| NEWS
The Netherlands MSR testing facility launched An advanced test facility for MSR technologies has been opened at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands. As the facility was formally opened the
European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero & Clean Growth, Wopke Hoekstra, said: “Nuclear energy must be part of the energy mix. Molten salt reactors are an important step towards stable, reliable and clean energy for Europe, helping to safeguard Europe’s energy independence. It is inspiring to see such innovation taking place in the Netherlands.” The test facility is being developed through
the PROMOSA project. In January 2025, Brabant- based technology companies Demcon, Thorizon and VDL Group signed a project agreement to develop and test technology for MSRs. The PROMOSA project focuses on demonstrating and validating the manufacturability, safety and functionality of critical components and non-nuclear subsystems of these reactors. All components will be tested in high-temperature molten salt, without the use of nuclear fuel. The work is to be carried out in collaboration with the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER), a leading research institute in Eindhoven.
The DIFFER institute, which undertakes research on fusion energy and chemical energy, supports MSR development through its DIFFER Irradiation- Corrosion Experiment research facility. In March 2025, North Brabant agreed to
contribute 50% of the total project costs of €8m ($9.3m), with the companies providing the rest. The funding comes from the Nuclear Energy for the Future innovation coalition launched by Noord-Brabant in 2021 to leverage the manufacturing industry and research institutes in the province to accelerate MSR development. The PROMOSA project forms part of the
Nuclear Innovation Coalition, established by the Province of North Brabant in 2022 to strengthen collaboration between governments, companies and knowledge institutions and to build a leading position in the development of safe, next generation nuclear energy. Thorizon – a spinoff from NRG, which operates the High Flux Reactor in Petten in the Netherlands – is developing a 250MW-thermal/100MWe MSR, targeted at large industrial customers and utilities. The company plans to begin constructing its first reactor, Thorizon One, around 2030. Thorizon collaborates with industry leaders such as EPZ, Hyundai Engineering and Construction, NRG PALLAS, Orano, Tractebel and VDL Groep. Its project has been selected by the European Commission and the French Government under the France 2030 investment plan. Thorizon said the test facility “represents a
major milestone on the path towards building its first reactor, the Thorizon One, which has been designated by the European Commission as one of eight flagship projects for the accelerated development of small modular reactors”.
United States Urenco plans significant expansion Urenco has announced a multibillion-dollar investment to build a new enrichment plant at its National Enrichment Facility (NEF) in Eunice, New Mexico, expanding its domestic capacity by nearly 50%. As the only operating commercial uranium enrichment facility in North America, this expansion directly addresses the upcoming 2028 full US ban on Russian enriched uranium imports while supporting growing electricity needs. The US currently relies on Russia for up to 25% of its enriched uranium. This project helps secure the domestic supply chain. The expansion will add 2.1 million separative work units (SWU – the standard measure of the effort required to separate U235 and U238), raising the total facility capacity to over seven million SWU. The facility’s current annual capacity is 4.3m SWU, which is approximately one-third of US demand. Construction will begin in 2029 using proven gas-centrifuge technology with initial centrifuge cascades starting production in 2032, reaching full operation by 2036, deploying up to 24 new cascades. This will support 300–600 construction jobs at its peak and 70 permanent operational positions. Urenco USA also intends to refurbish existing capacity at the site, starting in 2027. The plant will produce standard low enriched
uranium (LEU) currently used by the US nuclear fleet but also serves as the foundational feedstock required to produce emerging fuel variants such as LEU+ (up to 10% enrichment) and high-assay low enriched uranium (up to 20% enrichment). The expansion is fully financed by private capital and underpinned by new, long- term supply contracts signed with major domestic nuclear utility companies. Urenco USA currently employs more than 500
staff and long-term contractors at NEF, which has been in commercial operation since 2010. Since 2006, the company has invested more than $5bn of private capital in the facility to provide a secure domestic supply of enriched uranium and is the only company to have licensed, built, operated and expanded a commercial uranium enrichment facility in the US. The US expansion programme is part of a wider
effort by Urenco Global to install 4.6 million of new SWU enrichment capacity at sites in the US, the Netherlands, and Germany over the next decade. With four operating production facilities and expansions planned, Urenco provides a diversity of supply that no other Western enrichment company can currently offer. NEF was planned by Louisiana Energy Services,
a partnership originally including Urenco, Westinghouse and several major US utilities. It was named NEF because the company initially planned to build in Louisiana before shifting to New Mexico. In June 2006, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) granted NEF a first-of-its-kind combined Construct and Operate licence. This allowed it to jump straight from construction to active production without a secondary regulatory delay. Construction broke ground in late 2006, and active uranium enrichment began in June 2010.
round up
SAFETY AND SECURITY THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that the tritium concentration in the 20th batch of advanced liquid processing system-treated water discharged from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP is far below Japan’s operational limit and consistent with international safety standards. As part of its ongoing safety review, the IAEA independently tested samples from the latest batch before it was released through a 1km tunnel into the ocean.
REGULATION AN IAEA INTEGRATED Regulatory Review Service mission has assessed Malta’s regulatory framework. The mission was conducted at the request of the Government of Malta and hosted by the Commission for the Protection from Ionising and Non-Ionising Radiation. Malta utilises radiation sources across medicine, industry and other fields but does not operate any nuclear power or research reactors. It operates a single Centralised Radioactive Waste Storage Facility.
A MEMORANDUM OF understanding to exchange information and expertise on nuclear safety regulation, including small modular reactors (SMRs), has been signed by the National Environment Agency of Singapore and the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation. The partnership supports Singapore’s efforts to build capabilities in nuclear safety and to study the feasibility of the safe deployment of nuclear energy.
COMPANIES PLYNTH ENERGY, AN ABU DHABI Government-owned early-stage fund has acquired a minority stake in US-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS). CFS said this agreement expands the deep-tech funding ecosystem for fusion energy by adding the Abu Dhabi early stage fund to the company’s widening roster of international backers.
US-BASED NUCLEAR energy startup Ampera has established a new subsidiary, Ampera Australia, to secure a raw thorium supply and vertically integrate its entire nuclear fuel value chain. Ampera will procure raw monazite crystal (the primary thorium-bearing mineral) from Geoscience Australia deposits. The material will then be shipped to the US.
US-BASED OKLO HAS acquired ARMEC, a Tennessee-based precision manufacturing and mechanical engineering company. This strategic transaction is designed to bring critical production capabilities in-house, accelerating Oklo’s commercialisation timeline for its reactor and nuclear fuel-manufacturing programmes.
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