New News information at Nuclear Engineering International

Tractebel and NRG PALLAS support nuclear newbuild in the Netherlands

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 21:27:00 GMT

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Belgium’s Tractebel (part of French energy company Engie) and Dutch research and production organisation NRG PALLAS have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to cooperate in support nuclear newbuild in the Netherlands. The MOU was signed at the Embassy of Belgium in The Hague on the sidelines of the Belgium - Netherlands Nuclear Summit.

Polish organisations co-operate on SMRs

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 16:00:00 GMT

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Polish fuels concern PKN Orlen and Michal Solowow's Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE) have teamed up with the National Fund for Environmental Protection & Water Management (NFOSiGW) to cooperate in the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs). NFOSiGW announced earlier that together with OSGE they will work to prepare, construct and commercialise nuclear energy facilities utilising US BWRX-300 GE Hitachi (GEH) reactors.

Nuclear is an afterthought in the EU's Net-Zero Industry

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 15:00:00 GMT

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The European Commission’s (EC’s) proposed Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) seeks to scale up manufacturing of clean technologies in the European Union (EU) and ensure it is well-equipped for the clean-energy transition. The 60-page NZIA is part of the EU's Green Deal Industrial Plan. It is seen as a response to the USA's Inflation Reduction Act and is intended to "strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of net-zero technologies manufacturing in the EU, and make our energy system more secure and sustainable”.

NRC begins partial review of NuScale’s SMR

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 14:30:00 GMT

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The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said staff will begin reviewing most of NuScale Power’s application for standard design approval of the company’s 77 MWe/module small modular reactor (SMR) design. “The remainder of NRC staff’s review of the design will begin once the company provides additional details on a key safety topic,” NRC noted.

US Monticello NPP suffers tritium water leak

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 14:00:00 GMT

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The authorities in the US state of Minnesota recently announced that the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant near Minneapolis had suffered a radioactive water spill involving more than 1.5m litres of tritiated water. Plant owner Xcel Energy is working to clean up the spill and says there is no danger to the general public. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) said that the treated water had leaked from a broken pipe at the facility. The was first discovered on 21 November but not made public. The company said it notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRC and the state the next day. The source of the leak was found on 19 December was plugged “soon after”.

Missing uranium found in Libya

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 13:00:00 GMT

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Eastern Libyan forces have located 10 drums of uranium declared missing by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). They were found near the warehouse from which they disappeared in southern Libya. Khaled Mahjoub, head of a media unit for the Libyan National Army (LNA), the main military force in eastern Libya, said in a statement that the 10 missing barrels had been recovered, although a separate video he sent showed workers counting 18 barrels.

Belgian companies set up CYCLADE decommissioning partnership

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 12:00:00 GMT

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Five Belgian companies have set up CYCLADE (CYCLotrons Advanced DEcommissioning) as a centre of expertise for decommissioning accelerators and cyclotrons. The companies include IBA, Interboring, IRE, SCK-CEN and Transrad. They are all specialists in dismantling and nuclear medicine and will offer operators a circular solution for increasing the amount of waste recycled. The consortium is a combination of industrial companies, SMEs and research centres. They will provide a turnkey decommissioning solution from the study phases to the final management of materials.

SMR development tracked by NEA and IAEA studies

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 11:30:00 GMT

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The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has recently published a 73-page study, which tracks the progress of selected small modular reactor (SMR) designs towards deployment. NEA says the SMR designs are at various stages of development, from fundamental research on new concepts to commercial deployment and operation of mature designs.

Ansaldo to provide engineering services to Cernavodă NPP

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 11:00:00 GMT

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Italy’s Ansaldo Nucleare has signed a contract with Canada’s SNC-Lavalin to supply engineering services to support the plant life extension of unit 1 of Romania’s Cernavodă NPP. This is part of the €45m ($48m) modernisation project awarded by Romanian nuclear utility Nuclearelectrica to SNC-Lavalin.

Belarus NPP may supply electricity to Russia from 2024

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 10:30:00 GMT

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From 2024, the Belarus NPP will be able to supply electricity to the Russian market, the chairman of the Energy Committee of Russia’s State Duma (parliament) Pavel Zavalny has told journalists.