It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, March 15, 2025
First fast reactor fuel safety tests in decades carried out at INL
Tests carried out on high burnup fast reactor fuel as part of a collaboration between the USA and Japan are the first of their kind carried out in more than 20 years, and will provide crucial new data to support future fuel development and qualification.
TREAT: INL says the tests are the first of their kind anywhere in the world in over 20 years (Image: INL)
Transient tests on a high-burnup metallic fuel that was archived from historic irradiation testing at Idaho National Laboratory (INL)'s EBR-II reactor were carried out at the lab's Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facility, using a new, specially designed test capsule with a variety of sensors to monitor fuel behaviour during testing.
The tests are part of a collaboration between the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to develop and qualify fuels for fast reactors through a five-year cost-shared facility sharing initiative under the Civil Nuclear Energy Research and Development Working Group. The researchers are testing a mixed oxide fuel used by current Japanese fast reactor designs and a metallic alloy fuel that is being developed in the USA and is "of interest to Japan".
Transient tests study the safety limits of nuclear fuel under more extreme conditions than typically encountered in normal reactor operations. TREAT - which restarted in 2017 after 23 years on standby - is one of only a few reactors in the world that can produce the bursts of energy needed for such tests: short duration power cycles that may be more than ten times higher than in a commercial power plant.
The DOE and JAEA have performed similar tests on high-burnup fast reactor fuel before, but these came to an end in 1994 when the EBR-II - a 62.5 MWth, 20 MWe liquid-sodium cooled, fast breeder reactor used to test fuels and materials as well as being a demonstration fast reactor - was shut down after 30 years of operations. EBR-II has since been decommissioned, although its iconic containment structure is being repurposed to house the National Reactor Innovation Center's DOME test bed facility.
INL Technical Lead for Transient Testing Colby Jensen said the main ambition of the initiative is to test fast reactor fuels in their weakest state to better understand their limits and inform the development of improved designs. "Fast reactor fuel designs in the United States have not made a major leap forward since the era when the EBR-II programme was shut down, and so the data from these tests of legacy fuel is highly valuable for advanced fuel designers today," Jensen said.
Post-irradiation examination work will be performed at INL's Hot Fuel Examination Facility and Irradiated Materials Characterization Laboratory. The initial project experiments are expected to be completed later this year, and DOE and JAEA plan to perform several additional safety tests "over the course of the next few years"
Human error leads to water spill at Finnish EPR
Monday, 10 March 2025
About 100 cubic metres of slightly radioactive water flowed into rooms within the containment of Olkiluoto unit 3 after a hatch in the reactor pool was not properly closed before the filling of the pool began.
Olkiluoto 3 (Image: TVO)
Operator Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) said that on 7 March "a significant operating event occurred during the maintenance work when radioactive coolant leaked at the reactor plant into part of the rooms of the containment ... the significance of the event to radiation safety was low, in the end, owing to the safety actions taken".
In a pressurised water reactor, the reactor coolant is heated in the reactor pressure vessel of the nuclear power plant and then flows in the reactor coolant piping to the steam generator where a heat transfer to the secondary circuit occurs. The coolant is then pumped from the steam generators back to the pressure vessel.
TVO noted the reactor coolant that leaked into the containment flowed from the rooms into a drainage system that is designed to collect and drain any reactor coolant leakages. "The incident did not pose any risk to the personnel, the environment, or nuclear safety," TVO stressed.
"The radioactive wastewater will be handled in accordance with appropriate procedures utilising various systems," the company said. "Cleaning work was commenced quickly in the containment rooms and personnel instructed about necessary changes in accessible areas."
Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) said it is monitoring the annual maintenance at Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) and was informed of the leak immediately after it occurred. "TVO reacted quickly to the incident and started to remedy the situation immediately," it noted. "STUK monitored TVO's cleanup work and follow-up measures during the weekend."
STUK added: "TVO has started investigating the cause of the incident and will later submit a report to STUK on the results of the investigation, which will also specify measures to prevent a recurrence of the incident."
