| NEWS
United States Argonne completes fast fission tests US-based Oklo has completed the second phase of the Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article (THETA) testing campaign in collaboration with the US Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). THETA is a sodium fixture with instrumentation installed at ANL’s Mechanisms Engineer Test Loop (METL) facility. Oklo is developing the Aurora microreactor, which uses heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core to a supercritical carbon dioxide power conversion system to generate electricity. It will use HALEU fuel. Oklo says the reactor builds on the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) and space reactor legacy. EBR-II features a hexagonal fuel element with a sealed heat pipe and a passive air-cooling system. Oklo initially marketed a 1.5 MWe microreactor version of the Aurora, but has now expanded its capacity offerings from 15 MWe to 100 MWe. A site permit was received in 2019 from the
US Department of Energy (DOE) to build its first Aurora facility at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). In 2020, Oklo submitted a combined licence application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to build and operate the Aurora microreactor at INL. However, NRC denied the application, citing the company’s failure to provide sufficient design information. A revised application was submitted in September 2022. The THETA testing campaign at ANL is
focused on key thermal-hydraulic behaviour of Oklo’s fast fission reactor design. “A better understanding of key thermal-hydraulic behaviour enables design optimisations while providing high-fidelity data using high-fidelity instrumentation.” Oklo noted. THETA is a 500 litre liquid sodium facility that is used to develop components and instrumentation as well as acquire experimental data for validation of reactor thermal hydraulic and safety analysis codes. It is installed in one of the 71 cm nominal diameter METL test vessels. The facility can be used to simulate normal conditions as well as a variety of accident conditions characteristic of a liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor. THETA comprises a traditional primary
coolant and secondary coolant system. The primary system is submerged in the pool of sodium and consists of a pump, electrically heated core, intermediate heat exchanger, flowmeter, and connected piping and thermal barriers (redan). The secondary system, located outside of the sodium pool, consists of a pump, flowmeter, sodium to air heat exchanger, and connected piping and valves. Sophisticated instrumentation such as Rayleigh backscatter based optical fibre temperature sensors and high temperature rated (550°C) electromagnetic flowmeters are being used. Oklo shared costs for the work at ANL with funding from a DOE Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) voucher.
UK Government buys Wylfa and Oldbury As part of his recent UK budget statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “I can announce that this week the government has reached agreement on a £160m ($203m) deal with Hitachi to purchase the Wylfa site in Ynys Môn and the Oldbury site in South Gloucestershire.” This was confirmed in paragraph 5.120 of the Budget Statement. Hunt said the purchase had been made “given the importance of securing nuclear sites for the success of the nuclear programme”. In January 2021, Hitachi subsidiary Horizon
Nuclear Power notified the UK Planning Inspectorate that it was withdrawing its application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) for Wylfa Newydd on Anglesey where it had planned to construct a NPP with two UK Advanced Boiling Water Reactors. The £20bn project had been expected to provide employment and business opportunities. Hitachi had announced the suspension of
the project in January 2019 and its intent to withdraw entirely in September 2020. In light of this and in the absence of a new funding policy from HM Government, Hitachi decided to wind- up Horizon as an active development entity by 31 March 2021. Hitachi continued to manage the site under the control of its subsidiary Hitachi Europe Limited. In his budget speech, Hunt added that, as
well as seeking a site for a new large-scale NPP, “the government is now moving to the next stage of the SMR process, with six companies invited to submit their initial tender responses by June this year”. He added that “no decisions have been taken on projects”. The government earlier outlined plans to increase nuclear energy capacity to 24 GWe by 2050, with a fleet of small modular reactors (SMRs) as part of that strategy. In October, EDF, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Holtec, NuScale Power, Rolls Royce SMR and Westinghouse were invited to bid for UK government contracts.
United States X-energy opens SMR training centre X-energy Reactor Company has opened the first training centre for future operators of its Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor (SMR). The Plant Support Center (PSC) is a 10,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility, which includes a full-scale plant control room simulator, reactor protection system prototype, and virtual reality experience, as well as offices and classrooms. The Xe-100 is a high-temperature gas-
cooled reactor with a thermal output of 200 MWt or an electrical output of 80 MWe. It can be scaled into a four-pack 320 MWe power plant, fuelled by the company’s proprietary TRISO-X tri-structural isotropic particle fuel. X-energy was selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in 2020 to receive up to $1.2bn in matching funds under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) to develop, license, build, and demonstrate an operational
round up
SAFETY AND SECURITY THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) is satisfied with the process of releasing tritium-containing treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi NPP into the sea, IAEA Director-General Rafael Marino Grossi said during a visit to Japan. The results of the water release so far have been “in line with what we were expecting” and “really to my satisfaction,” he told reporters during his visit to the plant.
AN INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) Safety Aspects of Long Term Operation (SALTO) team has completed a review of long term operational safety at unit 1 of Argentina’s the Atucha NP at the request of plant operator Nucleoelectrica Argentina SA. Two IAEA Pre-SALTO missions in 2016 and 2018, followed by a Pre-SALTO follow-up in 2021, were previously conducted to review the long term safety of the unit.
AN INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) Pre-SALTO (Safety Aspects of Long Term Operation) review mission has completed a review of long term operational safety at unit 1 of Romania’s Cernavoda Nuclear NPP at the request of plant’s operator, SN Nuclearelectrica (SNN). SNN is planning to refurbish the reactor and extend the total operating lifetime to approximately 60 years.
AN INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) team has completed a 11-day mission to the USA hosted by the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration. The team reviewed the nuclear security regime for nuclear material and nuclear facilities. This included an assessment of the governmental organisations and legislation relevant to physical protection, the regulatory role and procedures and practices for inspection and enforcement.
NUCLEAR FUEL US FUEL TECHNOLOGY company Lightbridge Corporation has achieved a critical milestone in developing its fuel after Idaho National Laboratory (INL) extruded coupon samples of Lightbridge Fuel material consisting of an alloy of depleted uranium and zirconium. The extrusion process involves pressing a metallic alloy billet through a die.
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