| NEWS
China Changjiang 3 begins commercial ops China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and China Huaneng Group have put into operation unit three of the Changjiang NPP, the first Hualong One unit in Hainan, China’s southernmost province. Changjiang Phase II (units 3 and 4) involved estimated investment of 40bn yuan ($6.4bn), according to China Huaneng, which holds a 51% share in the project. CNNC holds the remaining 49%. Both units should be fully operational in early
2027. Phase II is expected to generate 18TWh of electricity annually, reducing standard coal consumption by 6.326 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) and carbon dioxide emissions by 11.6mt. The site is already home to two operating
CNP-600 PWRs, Changjiang 1 and 2, which entered commercial operation in 2015 and 2016. In 2021, CNNC also began construction of a demonstration ACP100 small modular reactor (Linglong One) at the site. Nuclear accounted for nearly 19% of Hainan’s total electricity generation last year, according to data from the National Energy Administration. In December 2025, Hainan became the Chinese
mainland’s first free trade port (FTP) and the world’s largest FTP by area. According to a national strategic plan, Hainan will leverage its FTP policies to develop tourism, modern service industries, and high-tech industries, aiming to establish itself as an international tourism and consumption centre and a model ecological zone. Liu Bin, general manager of Huaneng Hainan
Changjiang Nuclear Power Co Ltd, said Changjiang Phase II “will provide a clean, safe, and efficient power supply to anchor the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port while accelerating the nation’s progress toward its dual-carbon targets”.
France EDF plans ten SMRs by 2035 France’s state-owned utility EDF has announced a major initiative to build a fleet of ten small modular reactors (SMRs) across the EU by 2035. Estimated to require investments in the “tens of billions” of euros, the plants will use technology developed by EDF’s NUWARD subsidiary. Each is designed to produce combined power and flexible industrial heat. The first reactor will be built in France with a second planned for Italy, supported by EDF’s local subsidiary, Edison, alongside engineering and construction contractors Saipem and Webuild. EDF is also in discussions with other governments on the possibility of building SMRs in Poland, Belgium and Finland. EDF initially envisioned a more complex,
proprietary configuration for Nuward, but pivoted to a simpler technology to insulate the project from the severe delays and budget overruns that had impacted its larger EPR reactors. The target generation cost is estimated at around €100 ($115) per megawatt-hour with the aim of competing directly with gas-fired power plants rather than intermittent renewables. EDF’s announcement coincides with a
collaborative European regulatory review – the Joint Early Review – which is easing the multi- country licensing process across participating
nations such as Czechia, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden. Nuward’s status as a test case for European
regulatory harmonisation using the Joint Early Review (JER) is an advantage. Typically, a nuclear design requires independent, licensing in each country. The JER, in contrast, involves the safety authorities of Czechia, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden. This ensures the core design will satisfy multiple national regulators, enabling a faster legal path for the ten units. The French government subsidised the project
through a €300m funding package via the France 2030 investment initiative. EDF is also in advanced discussions regarding equity investment stakes and reactor deployment with the governments of Poland, Belgium, Finland, and Greece.
Canada Cameco signs offtake deal with GLE Canada’s Cameco Corporation and Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) have executed an exclusive offtake agreement covering 100% of all future production from GLE’s planned Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility (PLEF) in Kentucky. Cameco owns 49% of GLE, alongside Australia’s Silex Systems at 51%. The deal anchors commercial demand for
several outputs, including natural uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas from tails re-enrichment, low-enriched uranium (LEU), LEU+ (5%-10% U-235), and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for advanced reactors. The agreement removes major commercial uncertainty by establishing a guaranteed demand anchor for the SILEX laser- enrichment technology, which has never previously operated at commercial scale. SILEX [Separation of Isotopes by Laser EXcitation] is a third-generation uranium enrichment technology. PLEF feedstock is secured by a 40-year US
Department of Energy (DoE) agreement, signed in 2016, for 300,000t of high-assay depleted uranium hexafluoride tails. Paducah is the site of a former gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment plant, and GLE intends to re-enrich tails from previous operations to produce 70,000t of “new, fresh feed” over the plant’s lifetime. PLEF is targeting up to six million separative work units a year from 2030. A pilot-scale technology demonstration is expected to reach Technology Readiness Level 6 (TRL-6) this year. GLE has applied to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for an operating licence for PLEF, which is expected in 2027. However, before PLEF can begin operation, GLE will first have to achieve TRL-7 as defined by DoE guidelines, GLE must transition the SILEX technology from a pilot-scale loop to a full-scale prototype demonstration in an operational, plant- like environment. By executing this 100% exclusive offtake for the
Paducah facility, Cameco is shifting its position from a mining company to a fully integrated nuclear fuel company. Via its 49% ownership of GLE and 49% ownership of reactor-builder Westinghouse, Cameco can now contract out the entire life cycle of nuclear energy within its own ecosystem.
round up
COMPANIES HOLTEC NUCLEAR CORPORATION has postponed its planned US initial public offering, citing a sharp shift in market sentiment against AI data centres. The company was aiming to raise up to $900m at a target valuation of about $10bn, offering 50 million shares each priced between $15 and $18. A recent market correction and cooling investor enthusiasm for AI trade heavily impacted market sentiment for nuclear.
NUCLEAR FUEL ANTARES AND CENTRUS ENERGY signed a definitive multi-year contract for Centrus to supply Antares with high-assay low- enriched uranium (HALEU), with deliveries starting before the end of the decade. It ensures a reliable, domestic source of HALEU to support Antares advanced reactor projects. The new contract includes prepayments from Antares to support the expanded HALEU capacity.
THE CZECH STATE OFFICE FOR Nuclear Safety (SÚJB) has authorised state power company ČEZ to use new nuclear fuel from Westinghouse at the Temelín NPP. Workers plan to introduce the new fuel assemblies into the unit 1 VVER-1000 reactor during the planned shutdown at the end of this year. The permit was issued after a several-year process of preparation, testing and security analysis.
US-BASED NUCLEAR FUEL company Centrus Energy and advanced reactor start-up Radiant have signed a definitive, multi-year contract to secure a domestic supply of HALEU for Radiant’s planned fleet of Kaleidos microreactors. Fuel deliveries from Centrus Energy are expected to begin before the end of the decade. The contract includes prepayments from Radiant to Centrus. These funds directly back the expansion of domestic enrichment capacity.
ADVANCED REACTORS THE UK DEPARTMENT FOR Energy Security & Net Zero has asked the Office for Nuclear Regulation, along with the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales to begin a three-step generic design assessment for X-energy UK Holdings’ Xe-100 high- temperature gas-cooled reactor design.
THE IDAHO NATIONAL Laboratory Foundation and MicroNuclear have agreed to collaborate on advancing MicroNuclear’s molten salt nuclear battery (MsNB), a compact molten salt microreactor concept designed to provide power and process heat. The cyber-protected MsNB is a compact, natural-circulation molten salt microreactor designed to support critical infrastructure, military and government facilities, remote or isolated grids, industrial process heat, and potential hydrogen production.
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