The annual outage started at the unit on 1 March and is planned to continue until early May. TVO said annual outage work continues at the unit as planned and the coolant leakage is not expected to impact the duration of the outage.
Apart from refuelling, the most important activities during the annual outage of OL3 include a containment leak-tightness test, work on the reactor pumps, warranty work carried out by the plant supplier as well as steam generator washes and inspections. In addition to TVO's own personnel, about 1000 employees of subcontractors are taking part in the current annual outage works at OL3, with about half of them coming from abroad.
The Olkiluoto 3 EPR began regular electricity production in April 2023 and entered commercial operation the following month. Although this is the 1600 MWe reactor's second annual outage, it is the first time it has undergone a service outage for an operating cycle of 18 months. The next annual outage at OL3 is planned in September 2026.
The world is seeing a nuclear energy comeback, with record production projected for 2025 and new construction underway.
The debate centers around whether small modular reactors (SMRs) or extending the lifespan of existing plants is the most effective path forward.
Concerns about nuclear waste from SMRs and the high costs of new megaprojects like Plant Vogtle are driving discussions about revitalizing older reactors.
The world is re-embracing nuclear energy after decades of decline, driven by technological advances and the need to keep pace with growing energy demand fueled by the tech sector without compromising climate goals. The world is now on track to produce more nuclear energy than ever before in 2025, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts an all-out nuclear renaissance. But will the future of nuclear power be dominated by emerging technologies like modular reactors, new mega-projects like Plant Vogtle, or the revitalization of old and decommissioned nuclear fleets?
“It’s clear today that the strong comeback for nuclear energy that the IEA predicted several years ago is well underway, with nuclear set to generate a record level of electricity in 2025,” stated IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “In addition to this, more than 70 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity is under construction globally, one of the highest levels in the last 30 years, and more than 40 countries around the world have plans to expand nuclear’s role in their energy systems.”
Birol’s comments come on the back of a brand new report from the EIA which states that nuclear power production will break records in 2025 and beyond as “the market, technology and policy foundations are in place for a new era of growth in nuclear energy over the coming decades.”
Much of the newfound excitement about nuclear energy is centered around small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced modular reactors (AMRs), which are manufactured in a factory setting and then installed on-site. This means that they are cheaper to produce and quicker to plan for and deploy than traditional reactors, which are behemoth projects that require miles and months or even years of regulatory maneuvering.
The United States’ at Plant Vogtle is an extreme example but a salient example of the pitfalls of building new full-size nuclear power plants. Plant Vogtle is the only new nuclear reactor that the United States has built in decades, and some see the project as an unmitigated disaster. Although the plant finally fully came online on April 29, 2024, the project was seven years late and $17 billion over budget.
Advocates of SMRs and AMRs point to horror stories like this as the reason that modular technologies are the key to the nuclear renaissance. They also say that modular reactors are less dangerous than traditional models, as they have inbuilt passive safety mechanisms. But new studies show that there may be a significant dark side to wide-scale deployment of SMRs. A recent Stanford study found that “most small modular reactor designs will actually increase the volume of nuclear waste in need of management and disposal, by factors of 2 to 30.” This creates a major issue for nuclear waste management – a costly, million-year job.
A growing number of nuclear proponents are arguing that instead of focusing on building new nuclear plants – modular or otherwise – we should be focusing more on revitalizing the nuclear plants we already have. There are currently 22 nuclear reactors undergoing decommissioning in the United States, but many of those reactors could still have decades of life in them.
“Many nuclear plants were originally designed to run for 40 years, but with proper maintenance and technological upgrades, their lifespan can often be extended to 60 or even 80 years,” the Global Financial Market Review recently reported. “This makes life extension a financially attractive alternative to constructing new plants from scratch.”
Other experts think that if investing dollars and research priorities were aimed at extending the life of old reactors instead of merely designing new ones, that lifespan could be extended even further. “Right now we have everything [required] to run plants for at least 80 years,” Luca Oriani of Westinghouse Electric Company recently told the Financial Times. “We don’t see any major challenges to extend another 20 years to go from essentially 80 to 100.” He went on to add that these plants can also ramp up their power output through better efficiency measures.
