GRIFT

Trump’s Bosnia Power Play Puts an Opaque Energy Deal at the Center

By Charles Kennedy - Aug 12, 2026

• Trump has made Bosnia’s energy sector a geopolitical priority, backing the Southern Interconnection pipeline to bring U.S. LNG into Bosnia while supporting a private company linked to Trump allies.
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• The deal has raised major transparency and conflict-of-interest concerns, as AAFS was inserted into the pipeline project without a competitive tender.
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• Washington’s strategy could backfire, with sanctions relief strengthening Milorad Dodik, who has resumed secessionist rhetoric and deepened ties with Russia, while the U.S. and Europe remain divided over Bosnia’s High Representative.
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Bosnia is next on U.S. President Donald Trump’s disruption agenda, and an opaque energy deal riddled with conflicts of interest is at the heart of yet another of Washington’s transactional gambles based on insufficient knowledge. 

Since the second half of 2025, the Trump administration has been dismantling key elements of long-running U.S. policy toward Bosnia and Herzegovina, all because it wants a pipeline from Croatia to supply U.S. LNG, with deals brokered by an unknown company run by Trump loyalists collecting on owed favors. 

The Trump administration has already infiltrated this last bastion of fragile stability–a stability that has lasted since 1995. The administration will find enough officials and businessmen willing to act against the national interest, and Trump loyalists are adept at identifying them. They are also unafraid of a rather complacent population that doesn’t often rock the boat. 

In order to achieve that pipeline deal, the Trump administration is gambling that it can unleash and then control the country’s number one destabilizing individual: Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb strongman who has spent years challenging the authority of the Bosnian state and threatening the constitutional order established by the 1995 Dayton peace agreement.

The Step-By-Step Dismantling of Bosnia

The playbook was laid out in a lobbying contract Republika Srpska signed with RRB Strategies, headed by former Illinois governor and Trump ally Rod Blagojevich. Michael Flynn was working the same Washington terrain through a separate organization, the Gold Institute for International Strategy, where his duties included connecting Dodik with “decision-makers and influential figures in Washington”.

Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, is a retired lieutenant general who pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia before Trump pardoned him in 2020. Later, he would become a prominent election-denial activist and political ally whose brother now fronts the company that is slated to develop the pipeline to Croatia. 

Step 1: Rehabilitate Milorad Dodik

Dodik has dominated Republika Srpska, Bosnia’s Serb-majority entity, while repeatedly threatening secession and attempting to strip Bosnia’s central institutions of their authority. 

The U.S. first sanctioned him in 2017 for obstructing the Dayton agreement. The Treasury sanctioned him again in January 2022 for attacks on Bosnian state institutions and corruption, accusing him of using patronage, bribery and government contracts to enrich himself and his associates.

Washington later extended sanctions to Dodik’s children, Igor and Gorica, and companies tied to the family. The Treasury said in 2023 that Dodik had used his official position to direct government contracts and monopolies to private companies overseen by members of his family and associates. A further round in 2024 targeted companies forming part of Igor Dodik’s financial network, including Prointer ITSS, Infinity International Group, Kaldera, Sirius 2010, Elpring and Nimbus Innovations.

The media coverage has been dismal from a local standpoint, and on the Western media front, one can rely solely on The Guardian and a smattering of disconnected Reuters newswires.  

The groundwork began months before Washington formally rehabilitated Dodik. 

In March 2025, Republika Srpska hired RRB Strategies, headed by former Illinois governor and Trump ally Rod Blagojevich, to lobby the Trump administration. The stated mandate included lifting U.S. sanctions on Republika Srpska officials, opposing High Representative Christian Schmidt, pushing for the eventual elimination of the Office of the High Representative and establishing “intensive and personal contacts” with senior State Department officials.

By the fall of last year, Washington was negotiating with Dodik’s government. 

Republika Srpska subsequently reversed several measures challenging Bosnia’s state institutions and accepted Dodik’s departure from the entity presidency. The State Department welcomed the reversals as the result of U.S.-led efforts to defuse the political crisis that Dodik himself had caused.

