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with extending the operating life of the plants. The extension will relieve Engie of a significant financial burden linked to provisions made for the initially planned shutdown. The deal also transfers financial


responsibility for nuclear waste and used fuel to the Belgian government. As a result, Engie will no longer be exposed future costs related to the treatment of waste. It determines a fixed amount to cover future waste treatment costs covering all Engie nuclear facilities in Belgium. This totals €15bn ($16bn) payable in two instalments depending on the category of waste. The first tranche has already been paid, with a second due upon reactor restart, scheduled for November following maintenance and refuelling outages. Engie said preparatory works for the 10-year


extension of the two nuclear reactors “are in full progress”. The remaining steps include: fuel deliveries to the plants; final validation of the extension file by the nuclear safety authority (expected in June); and works on the nuclear units during the scheduled shutdown periods (scheduled for April to July for Tihange 3 and July to end of October for Doel 4). “Within the boundaries of its strategy, Engie will also be open for discussions on the federal energy policy on nuclear.” Belgium’s Energy Ministry said the agreement


“is a real paradigm shift that sends a clear signal to the operators: Belgium is entering into discussions about the future of its energy mix without taboos and with the will to build a resilient, affordable and low-carbon energy policy for the future.”


Japan First power reactor dismantling Chubu Electric Power Co has begun dismantling the reactor at unit 2 of its Hamaoka NPP in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture – Japan’s first commercial reactor to undergo the process. Disassembly work started with removal of the


top lid of the pressure vessel. The lid, some 6 metres in diameter, 3 metres in height and 80 centimetres thick, was removed by crane. The first step involves cutting the lid into smaller sections approximately 4 metres long and 1 metre wide. Its removal is expected to be completed by July 2025. Reactor dismantling takes place in the third


of four decommissioning phases. In December 2024, the Nuclear Regulation Authority approved Chubu Electric to begin this phase for the reactors at Hamaoka units 1&2. Both units are boiling water reactors. Unit 1 (540 MWe) began operating in 1976 and unit 2 (840 MWe) in 1978. Due to updated seismic regulations introduced after the 2006 earthquake, Chubu Electric decided in 2008 to decommission both units rather than upgrade them. Initial work began in 2009. Used fuel from the reactors was transferred to pools at Hamaoka units 4&5 and all fresh fuel was removed from the site. Since 2015, the facility has undergone extensive decontamination


work, as well as decommissioning of the turbines, generators, and some reactor building components. Chubu Electric had planned to begin


dismantling the reactors in fiscal 2023, but postponed the start of work for a year to investigate measures against radiation exposure. In 2024, it extended the planned duration of the dismantling work from six to 12 years. Phase 4 decommissioning – tearing down the reactor building – is planned for fiscal 2036 and completion of decommissioning fiscal 2042. The process is expected to generate around


450,000 tonnes of metal and concrete waste, approximately 20,000 tonnes of which will be classified as low-level radioactive waste. The waste will be classified according to contamination levels: L1 (control rods), L2 (parts of the reactor pressure vessel), and L3 (peripheral piping). However, as yet no disposal site for this waste has been identified. Chubu Electric estimates that the


decommissioning of the unit 1 reactor will cost about JPY37.9bn ($254.4m) and unit 2 reactor about JPY46.2bn.


United Kingdom Deep borehole canister project US-based Deep Isolation has completed a multi- year project with the UK Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ), which explores the feasibility and commercial readiness of deep borehole nuclear waste disposal. The project, launched in December 2022, which was supported by the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund (EEF)-9001, resulted in the manufacture of a first-of-a-kind disposal canister prototype. In February 2025, Deep Isolation was


awarded a grant by DESNZ to develop a corrosion-resistant canister for the deep disposal of used nuclear fuel. The project was a collaboration between the UK Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC), the University of Sheffield and US-based NAC International. It included the manufacture and testing of a prototype canister tailored to UK requirements and an assessment of the UK’s manufacturing supply chain capabilities. The canister had to ensure the safe encapsulation of used fuel assemblies in borehole repositories 1-3 km underground. A key outcome was the fabrication of two


prototype canisters designed to encapsulate a pressurised water reactor used fuel assembly for dry storage, transport, and final disposal. At the same time, Deep Isolation refined its performance models for long-term safety, leveraging corrosion resistance and post- closure gas migration studies. The project raised the technology readiness level (TRL) from TRL 3 to TRL 6, a significant milestone toward deployment. Performance feedback from the UK project supported an updated canister design, with the second prototype fabricated in early 2025 for additional testing. Deep Isolation said it will use this prototype to further demonstrate safety and feasibility.


round up


SAFETY & SECURITY RUSSIA’S LENINGRAD NPP has introduced industrial operation of a video analytical system for employees to strengthen compliance with safety requirements. It is being used at both RBMK and VVER units at the plant. At the first stage, 90 cameras were connected to the system. They allow real-time control of almost 45 rooms with 6kV and 10 kV electrical installations to ensure personnel compliance with safety rules.


INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY Agency (IAEA) experts have confirmed that the tritium concentration in the 11th batch of diluted ALPS treated water, which the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) began discharging on 12 March, is far below Japan’s operational limit. Contaminated water, used to cool the melted reactor cores in the aftermath of the 2011 nuclear disaster at Fukushima, is stored in around 1,000 huge tanks at the plant containing more than 1.3m tonnes and total storage capacity has been reached.


A LEAKAGE OF some 100 cubic metres of reactor coolant occurred at unit 3 of Finland’s Olkiluoto NPP (OL3) related to the filling of the reactor pool, plant operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj’s (TVO) reported. The coolant flowed into containment rooms closed to the environment and into the floor drain system of the containment. The incident did not pose any risk to the personnel, the environment, or nuclear safety.


NUCLEAR FUEL NUCLEAR INDUSTRIES OF Brazil (INB) has signed a contract with Internexco GmbH (part of Rosatom) for the temporary conversion and enrichment abroad of up to 275,000 kg of uranium concentrate (U3


O8 ) produced at the Uranium


Concentration Unit in Caetite, Bahia. The final product will be returned by December 2027 in the form of UF6 enriched to 4.25% and will be used in the manufacture of nuclear fuel for the Angra dos Reis NPP.


FRANCE’S ORANO AND Ukrainian nuclear utility Energoatom have signed a long-term commercial agreement for the supply of enrichment services until 2040. The agreement was signed in Vienna by Energoatom Acting President Petro Kotin and Orano CEO Nicolas Maes in presence Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Energoatom Yarek Neverovich. The contract guarantees Energoatom a reliable and diversified supply of enrichment services to provide fuel for Ukraine’s NPPs.


www.neimagazine.com | April 2025 | 9


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