Restarting old reactors could be a regulatory nightmare, but there is already some precedent for it. This year, the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan is being revived in an unprecedented move after its 2022 closure. The project is backed by nearly $2 billion in government funding – no small budget, but an absolute steal compared to Plant Vogtle. Palisades is slated to be back online by October of this year.
By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com
Niger can count on IAEA support, Grossi says during visit
Friday, 14 March 2025
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi's two-day visit to Niger included meetings with Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine and other senior officials as well as visits to two uranium mine sites.
Minister of Energy Haoua Amadou welcomes Grossi to Niger (Image: X/@rafaelmgrossi)
High-level meetings were held with Zeine and other senior officials to enhance support for the country through the peaceful uses of nuclear technology for mining, water management and cancer care, the IAEA said.
The Director General met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Yaou Sangaré Bakary, Minister of Mines Ousmane Abarchi and Minister of Energy Haoua Amadou to discuss other development priorities, including sustainable energy and visited the Compagnie Minière d’Akouta (Cominak) and the Société des Mines de l’Aïr (Somaïr).
"Niger is one of the biggest producers in the world of uranium," Grossi said in an IAEA video of his visit to the Somaïr mine. "With important political changes in the country, it was very important to ensure the continuity of the presence of the IAEA. As you can see, we have been here with the collaboration of the government, and we will continue not only to ensure that everything that goes on here is safe, secure and in a non-proliferation way, but also that the IAEA will continue helping and assisting the country in this key activity for its economic development."
The Director General said he had been "satisfied" with the visit, saying he had observed "professional management" and a willingness for transparency and collaboration with the IAEA.
"The work will continue here and at the other mining sites in Niger, but it was truly an excellent start," he said.
Grossi also visited the Cominak mine, which ceased production in 2021.
Uranium has been mined in Niger since the beginning of the 1970s. The country now produces around 5% of world uranium mining output, but operating permits for mines including GoviEx's Madouela project and Orano's Imouraren were withdrawn following a military coup in July 2023. Somaïr, which operates the Arlit uranium mine, is 63.4% owned by Orano, with Niger state-owned mining assets company SOPAMIN holding 36.6%, but has been under operational control of the Nigerien authorities since December. Along with the French company's other Niger subsidiaries, Cominak and Imouraren, Orano has removed it from its financial statements.
Orano and Canadian company GoviEx both initiated international arbitration proceedings against Niger, although in February GoviEx agreed to temporarily suspend proceedings while negotiations continue.
Water cooperation
Grossi signed an agreement with Minister of Hydraulics, Sanitation and Environment Maizama Abdoulaye to strengthen water resource management, under which Niger will develop an integrated water resource platform to strengthen water-related planning, policies and investment, supported by World Bank funding.
Niger, in the heart of the Sahel is facing severe water scarcity due to its arid climate, rapid population growth and limited water infrastructure. The IAEA supports countries in using isotope hydrology - a nuclear technique - to manage their freshwater resources.
Under the agreement, the IAEA will provide technical support to establish a national water quality laboratory, modernise seven existing water laboratories and strengthen national capacity through training, building on commitments made at the launch of the IAEA’s Global Water Analysis Laboratory Network at the 2023 UN Water Conference.
The IAEA has also supported Niger through its Rays of Hope initiative to expand access to cancer care where it is needed most. Grossi's trip included a visit to Niger's National Cancer Care Centre in the capital, Niamey, which was established with IAEA support.
Posiva completes backfilling trial run at repository
Friday, 14 March 2025
Finnish waste management company Posiva has completed the procedure qualification test on backfill installation at the Onkalo used nuclear fuel repository. During the test, almost 12 metres of tunnel were filled with backfill clay using the backfill installation system.