The payoff came quickly for Dodik. The U.S. Treasury removed four Dodik allies from the sanctions list on October 17. Twelve days later, OFAC removed Dodik himself along with his children, senior Republika Srpska officials and dozens of associated people and companies. The Treasury offered no detailed public explanation for the mass delisting.

Step 2: The Overnight Emergence of a Pipeline Deal

The pipeline itself, the Southern Interconnection, is not under much scrutiny. Its purpose, long supported and facilitated by the EU (including Schmidt), is to bring American LNG into Bosnia and reduce reliance on Russian gas, a reliance that Europe wholeheartedly embraced for decades.

With this in mind, the pipeline itself isn’t a problem for the EU. It would love nothing more than to facilitate this, but not at the expense of the destruction of the state, and not with an opaque company created overnight by figures close to the U.S. president, with no state tender process.  

The best way to understand the nature of the unknown company that stands to benefit from the pipeline is through the chronology. 

Just 22 days after removing sanctions from Dodik and family, and before the elusive American company AAFS existed, U.S. officials and their civilian loyalists were making their move to secure the pipeline development for themselves. 

On November 20, 2025, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires John Ginkel met the leaders of the five main political parties in Bosnia’s Federation entity and proposed a new model for the Southern Interconnection: an American private company would develop, build and manage the pipeline. The Federation leaders agreed in principle. The U.S. Embassy said American investment would speed up construction and provide Bosnia with “affordable and reliable” U.S. LNG.

At the time, the American company was not identified. 

Four days later, AAFS Infrastructure and Energy LLC was incorporated in Wyoming.

AAFS was not entirely new. Sarajevo businessman Amer Bekan had registered a Bosnian company under the same name in 2021. Bekan is a lobbyist and a fixer working behind the scenes for the highest bidder, according to an international consultant based in the U.S. and Sarajevo. 

A 2019 industry biography described him as CEO of Karimpol Group for Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia, calling him “one of the largest lobbyists for foreign investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina”. He also ran his own political party, Prva Stranka, founded in Sarajevo in 2014, and stood for mayor of Sarajevo’s Centar municipality in 2016, finishing last. The party’s financial records listed its headquarters at Splitska 12 in Sarajevo–the same address later used by the original Bosnian AAFS. 

Bekan was also accused of selling votes to Dodik. During the 2020 local elections, former Srebrenica mayor Camil Durakovic publicly accused Bekan of selling Prva Stranka’s positions on Srebrenica polling boards to Dodik’s SNSD party. Durakovic said he had evidence supporting the allegation and cited a message he said came from an SNSD member indicating that the positions had been paid for. Bekan denied the accusation and threatened legal action. There are no subsequent court rulings on this. 

The new AAFS was the result of Bekan being brought into the new American venture by Trump’s personal lawyer, Jesse Binnall, and Michael Flynn’s brother, Joe Flynn. They did not bring Bekan on for his experience in constructing or operating energy infrastructure, of which he has none. He was brought in because of his connections, his lobbying abilities, and his government contract influence. 

That was all in November 2025. By January, Washington was openly backing AAFS.

Binnall and Flynn arrived in Sarajevo and began meeting the country’s political leadership with Ginkel at their side. On January 12, they met Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic. The following day they met Dragan Covic, leader of the largest Bosnian Croat party and deputy speaker of the House of Peoples. The U.S. Embassy said the meetings would explore how “American capital and resources” could develop and operate the Southern Interconnection.

AAFS has no infrastructure development experience or resources of its own. It is essentially a middleman: it proposes to secure the concession and financing, then rely on other companies to provide the engineering, construction and operating expertise needed to deliver the project.

AAFS has not identified who would engineer and build the Southern Interconnection, who would operate it, or which investment funds would provide the capital. It has not even disclosed all of its own shareholders. Binnall and Flynn are acknowledged owners, while Bekan has confirmed that there are others without naming them.

