NEWS |
round up
ADVANCED REACTORS THE UTAH SAN Rafael Energy Lab (USREL), a unit within the Utah Office of Energy Development (OED), and NuCube Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on siting one of NuCube’s microreactors at USREL’s energy lab in Orangeville.
FRANCE-BASED NUCLEAR start-up newcleo said its LFR-AS-200 small modular lead-cooled fast reactor has been accepted to enter the UK’s Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process, Newcleo applied to the UK Department of Energy Security & Net Zero for approval to enter the GDA in December 2024.
FRENCH-DUTCH START-up Thorizon is partnering with the MatéIS (Matériaux Ingénierie et Science) materials laboratory at French engineering school Insa de Lyon and the Curium company in Montagny to study how materials behave in contact with molten salts.
SMRs
SWEDISH NUCLEAR ENERGY company Blykalla and Norway’s Norsk Kjernekraft are launching a joint project company to develop an SMR site in Norway on the Arctic island of Svalbard. The initiative is the first step in a broader rollout, with additional sites across Norway already in planning.
KOREA HYDRO & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has signed a memorandum of understanding in the field of SMRs with the state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). The agreement includes exchanging technical information, jointly reviewing the possibility of introducing SMRs tailored to Thailand’s needs, and supporting site visits and training.
THE US DEPARTMENT of Energy (DOE) has approved the Preliminary Safety Design Report (PSDR) for Westinghouse’s eVinci microreactor. Westinghouse is the first microreactor developer to receive PSDR approval, which is required for access to the National Reactor Innovation Center’s (NRIC’s) Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) test bed at the Idaho National Laboratory.
SHIPPING NETHERLANDS-BASED ALLSEAS. has launched a five-year plan to design, develop and deploy a small modular reactor (SMR) tailored for integration into offshore vessels and for onshore use. Allseas has selected high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) technology for a plant with a 25 MWe capacity using TRISO (TRI-structural ISOtropic) fuel.
United States
Centrus produces 900kg of HALEU US-based Centrus Energy Corp has produced 900 kilograms of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). The production is the first of its kind in the US and marks a key milestone in the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) HALEU Demonstration project to help meet US near- term HALEU needs. DOE contracted with Centrus subsidiary
American Centrifuge Operating in 2019 to construct a cascade of 16 advanced centrifuges in Piketon, Ohio, to demonstrate HALEU production. In November 2022, the company was awarded a follow-on contract to start up the cascade and begin HALEU production for DOE use. Centrus began enriching uranium hexafluoride gas into HALEU in 2023 to deliver an initial 20 kgs of material and were then tasked with producing 900kg by the end of June 2025.
The material will be used as part of DOE’s
HALEU allocation process to support the fuel qualification and testing of advanced reactor designs. The Piketon plant is currently the only US facility licensed to enrich uranium up to the 19.75% HALEU level and is the first US-owned plant to start enrichment production since the 1950s. “Achievement of this milestone further demonstrates the ability of our technology to deliver results for our customers and for the nation,” said Centrus Energy President & CEO Amir Vexler. “As the only source of HALEU enrichment in the Western world, our product is urgently needed to power the next generation of reactors. “This HALEU demonstration project is critical
to the Department’s efforts to ensure there is enough HALEU material to meet the near- term needs of our industry partners as they work to turn on their advanced reactors for the first time,” said Mike Goff, Acting Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy. He added: “It’s also an important step in rebuilding the nation’s nuclear fuel supply chain as directed by President Trump’s recent executive orders to expand America’s Dominance agenda.” The US DOE recently extended its contract
with Centrus to produce an additional 900 kgs over the next year to help further support the near-term needs of industry. The DOE is also supporting several efforts to provide more access to HALEU. These include recycling used nuclear fuel from government-owned research reactors and competitive awards to incentivise commercial HALEU production and private investment in the nation’s nuclear fuel supply infrastructure.
Finland Posiva begins canister work The first copper casting blank has been produced for fabrication of a final disposal canister to be used in the Onkalo used nuclear fuel repository, according to Finnish radioactive waste management company Posiva. The casting
12 | July 2025 |
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was reviewed by quality control engineer Teppo Uusi-Uola, canister system owner Terhi Glas and Posiva canister manufacture coordinator Jouko Lammi. The process was also overseen by Finnish Radiation & Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK – Säteilyturvakeskus). The casting campaign for the first six blanks
began at Luvata’s plant in Pori. Luvata is a subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsubishi Materials. The casting of the initial blank was completed in a single shift. A preliminary analysis sample was taken of the casting before it was measured and weighed. The cast blank will now be transferred to the sawing process where its front and rear end are sawn to measure, and official sample slices are cut for a material analysis. Next, the casting blank will have its surfaces machined to size before undergoing non- destructive testing (NDT), a visual inspection and a dye penetrant inspection. The final step will be Posiva’s inspection of the casting and the associated documentation. After passing inspection, the casting will be packed ready for transport for delivery to the cylinder manufacturer. The original weight of the casting blank is over 17 tonnes of copper and the final delivery weight for cylinder manufacture is about 12 tonnes. “The casting process was a great success,”
said Jouko Lammi, canister manufacture coordinator at Posiva. “A good casting quality is important for the subsequent canister production phases. New investments have been made in the foundry to improve the quality and the processing of the casting. One of the most important accomplishments has been the increase in the diameter of the casting with a larger gravity die.” The copper cylinder produced from the
casting blank, together with the copper bottom and cover that are welded onto it, forms a leak- tight copper canister with five-centimetre thick walls. In final disposal, the canister acts as a corrosion barrier for the canister insert made of cast iron. The insert can hold 12 fuel elements. At the repository, used fuel will be placed in the bedrock, at a depth of about 430 metres. The disposal system consists of a tightly sealed iron-copper canister, a bentonite buffer enclosing the canister, a tunnel backfilling material made of swellable clay, the seal structures of the tunnels and premises, and the enclosing rock. Posiva, jointly owned by Finnish nuclear utilities Fortum and TVO, applied for a construction licence for a repository to the Ministry of Employment and the Economy in 2013 and the government granted the licence in November 2015. The site for a repository at Eurajoki, near the Olkiluoto NPP, was selected in 2000 and parliament approved the decision-in- principle on the repository project in 2021. Once it receives the operating licence, Posiva
can start the final disposal of the used fuel generated from the operation of TVO’s Olkiluoto and Fortum’s Loviisa NPPs. The facility will operate for about 100 years before it is closed. ■
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