The tunnel filling installation system (Image: Posiva)
At the repository, used fuel will be placed in the bedrock, at a depth of about 430 metres. The disposal system consists of a tightly sealed iron-copper canister, a bentonite buffer enclosing the canister, a tunnel backfilling material made of swellable clay, the seal structures of the tunnels and premises, and the enclosing rock.
The procedure qualification test on backfill installation was designed to demonstrate the operability of the systems and equipment in tunnel conditions at a depth of 435 metres in the bedrock. Another requirement was to achieve the specified result by deploying the operating methods and procedures that will be deployed during operation of the repository.
The minimum goal for the test, which took about three weeks, was to fill at least 10 metres of tunnel. The actual test acceptance criterion was to achieve a tunnel backfill degree of a minimum of 98%. Posiva noted that analyses that are still to be verified indicate that the achieved backfill degree exceeded this criterion.
"The large, long combination machine almost fills the entire tunnel and compacts clay with large screws while pushing it into the tunnel," said Posiva Development Manager Ari Maarni. "At the same time, it reverses slowly in order to achieve a uniform backfill degree. During the test, the transfer vehicle ran autonomously between the discharge station and the installation machine supplying more clay to the installation machine."
Maarni noted that the biggest challenges during the test were caused by the uneven floor of the tunnel. "The docking of the transfer vehicle to the installation machine was difficult in points with large surface height differences. This slowed down the work. However, as the test proceeded a lot was learned and we were able to adjust the equipment to operate faster."
The qualification test was carried out in the 50-metre-long tunnel used for the Trial Run of Final Disposal. The remaining 40 metres of the tunnel will be filled in the actual Trial Run of Underground Operation, before the tunnel is finally sealed.
The next installation procedure qualification tests will focus on testing the buffer installation system as well as the canister transfer and installation vehicle. These installation procedure qualification tests will be carried out as the last ones, and in practice parallel with each other, before the actual underground stage of the Trial Run of Final Disposal.
During the Trial Run, the operation of the complete final disposal facility is tested. Instead of actual used nuclear fuel, the trial run is conducted using non-radioactive test elements.
The Finnish government granted Posiva a construction licence for the project in November 2015 and construction work on the repository started in December 2016. Once it receives the operating licence, Posiva can start the final disposal of the used fuel generated from the operation of TVO's Olkiluoto and Fortum's Loviisa nuclear power plants. The operation will last for about 100
Newcleo plans fuel development centre
Friday, 14 March 2025
Innovative reactor developer Newcleo has acquired a site in Chusclan in the Gard department in southern France on which it will build an R&D innovation and training centre supporting the development of its future fuel assembly manufacturing facility in France.
(Image: Pininfarina)
Newcleo said the FASTER (Fuel process Assembly Storage Training and Enhanced Reality) centre, which will not store or handle any radioactive materials, will play a key role in its strategy to close the nuclear fuel cycle "while safely producing clean, affordable, and sustainable energy, essential for low-carbon economies".
FASTER will host: dedicated spaces for testing engineering solutions and maintenance, including office areas; advanced training facilities, featuring rooms equipped for virtual and augmented reality, simulators, and a training workshop with real production equipment; and development and qualification workshops designed to test and optimise manufacturing processes using cutting-edge technologies, such as 3D printing, within a high-tech environment dedicated to innovation and precision engineering.
The FASTER centre will be developed in collaboration with leading Italian design company Pininfarina.
"By combining technological innovation with an advanced aesthetic approach, the site will provide an optimised workspace that fosters learning and research in an immersive and functional environment - illustrating how nuclear energy can drive sustainability, support net-zero goals, and secure a safe, abundant, and virtually inexhaustible energy source," Newcleo said.
"The acquisition of this site marks a key milestone in our strategic roadmap," said Newcleo founder and CEO Stefano Buono. "This innovation and training centre, designed with Pininfarina's renowned elegance and functionality in mind, will play a crucial role in preparing and anticipating the operations of our future pilot fuel manufacturing line ... as a first structuring step, it will also support the successful deployment of our pilot line at another site in France."