That raises the more obvious question of why Bosnia allowed this to happen at all, and without a tender. 

Southern Interconnection had already been under development for years by BH Gas and Croatia’s Plinacro, the established gas-transmission operators on either side of the border. The two companies signed a cooperation agreement covering the route in 2017 and continued working jointly on its development, including the interconnection point between the Croatian and Bosnian transmission systems. Under the original plan, BH Gas would develop and operate the Bosnian section while Plinacro handled the Croatian side.

Nor was there any shortage of established American companies capable of taking part if Washington wanted U.S. private investment. Bechtel representatives arrived in Sarajevo in January to discuss Southern Interconnection. Bechtel has decades of experience delivering major pipelines and other energy infrastructure.

There was no tender to determine whether Bechtel, another international pipeline developer, the existing transmission operators or any other qualified consortium could offer Bosnia better terms.

AAFS was simply inserted into the project.

By April, parliament had amended the Southern Interconnection law to remove BH Gas from its previous role and put AAFS at the center of the project. A company incorporated in Wyoming less than five months earlier, with no comparable project history and no disclosed engineering, construction or operating partners, was now positioned between Bosnia and the companies that would actually have to build and operate its strategic new gas corridor.

It could very well end up being Bechtel that builds the pipeline, while AAFS controls the deal. In January, Bechtel emerged as a potential construction partner and was still being discussed alongside AAFS in March, but no final construction contract with Bechtel has been publicly announced. 

If Bechtel (or similar) ultimately builds the pipeline, the obvious commercial structure could have been for Bosnia/BH Gas or another project company to contract directly with an experienced EPC company such as Bechtel. Alternatively, Bosnia could have tendered a concession to qualified international infrastructure developers and required bidders to disclose their financing, EPC contractors and operators.

But that would have cut out a very lucrative middleman position for Bekan, Flynn and Binnel. 

AAFS does not need the technical capacity to build or operate the pipeline. Once it controls the concession, it can contract the engineering, construction and operations to companies that do.

But because there was no competitive tender, Bosnia never required AAFS to compete openly on the qualifications that would ordinarily determine who receives such a project: technical experience, financing, proposed contractors, operating expertise, price and terms.

The opacity therefore goes well beyond AAFS’s ownership. Bosnia does not publicly know all of the people behind the company, where all of the money is coming from, which companies will perform the work, or how much of the project’s value AAFS and its shareholders will retain for arranging it.

Bosnia’s recently ex-High Representative, Schmidt, then ended up resigning over this deal process, not the idea of the pipeline itself. 

The total proposed investment across the Bosnian projects has reached roughly €1.5 billion.

But AAFS isn’t just looking for a pipeline deal here. Its plans expanded to include three gas-fired power plants, and all along, they have been trying to take control of Bosnia’s key international airports. 

AAFS has also proposed a 30-year concession to operate Sarajevo International Airport, with an option that could extend its control for another 20 years, and another 30-year concession for Mostar Airport.

Mostar has already moved the airport proposal forward. The city council approved proceeding with the concession process in June. Sarajevo has not awarded AAFS an airport concession.

The result is an extraordinary expansion for a company whose American incarnation did not exist when Trump returned to office.

In a matter of months, AAFS went from a newly incorporated Wyoming company to the preferred investor in a strategic international gas pipeline, the prospective developer of three power plants and a bidder for decades of control over two international airports.

Its owners include the president’s personal lawyer and the brother of Michael Flynn. Its other shareholders remain undisclosed. Its financing remains undisclosed. Its principal technical and operating partners remain undisclosed.

And throughout that expansion, the U.S. Embassy has been at its side.

Binnall himself has called the Southern Interconnection a “priority” of the Trump administration. That statement carries considerably more weight when Binnall’s two roles are put next to each other: he is Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, and he is a shareholder in the private company positioned to profit from the administration’s Bosnia policy.

The pipeline was already moving forward when Washington turned its attention to the next obstacle: Christian Schmidt and the Office of the High Representative.

