NEWS |
round up
POLICY SLOVAK PRIME MINISTER Robert Fico, addressing the 18th European Nuclear Energy Forum (ENEF) called on the European Commission (EC) to address energy prices and to create conditions for maintaining the competitiveness of European industry. He strongly criticised RePowerEU, the EC plan to end reliance on Russian energy sources before 2030. He described the policy as “a nonsensical ideological step” threatening the energy security of EU member states. He said EU decisions must be rational and technically feasible, not politically motivated.
THE PHILIPPINES DEPARTMENT of Energy (DOE) plans to grant pioneer incentives to the first private company to build a NPP, Energy Secretary Sharon S Garin said. She said the DOE has issued a new circular that allows the first nuclear investor to bypass the usual competitive selection process (CSP) in order to fast-track development and ensure the initial project succeeds.
SAFETY & SECURITY AN INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) Safety Aspects of Long Term Operation (SALTO) has completed a review of long term operational safety of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP). The team reviewed the plant’s preparedness, organisation and programmes for safe long term operation (LTO), taking into account a previous SALTO mission conducted in 2018 and a follow-up mission in 2021.
THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC Energy Agency (IAEA) has published three new reports on the analytical results of Additional Measures, confirming the consistency of independent assessments conducted by laboratories in China, France, South Korea, Russia and Switzerland – as well as by IAEA and Japanese laboratories. The labs had analysed samples of treated water discharged from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi NPP.
COMPANIES US NUCLEAR START-up Terra Innovatum has announced the closing of its business combination with GSR III Acquisition Corp (GSRT), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), following shareholder approval. The combined company will operate under the name Global NV and its ordinary shares will trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol NKLR. The Company will be led by its existing management team.
Ethiopia plans NPP
The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation and Rostom have signed an action plan aimed at developing a nuclear power plant project in Ethiopia. The action plan envisages constructing two reactors of about 1,200 MWe each by the early 2030s. It provides for the creation of a specialised working group for a detailed study of the construction project, the preparation of a roadmap with access to a feasibility study, as well as the signing of an intergovernmental agreement. In addition, the document includes support for the development of Ethiopia’s nuclear infrastructure and joint efforts to improve the skills of scientific and technical personnel in various civil nuclear areas. Nuclear cooperation between Russia and
Ethiopia began in 2017 with the signing of a framework memorandum. In 2019, a joint plan including a roadmap for the construction of a NPP and a Nuclear Science & Technology Centre was approved. Further memoranda were signed in 2021 related to training specialists and encouraging a positive public perception of nuclear energy in Ethiopia. In 2023, on the sidelines of the Russia-
Africa Economic & Humanitarian Forum in St Petersburg, a more detailed agreement was
Austria
IAEA opens new lab complex The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has inaugurated the new Curie-Meitner Nuclear Applications Centre at its laboratory site in Seibersdorf. This marked completion of the ReNuAL2 (Renovation of the Nuclear Applications Laboratories) lab project to modernise the Agency’s nuclear science and applications laboratories. The Curie-Meitner Nuclear Applications
Centre – named after nuclear pioneers Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Lise Meitner – provides modern facilities for three of the IAEA’S eight nuclear science and applications laboratories in Seibersdorf. The Terrestrial Environment and Radiochemistry Laboratory provides support in managing radioactive, industrial, and environmental pollutants. The Plant Breeding and Genetics laboratory, one of five laboratories that make up the Joint FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratories at Seibersdorf, develops high-yield, resistant crops. The Nuclear Science and Instrumentation laboratory assists countries in the use of a range of analytic nuclear techniques. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi described the renewal of the laboratories as a crucial investment in advancing nuclear applications. “The new Curie-Meitner Centre enables our scientists and partners from around the world to work together, innovate and deliver tangible solutions that improve health, food security and environmental protection.”
8 | November 2025 |
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signed exploring the development of a NPP and establishment of the Nuclear Science & Technology Centre (NSTC) as well as developing Ethiopia’s nuclear infrastructure, organising technical visits and training, and strengthening local expertise in atomic science. At the end of 2024, a contract was signed to develop a feasibility study for construction of the NSTC. In February 2025, Ethiopia and the Russia signed a three-year roadmap to strengthen cooperation in nuclear technology during a high-level forum in Addis Ababa. In October 2025, Ethiopia’s Council of
Ministers approved a regulation establishing the Ethiopian Nuclear Energy Commission (ENEC) to oversee and coordinate nuclear energy development. Dr Sandokan Debebe was appointed Chief Commissioner of ENEC. ENEC is tasked with applying nuclear
energy in critical sectors, including electricity generation, industrial development, food security, healthcare, and scientific research, in accordance with international standards and frameworks. Dr Debebe will oversee implementation of the Commission’s mandate and ensure compliance with national regulations and international safety standards. ■
United States Holtec cancels New Mexico fuel plan Holtec International has cancelled plans to build a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) for used nuclear fuel in southeastern New Mexico. The HI-STORE CISF would have stored up to 10,000 canisters of commercial used fuel on land owned by the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA) near the towns of Carlsbad and Hobbs. Although the US Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) had licensed the proposed multibillion-dollar storage complex in 2023, the project has faced strong and persistent local opposition. New Mexico in 2023 adopted a bill barring the storage and disposal of high-level radioactive waste in New Mexico without the state’s explicit consent. In March 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of
Appeals published a decision to “vacate” the licence following a similar ruling against an Interim Storage Partners’ licence to provide storage in Texas. In June this year, the Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiffs in the Texas case had no standing to challenge the NRC decision to provide a permit to Interim Storage Partners. Despite the positive Supreme Court ruling, which would have seen Holtec’s licence reinstated, Holtec decided to pull out of the project. “After discussions with our longtime partner in the HI-STORE project, the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance, and due to the untenable path forward for used fuel storage in New Mexico, we mutually agreed upon cancelling the agreement,” Holtec said in a statement.
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