| NEWS California-based nuclear start-up Valar Atomics
was founded in 2023 and emerged from stealth in February 2025. It was one of 11 companies selected in June 2025 by DOE for its Reactor Pilot Program, which aims to achieve criticality for three reactors by 4th July 2026 in line with President Trump’s May Executive Order 14301. Valar was also one of four companies
selected by the DOE to take part in its Fuel Line Pilot Program to build and operate fuel production lines for research, development, and demonstration purposes and to provide a fast-tracked approach to commercial licensing. It supports the Reactor Pilot Program and establishes a domestic nuclear fuel supply chain for testing new reactors. The reactor will undergo non-nuclear testing
at USREL to ensure the helium seals and graphite moderators perform at operational temperatures. Once the on-site fuel fabrication facility is ready, planned for this spring, the TRISO fuel will be inserted to meet the 4 July criticality target.
Japan Trial power at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Unit 6 at Japan’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP in Niigata Prefecture, has begun power generation and transmission on a trial basis. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) restarted the unit earlier in February 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. Tepco plans to start full-fledged electricity transmission from unit 6 6 unit at the seven-reactor plant on 18 March. The unit will supply electricity to Tokyo and its nearby areas. Trial transmission was delayed from its initial schedule as a device to measure neutrons inside the reactor did not function properly. Tepco plans to disconnect the unit from the grid and then reconnect it multiple times before the trial ends, boosting its output gradually to 50% from 20% and then to its maximum level. The last time electricity was transmitted the unit was in late March 2012 before it was shut down for a regular checkup in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, unlike Fukushima Daiichi,
was unaffected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami as 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 noted: We will continue to work hand- in-hand with our industry partners and the local community to maintain the understanding and trust that is essential for the restart of the plant. Safety and disaster-resilience will remain uncompromising commitments for the entire Tepco team as we proceed with the work of bringing the plant back into service. Delivering a safe, stable supply of electricity that contributes to a net-zero future is our duty to Japan and the world.”
United States ORNL unveils SMR digital twin Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has developed a risk-informed digital twin specifically designed to enhance the operational efficiency and economic viability of small modular reactors (SMRs). This virtual model, developed in collaboration with GE Vernova Hitachi (GVH) and the University of Tennessee, mirrors real-time plant operations for GVH’s BWRX-300 SMR design. According to ORNL, a digital twin is a virtual model that adapts with real-time data, which can improve the competitiveness of SMRs by using probabilistic risk assessment to determine the likelihood of potential failure events. The ORNL digital twin tracks SMR equipment health and performance to inform decision-making and decrease the likelihood of unplanned shutdowns, which drive higher operational costs. The technology can also support today’s reactors and future designs. “This research moves the needle for SMRs,
providing a vital tool to make smarter, faster decisions while keeping costs down,” said Dr Michael D Muhlheim, a senior research and development staff member at ORNL, specifically within the Modern Nuclear Instrumentation and Controls (I&C) Group.
Russian Federation Carbon components for HTGRs As part of a Rosenergoatom (part of Rosatom) project to develop technological solutions for a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), full-size reactor components made of carbon-carbon composite material have been developed and manufactured. Specialists from OKBM Afrikantov in Nizhny Novgorod (part of Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division) studied the main properties of various types of carbon-carbon composite. OKBM Afrikantov also serves as the lead designer for the HTGR plant. It has already developed and approved the preliminary design and is moving toward the technical project phase. At the Institute of Reactor Materials (IRM) in Zarechny in the Sverdlovsk region (formerly part of the NA Dollezhal Scientific Research and Design Institute of Power Engineering – NIKIET), reactor tests were carried out at temperatures up to 1300°C as well as studies of the physical, mechanical and thermophysical properties of irradiated carbon material. Based on the results, carbon material based on standard carbon fabric was recognised as optimal for the manufacture of HTGR components. The use of a carbon- carbon composite material, characterised by stable physical and mechanical properties in a wide temperature range (from room temperature to 1600°C) and with high radiation resistance (including in aggressive environments) makes it possible to increase reliability and reduce the weight and size of reactor installations.
round up
REGULATION THE UK OFFICE FOR Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has served a fire enforcement notice on five organisations after identifying significant fire safety shortfalls at the Hinkley Point C construction site in Somerset. The Unit 1 HF (electrical) building was inspected in December 2025 as part of a targeted inspection to assess the Mechanical, Electrical and Heating (MEH) fire safety arrangements for compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
COMPANIES ADANI POWER LTD, one of India’s biggest private thermal power producers, has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary, Adani Atomic Energy Ltd (AAEL), signalling its entry into the nuclear energy space. AAEL has received the Certificate of Incorporation from the Central Registration Centre, Registrar of Companies.
NUCLEAR FUEL US-BASED CENTRUS ENERGY has announced that its subsidiary, American Centrifuge Operating (ACO), has agreed to a strategic collaboration with Fluor to serve as its Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor as Centrus proceeds with expansion of its uranium enrichment capacity in Piketon, Ohio.
US SOLSTICE ADVANCED Materials (formerly Honeywell) has announced that its Metropolis Works in Illinois is projected to produce over 10 kilotonnes (10 kt) of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) in 2026, which represents about a 20% increase from its planned output in 2024. Metropolis Works is the only UF6 conversion facility in the United States.
SWEDEN’S STUDSVIK NUCLEAR has signed a long-term service agreement with South Korea’s KEPCO Nuclear Fuel (KNF) and Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK CEN. This includes a comprehensive programme of performance testing of irradiated High-performance Alloy for Nuclear Application (HANA) Fuel and analysis to support KNF’s development of advanced nuclear fuel technologies for flexible operation of nuclear power plants.
USED FUEL US-BASED PROJECT Omega has emerged from stealth to announce its mission to rebuild the US nuclear fuel cycle by developing and deploying cutting edge technologies and processes to recycle used nuclear fuel into long-duration, high-density power sources, and critical materials for the nuclear industry.
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