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POLICY
DURING UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to France, following talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, four documents were signed on defence cooperation, restoration of critical infrastructure, and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. These included letters on the renewal of the Agreement between the Governments of France and Ukraine for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.
KAZAKHSTAN PLANS TO spend $10-12bn on construction of its first NPP if the project is approved at a national referendum. The figure is contained in the draft law “On the use of alternative energy sources”, published on the portal “Open regulatory legal acts”. The document will undergo public discussion.
THE ASSOCIATION OF Ghana Industries (AGI), the umbrella body of manufacturing companies in the country, has endorsed adding nuclear power to Ghana’s energy mix. However, AGI called on the government to ensure a stable macroeconomic environment to enable industries participate fully, and benefit from the country’s nuclear power programme.
SAFETY & SECURITY AN INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) Safety Aspects of Long Term Operation (SALTO) team of experts has completed a review of long term operational safety at unit 1 of the Angra NPP in Brazil. The review mission was requested by nuclear utility Eletronuclear. Two IAEA pre-SALTO missions in 2013 and 2018, followed by a pre-SALTO follow-up in 2022, were previously conducted to review the long term safety of the unit.
IN KYRGYZSTAN A truck transporting uranium waste from the Tuyuk-Suu storage fell into a ravine near a river in the village of Min-Kush. The accident was only made public after two days, when video from the scene of the accident was distributed on social networks.
JORDAN’S NATIONAL CENTRE for Nuclear & Radiological Security has become an IAEA collaborating centre for capacity building in nuclear security detection and response. The main areas of engagement will focus on the development of training materials, hosting workshops and technical visits, and cooperation in coordinated research activities.
United Kingdom
Tokamak Energy to use digital twin UK-based Tokamak Energy plans to use a new digital twin computer software programme, SOPHIA, for tests at its ST40 fusion device when it resumes plasma operations. The ST40 will mirror experiments simulated virtually in the modelling programme to improve efficiency and accelerate progress on the company’s roadmap. Tokamak Energy, founded in 2009 as a spin- off from UK Atomic Energy Authority, aims to demonstrate net power from its pilot plant in the mid-2030s. Using SOPHIA, Tokamak Energy scientists and engineers expect maximum gains from every experiment without needing to test multiple scenarios in the physical machine, removing human error and fast-tracking results. The ST40 is the first privately-owned fusion machine to achieve a plasma temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius, the threshold for commercial fusion. In 2024, Tokamak Energy aims to break the record it holds for highest triple product, a widely recognised industry measure of plasma density, temperature and confinement.
SOPHIA, designed in-house, was first trialled
in late 2023 to help Tokamak Energy develop high-performance diverted plasma scenarios in its high field spherical tokamak. It has since been upgraded and will be fully integrated into ST40 plasma operations. It can be programmed to run multiple simulations at once and predicted results have been proven to mirror actual experiments. This ensures the ST40 tests do not breach machine limits or cause plasma disruptions. SOPHIA is also used for team training and is expected to be developed further for future devices. Dr Mike Porton, Tokamak Energy’s Chief
Engineer, said: “Our new tokamak simulator SOPHIA will maximise gains from experimental goals, reduce risk and help perfect plasma scenarios quicker than previously thought possible.” In February 2023 Tokamak Energy revealed
plans to build a prototype spherical tokamak, the ST80-HTS, at the UKAEA’s Culham Campus, near Oxford by 2026. The ST80-HTS would “demonstrate the full potential of high temperature superconducting magnets” and inform the design of its fusion pilot plant, ST-E1, intended to demonstrate the capability to deliver electricity in the early 2030s. This would be followed by the roll-out of 500 MW commercial fusion plants “in the mid-2030s”. Tokamak Energy recently signed an
agreement with the US Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the DOE’s $46m fusion development programme which aims to support private companies in bringing fusion toward technical and commercial viability. Selected companies will team with US national laboratories, universities, and others to address major technical and commercialisation milestones for the successful design of a fusion pilot plant.
10 | July 2024 |
www.neimagazine.com
Africa Guinea and Burkina Faso nuclear MoU Guinea and Burkina Faso both signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with Rosatom on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2024) with a view to developing nuclear energy. The MOU between the Republic of Guinea and Rosatom’s Engineering Division provided for interaction on a project for floating power units in Guinea. Under the agreement, the parties will consider the possibilities of developing a project for floating power units in Guinea and work out the terms and conditions for its implementation. “Cooperation involves joint work to develop a solution for power supply to consumers in Guinea, both industrial and household, by deploying floating NPPs with RITM-200 reactor facilities, which have already proven their performance in operation,” said the Deputy Head of Rosatom’s Engineering Division, Vladimir Aptekarev. “As you know, the issue of electricity supply in the African region is very acute, and our main task is to provide a quick, reliable and environmentally friendly solution.” The RITM-200 reactor has proven itself
in operation on Russia’s nuclear-powered icebreakers of project 22220. The reactor is now being adapted to power Russian projects for floating NPPs (RITM-200S) and ground-based small power plants (RITM-200N) to provide power to industrial projects in the Arctic and far east regions. Three MOUs were signed between Rosatom and the Burkina Faso Ministry of Energy, Mines & Careers covering education and training in the field of nuclear energy; the assessment and development of nuclear infrastructure; and the formation of a positive public opinion regarding nuclear energy. The documents fix the framework conditions for cooperation in these areas in order to develop a national programme for the peaceful use of atomic energy. In particular, specific steps are being taken
to build human resources for the Burkina Faso nuclear industry. Efforts will be made to develop the interaction of specialised educational institutions, including the organisation of joint short-term educational programmes, teacher training, the development of educational and scientific literature, and student exchange. The parties also intend to determine the
current needs for the development of the nuclear infrastructure of Burkina Faso. The work will be conducted in accordance with the approaches and recommendations of the IAEA, as well as the best practices of Rosatom. Cooperation between Rosatom and Burkina
Faso began in October 2023, when a MOU on nuclear energy was signed on the sidelines of the VI Forum Russian Energy Week in Moscow. In March 2024, a roadmap was signed for the development of Russian-Burkini cooperation. The parties intend to work out a programme for implementing nuclear generation and non- energy use of radiation technologies.
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