NEWS |
round up
NUCLEAR FUEL ROSATOM’S MINING & Chemical Combine (GKhK) in Krasnoyarsk has been identified as a priority site for the industrial production of uranium-plutonium oxide mox fuel for the BN-1200M fast neutron reactor. The choice of GKhK is based on its experience in ensuring regular supplies of mox fuel for the operating BN-800 fast neutron reactor at the Beloyarsk NPP.
CANADA-BASED CAMECO has finalised a new long-term agreement to supply natural uranium hexafluoride (UF6) to Slovak power utility Slovenské elektrárne (SE). Details of the contract are commercially confidential. The agreement consists of uranium and conversion services and is expected to provide a diversified source of UF6 for SE until 2036.
ROSATOM’S FUEL DIVISION, TVEL, has produced a unique fuel assembly, OS-5, based on uranium-plutonium nitride (SNUP) fuel with a liquid metal sublayer. Sodium metal was placed under the steel shell enveloping the uranium-plutonium fuel pellets. Research shows that the use of a liquid metal sublayer will improve the characteristics of fuel rods with nitride fuel for fast neutron reactors.
RADWASTE BELGIAN PREMIER BART De Wever has laid the first stone of the surface disposal plant in Dessel, which will store all of Belgium’s low- and medium-level short-lived waste. The federal government had approved the project in Dessel 2006. ONDRAF/NIRAS initially applied to Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) for a licence in 2013 submitting a revised application in 2019. A permit to proceed was granted in 2023.
THE US DEPARTMENT of Energy (DOE) has signed the paperwork needed to allow radioactive waste to be pumped into the Hanford nuclear site’s vitrification plant 23 years after construction began. DOE approval had been expected by the end of August. DOE faces a federal court deadline of mid-October to start turning radioactive waste stored in underground tanks at Hanford in Eastern Washington into a stable, but still radioactive, glass form.
GERMANY’S NUKEM TECHNOLOGIES Engineering Services GmbH has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kazakh Atomic Energy Agency to provide consulting services on decommissioning and radioactive waste management. NUKEM will provide full-cycle Technical Consulting Services, project optimisation, and international best practices in safety, remediation, and regulatory compliance.
United States
BWXT wins US defence fuels contract BWX Technologies has been awarded a $1.5bn contract by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to support the national mission of establishing a domestic uranium enrichment capability for defence purposes. BWXT will initiate requirements to build the Domestic Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Experiment (DUECE) pilot plant, which includes designing the plant, applying for the necessary licences, procuring long-lead equipment, preparing the physical site, demonstrating centrifuge manufacturing readiness and operating the plant. The pilot plant will demonstrate low-enriched uranium (LEU) production for NNSA’s defence missions, before eventually being repurposed to produce highly enriched uranium (HEU) for naval propulsion applications. The plant will be located at BWXT’s Nuclear Fuel Services site in Erwin, Tennessee. BWXT began construction of its Centrifuge
Manufacturing Development Facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in June. The Erwin pilot plant will utilise the
centrifuges built in Oak Ridge. BWXT President & CEO Rex D Geveden noted: “Once operational, both facilities will enable us to scale manufacturing, so the United States maintains sovereign capability to produce vital nuclear materials for national security.” NNSA said partnering with commercial industry for the pilot plant “helps to establish critical supply chains for enduring defence enrichment requirements and ensures capabilities are ready on time to support mission need dates”. In July, BWXT received US Naval Nuclear
Propulsion Program contracts totalling approximately $2.6bn, including future year options, for manufacturing naval nuclear reactor components. The contracts primarily support Virginia and Columbia-class submarines, as well as some work for certain Ford-class aircraft carrier components.
South Korea KHNP President resigns Whang Joo-ho, president of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) submitted his resignation in face of mounting pressure from the ruling Democratic Party over allegations of agreeing to an unfair contract with US Westinghouse. Whang told Chosun newspaper in a phone
call, “I have submitted my resignation and am awaiting notification of its processing.” As KHNP is a public institution, the processing of Whang’s resignation requires a recommendation from Minister Kim Jung-kwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy and approval from President Lee Jae-myung. Whang assumed office on 22 August 2022 and
completed his official term on 21 August 2025. Democratic Party members of the National
Assembly’s Industry, Trade, SMEs & Venture Business Committee had publicly demanded Whang’s resignation in August, regarding the
12 | October 2025 |
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contract between KHNP, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), and Westinghouse. “This is a humiliating agreement that surrenders the nation’s interests and sovereignty,” they said. “It is a treacherous pact that relinquishes nuclear technology sovereignty and shackles future generations.” The controversy centres on allegations that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration signed an unequal agreement with Westinghouse in January to secure the Dukovany NPP construction project in the Czech Republic. The disputed clauses include provisions that KHNP and KEPCO will pay Westinghouse $175m in technology usage fees and purchase $650m worth of equipment for each NPP exported over the next 50 years. Additional clauses include agreements that KHNP will not pursue new NPP projects in North America, the EU, the UK, Ukraine, and Japan, and that exports of small modular reactors (SMRs) would require approval from the US. KHNP and Westinghouse signed the
agreement after Westinghouse accused KHNP of infringing on its intellectual property, alleging that KHNP’s APR 1000 and APR1400 plant designs utilise its licensed technology. The deal had removed a major hurdle for a KHNP- led Korean consortium to finalise contract in June for an estimated $19bn deal to build two nuclear units in the Czech Republic.
Italy Nuclear development bill advances Italy’s Council of Ministers has approved for final consideration a bill delegating to the government the task of reintroducing sustainable nuclear energy into the Italian mix. The measure, proposed by President Giorgia Meloni and Minister of Environment & Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, gives the government 12 months to adopt the necessary implementing legislative decrees. These will have to regulate the entire sector,
providing for: • The development of a national programme for sustainable nuclear power;
• The establishment of an independent authority for nuclear safety;
• The strengthening of scientific and industrial nuclear research;
• The training of new skills; and • The conduct of awareness-raising and information campaigns.
The bill also specified the involvement of municipalities in consultations for the identification of the areas suitable to host new nuclear plants, with adequate territorial compensation measures. The focus is to be on small and advance modular reactor technology (SMRs and AMRs) as well as fusion. Welcoming the approval of the draft law, Pichetto said: “With this measure, Italy equips itself with a fundamental tool to look to the future with realism and ambition. We want to be leaders in new technologies, from
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