Newcleo plans to directly invest in a mixed uranium/plutonium oxide (MOX) plant to fuel its small modular lead-cooled fast reactors. In June 2022, the company announced it had contracted France's Orano for feasibility studies on the establishment of a MOX production plant.
In December last year, Newcleo submitted its Safety Option File to France's nuclear safety regulator for its fuel assembly testing facility. The regulator's official opinion on the submitted safety options will contribute to securing the application for authorisation to construct such a facility.
According to Paris-headquartered Newcleo's delivery roadmap, the first non-nuclear pre-cursor prototype of its reactor is expected to be ready by 2026 in Italy, the first reactor operational in France by the end of 2031, while the final investment decision for the first commercial power plant is expected around 2029.
Newcleo said its first-of-a-kind 30 MWe lead-cooled fast reactor will "serve as an industrial demonstrator, a showcase for Newcleo's technology, and contribute to the development of the nuclear sector in France".
Last month, Newcleo announced it had started the land acquisition process for its demonstration LFR-AS-30 small modular reactor in Indre-et-Loire in the Chinon Vienne et Loire community of municipalities in western France.years before the repository is closed.
Ukraine's president signs law to facilitate the purchase of Belene equipment
Friday, 14 March 2025
The two part-built units at the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant could be finished with unused equipment from Bulgaria's discontinued Belene nuclear power plant project, with President Volodymyr Zelensky signing into law the legal framework for the acquisition.
The Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant. Only units 1 and 2 (left) are completed and in operation (Image: Energoatom)
Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, backed the plan last month, with the presidential signature required to put it into law. Nuclear power plant operator Energoatom said the law establishes the legal framework and gives approval for negotiations with Bulgaria for the acquisition of the equipment.
The back-story
Khmelnitsky's first reactor was connected to the grid in 1987, but work on three other reactors was halted in 1990, at a time when unit 3 was about 80% complete and unit 4 about 25%. Work on the second reactor restarted and it was connected to the grid in 2004, but units 3 and 4 remain uncompleted.
The Belene project in northern Bulgaria was for the construction of two 1000 MWe units, using Russian VVER-1000 designs. Preliminary site works began in 2008, and contracts for components including large forgings and I&C systems were signed with suppliers, but the project was stymied by financing problems. Equipment for the nuclear island had been paid for and was manufactured and delivered in 2017 and has since been kept in storage - the then government formally ended plans for the project in 2023.
Since then there have been talks about Ukraine purchasing the unused Belene equipment in what International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi called an "interesting project" with its "efficient" idea of one interrupted construction project integrating technology from a discontinued project. The agency has said that it will help throughout the project to ensure safety standards are assured at all times.
The Bulgarian parliament has already given approval for negotiations about the sale of the equipment to Ukraine, with the minimum aim of recouping the reported EUR600 million (USD622 million) paid for the equipment.
In May last year, at the request of the Bulgarian and Ukrainian governments, a US technical team joined experts from the two countries to conduct a technical assessment of the VVER equipment stored at Belene. Westinghouse has also confirmed it will be able to supply fuel for the completed Khmelnitsky units.
Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said, after the parliamentary vote giving the go-ahead in February: "The completion of the Khmelnitsky NPP is a strategic task for Ukraine. Nuclear energy is the basis of our energy system, and to a large extent it is thanks to it that we have light and heat, despite constant attacks."
He also stressed that Ukraine, which is currently at war with Russia, would not see any Russian involvement in the project - "everything will be implemented by Ukrainian and American companies". He added that completion of the units will be "many times" faster and cheaper than construction from scratch.
Ukraine has 15 reactors, capable of generating half its electricity, at four existing nuclear power plants, including the six-unit Zaporizhzhia plant which has been under Russian military control since early March 2022. The country has plans for at least nine Westinghouse AP1000 units, including two new ones planned at Khmelnitsky and others at the Rivne and South Ukraine plants. The two completed units could provide more than 2 GW of capacity.
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