Step 3: Dismantle the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia

The Southern Interconnection pipeline crosses an international border and requires decisions at the level of the Bosnian state. It also runs straight into one of the country’s most explosive unresolved postwar disputes: state property. Roughly one-third of the proposed pipeline would cross land classified as state property, ownership of which Bosnia has never resolved.

Dodik had spent years fighting that battle from the other direction. His position is that public property located inside Republika Srpska belongs to the entity, while Bosnia’s Constitutional Court has repeatedly rejected attempts by Republika Srpska to take ownership of state property. For Dodik, control over state property is central to his effort to transfer power and assets away from Bosnia’s central institutions and into Republika Srpska.

Washington therefore needed cooperation from the same politician it had spent years sanctioning for attacking the Bosnian state.

And Dodik gave it.

In April, Dodik announced that the Republika Srpska government had approved Southern Interconnection, calling it primarily a Federation project. But his support came with a demand of his own: Republika Srpska’s projects should no longer be blocked.  

One of those projects is particularly important. Republika Srpska has been pursuing its own €500-million Eastern New Interconnection, connecting the entity directly with Serbia and preserving access to the Russian gas system. As recently as June, Dodik was in St Petersburg for talks involving Gazprom while Republika Srpska continued preparations for that pipeline.  

The result is a remarkable arrangement. Washington is promoting Southern Interconnection as the project that will break Bosnia’s dependence on Russian gas, while the country’s most powerful pro-Russian politician has agreed to support it while demanding that Republika Srpska be allowed to pursue its own projects (for Russian gas).

But Dodik was only one obstacle.

The unresolved state-property question remained, and there was one international official in Bosnia with extraordinary powers to intervene in precisely that kind of dispute: the High Representative.

Schmidt had the power to break the deadlock. As High Representative, he could use the Bonn powers to impose legislation without waiting for Bosnia’s political institutions to reach agreement. But Schmidt would not impose a permanent division of state property.

That refusal was particularly inconvenient because a settlement could solve two problems for Washington at once. It could clear the property needed for the AAFS pipeline while giving Dodik something he had demanded for years: control by Republika Srpska over state property located inside the entity.

Schmidt had previously used his powers to stop Dodik from doing exactly that. In 2022, he suspended a Republika Srpska law claiming state property for the entity, maintaining that Bosnia, not Republika Srpska, had authority over its disposal.

Washington therefore needed a High Representative willing to do what Schmidt would not.

Either removing the OHR entirely, or hindering it by leaving it without a High Representative, creates a direct path between Dodik and American officials to act unilaterally against the interests of the state. 

It worked. 

In May 2026, Schmidt announced his resignation after coming under intense U.S. pressure. 

Washington then backed veteran Italian diplomat Antonio Zanardi Landi to replace him, with Trump-aligned officials stating in no uncertain terms that the pipeline would be resolved as soon as Landi took over, with no clear explanation as to why they assumed that. 

An AAFS representative told senior Bosnian parliamentarians that the state-property problem would be resolved once Landi became High Representative. Landi’s own platform did not explain how he would deal with state property.  

But the EU isn’t playing along–yet. 

France, Germany and Britain have resisted Landi’s appointment, instead backing French diplomat René Troccaz. 

So, Washington and the AAFS pipeline deal still have a lingering problem. Washington can’t install Bosnia’s High Representative on its own. The High Representative is chosen through the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council, where the U.S. campaign has run into opposition from its European allies. 

France put forward its Western Balkans envoy, René Troccaz, with Germany and Britain lining up behind him. The United States backed Landi, joined by Italy, Turkey and Japan. The first attempt to choose Schmidt’s successor on June 4 ended without agreement after hours of negotiations in Sarajevo. American officials had pressed for Landi to be appointed that day.  

Washington then increased the pressure. The Americans demanded Schmidt’s immediate departure rather than allowing him to remain through Bosnia’s October elections, as an earlier compromise with Germany had envisioned. 

