NEWS |
round up
POLICY A NEW REPORT by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) stresses the need to address the potential impacts of climate change during the licensing of NPPs. “Nuclear power plants: NRC should take actions to fully consider the potential effects of climate change”, looks at how climate change could affect NPPs.
BANGLADESH PRIME MINISTER Sheikh Hasina has asked Rosatom to consider building a second NPP at Rooppur during talks with Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev. In a press briefing after the meeting, Sheikh Hasina’s speech writer M Nazrul Islam said she had told Rosatom that her government would like to construct another NPP at Rooppur on completion of the current project.
THE US DEPARTMENT of Energy (DOE) has announced more than $59m for 25 US colleges and universities, two national laboratories, and one industry organisation to support nuclear energy research and development and provide access to world-class research facilities. DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy says, with these awards, it has surpassed $1bn in total funding to US colleges and universities since 2009.
A NEW REPORT, “Synchronizing energy transitions towards possible Net-Zero for India: Affordable and clean energy for all”, has been launched by Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. The study investigates seven alternate scenarios, four of which assess the potential net-zero 2070 pathways through various energy mixes. One of the key findings of this study is that net zero is impossible without substantial nuclear power generation in 2070.
THE US DEPARTMENT of Energy has released an information guide for communities considering coal-to-nuclear conversions. The 28-page guide is based on a 2022 study which found more than 300 existing and retired coal power plant sites could make coal-to-nuclear conversions. That study found new nuclear plants could save up to 35% on construction costs depending on how existing site assets could be repurposed.
SAFETY & SECURITY THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) says it has been informed by Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), operator of the Fukushima Daiichi NPP, that localised corrosion and flaking of paint had been discovered on three tanks used to store treated contaminated water at the site.
Fangchenggang 4 grid connection
Unit 4 at China’s Fangchenggang NPP in the Guangxi Autonomous Region has been connected to the grid, according to China General Nuclear (CGN). The unit is the second of two demonstration
Hualong One (HPR1000) reactors (units 3 and 4) at the site. There will eventually be six reactors housed
at the Fangchenggang plant. Phase one (units 1&2) are CPR-1000 units which began commercial operation in 2016. Units 5 and 6 are also expected to be Hualong One reactors. Hot functional testing of Fangchenggang
4 began in September 2023. The National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) issued CGN a licence to operate in February 2024 and fuel loading was completed on 2 March.
United States USNC and Peregrine collaboration Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. (USNC) and Peregrine Turbine Technologies (PTT) are to collaborate with the aim of integrating USNC’s Pylon reactor with PTT’s patented supercritical CO2
(sCO2 )
energy conversion system and advanced heat exchanger technologies. The Pylon reactor, developed by USNC, is a
compact unit designed to provide 1-5 MWt for up to three years. In 2024, USNC was selected for the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) Front End Engineering programme as a step toward demonstrating the Pylon reactor at the DOME (Demonstration and Operation of Microreactor Experiments) test bed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) by 2027. PTT’s energy conversion system, developed in
collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories’ Brayton Laboratory, is tailored for advanced nuclear reactors. It offers enhanced efficiency compared with traditional steam and Air Brayton conversion systems. Pylon is a lower mass system that is more
easily transportable to off-grid locations and space. The Pylon D1 Demonstration System, scheduled for testing at DOME, incorporates a compact HTGR that employs FCM nuclear fuel, a metal hydride neutron moderator, and graphite control drums. The system uses helium to transport heat generated by nuclear fission away from the reactor through a primary coolant loop. This heat is then transferred to a secondary gas loop, which could involve various gases like helium, air, or supercritical CO2
(currently being evaluated for optimal
performance), ultimately dissipating the heat into the surroundings. PTT said it was “working to field a family of its proprietary modular sCO2
energy conversion systems with initial capabilities ranging from 350 kW to 10 MW”.
8 | May 2024 |
www.neimagazine.com
NNSA inspections followed and permission to launch the reactor was granted. The 1,180 MWe pressurised water reactor achieved criticality in April.
Unit 3 began commercial operation in March
2023. The first concrete for the nuclear island of unit 3 was poured in 2015 and for unit 4 in 2016. The units were originally expected to be launched in 2019 and 2020 but this was delayed until 2022 for both units. In 2020 commissioning of the units was again postponed due to the coronavirus epidemic. CGN said the Fangchenggang demonstration
project is of “great significance” for the serial production of Hualong One reactors. Fangchenggang 3&4 are 39% owned by Guangxi Investment Group and 61% by CGN. ■
Republic of Korea KHNP looks to digital twin technology Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) says it is developing digital twin technology to monitor and control South Korea’s 26 nuclear power units more effectively. A digital model will allow its central R&D centre in Daejeon to remotely check the units at all five NPPs – Kori, Wolsong, Hanbit, Hanul and Saeul – and react immediately to unexpected situations. KHNP’s digital twin development is currently
based on detailed system blueprints of Saeul units 1&2 in Ulsan. Its development is expected to be finished in 2026, and will be first deployed at Shin Kori NPP’s units 3&4 in Ulsan. As part of its digital twin drive, the Daejeon
base has begun monitoring Hanul unit 5 in Uljin, some 290 km away, and showing the unit’s digital replica in real-time. The unit’s reactor coolant pump (RCP) monitoring system is now being tested. The digital twin technology is part of ongoing development projects by KHNP’s Artificial Intelligence Monitoring & Diagnosis (AIMD) Centre in Daejeon. Having set up a complete remote command centre for the power plants, the centre oversees the facilities and checks for any malfunctions by detecting signs of vibrations emanating from a power plant in trouble. The magnitude of the vibrations the centre can detect is so small that they are undetectable to the plant experiencing the technical difficulty. The AIMD centre’s AI uses cumulative big data
on vibrations from KHNP’s 12,387 mechanical parts. Since August 2022, the AI has run diagnostic testing on over 26,900 parts, issued 285 alarms and prompted the company to take necessary actions 58 times. In 2021 KHNP registered the monitoring system under the trademark Prometheus and acquired a patent.
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