted: “Today’s landmark event illustrates the constructive and mutually beneficial relations that have developed between our countries. The Paks-II NPP is becoming a logical continuation of our long-term cooperation in nuclear energy. For Hungary, Paks-II is, of course, a strategic step that will bring the country a number of fundamental advantages and will become a driver for the development of the national economy. For Rosatom this project is yet another proof of our leadership position in the nuclear industry and a contribution to the development of Russian industry.” Stanislav Khoroshikh, Director of TITAN-2
in Hungary said pouring first concrete was preceded by many months of preparation. “The work was carried out in close cooperation with Hungarian partner Bayer Construct. A high degree of coordination has made it possible to ensure compliance with all technological, environmental and regulatory requirements. TITAN-2 has extensive experience in constructing the most modern nuclear power plants in Russia and abroad, and this experience allows us to confidently move on to the active phase of construction, ensuring a high level of quality, safety and compliance with approved deadlines.” Concreting will be carried out continuously until the end of the year. The materials that will be needed to construct the foundation slab will include almost 9,000 tonnes of reinforcement and 43,000 cubic metres of concrete mixture. After the foundation is ready, the construction of the internal and external containments of the reactor building, the construction of ceilings and the installation of equipment will begin. The melt trap will be installed first component to be installed. This has already been manufactured in Russia and delivered to the site. Work on the fabrication of the reactor pressure
vessels at AEM-Spetsstal in St Petersburg began in April 2024. ■
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