At the next PIC meeting on June 30, Washington got that much: Schmidt was forced out immediately. But it still could not get Landi installed. The meeting again ended without agreement on a successor, leaving Schmidt’s American deputy, Louis Crishock, temporarily in charge, while the U.S. and European governments continued fighting over who would take the office permanently. The PIC failed again on July 14, leaving Crishock in charge indefinitely while Washington and its European allies continue to fight over a permanent successor. No date has been announced for another attempt.

 This fight isn’t just over who replaces Schmidt; it’s over who controls an office with the power to settle the state-property dispute standing in the way of the AAFS pipeline. 

As of now, Europe has stopped Washington from completing that part of the plan. But this is just a waiting game. And that also makes Chrishock the pipeline kingmaker, though statements from him so far, combined with the fact that he is a career diplomat at the OHR since 2024,  do not suggest he is actively seeking to work with Trump with respect to using his Bonn Powers to resolve the state property issue and pave the way for AAFS’ pipeline plans. 

Unleashing Dodik

Since Trump let Dodik off his leash, things haven’t gone as smoothly as Trump had anticipated, and Dodik is an animal he cannot necessarily control.

Washington’s gamble on Dodik was already coming apart within weeks of the sanctions relief. By January, he was again openly advocating secession and defying Bosnia’s Constitutional Court. By February, he was using a U.S. visit to call Sarajevo the “enemy of Republika Srpska” and demand the expulsion of the High Representative. By March, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers was asking the Trump administration to put the sanctions back, warning that the delisting had emboldened him. By May, Dodik was back in Moscow with Putin. By June, Republika Srpska was deepening talks with Gazprom and pursuing the €500-million pipeline that would preserve the Russian gas relationship Washington says it is trying to dismantle.

TO BE CONTINUED …

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

World Nuclear News

Indian parliamentarians stress urgency for uranium projects

Friday, 7 August 2026

The expansion of uranium mining projects in India needs to be accelerated, a parliamentary committee has said.
 

An aerial view of India's Parliament (Image: Lok Sabha)

The Committee on Public Undertakings' comments came in a report covering the progress of India's planned nuclear energy expansion.

It included the recommendations from an earlier report and the responses received from Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). The report notes DAE's assurance that by 2036 "Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL), Jaduguda plans to double the production by enhancing the existing mine capacity as well as setting up uranium mining projects in Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh".

The committee welcomes the "concrete project roadmap" provided but says "nevertheless, the Committee notes that the timeline for full realisation stretches to 2036, whereas NPCIL's massive capacity additions are front-loaded over the next decade. Any delay in the commissioning of these mining clusters will prolong the strategic sensitivity of relying on imported fuel lines".

Both NPCIL and DAE said they noted the committee's earlier observation "that the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) ensures complete domestic fabrication of fuel assemblies for PHWRs using uranium concentrate supplied by UCIL or imports arranged under Government oversight. The Committee observes that DAE has pursued long-term supply agreements with multiple international partners to ensure continuous fuel availability for safeguarded reactors. Also, as per NPCIL's capacity expansion trajectory, PHWRs alone could require approximately 5,400 tonnes U3O8 per annum for about 25 GWe, while UCIL currently estimates catering to about 30% of this need, implicating persistent import reliance unless domestic production accelerates and diversified supply lines are established".

The committee also welcomed as a "constructive and encouraging step" proposals for a joint venture between UCIL and NTPC to acquire stakes in overseas uranium assets which could stabilise "long-term fuel costs and support the domestic nuclear fleet against market fluctuations and uncertainties".

They also say they are looking forward to receiving updates on a potential long-term supply contract with Uzbekistan post-2026, and the establishment of strategic stockpiles "calibrated to reactor refuelling cycles" which remain "a vital measure to ensure continuous operations".

"The Committee note that NPCIL continues to rely significantly on imported uranium, posing a strategic sensitivity with regard to stable fuel supply. The future expansion of the nuclear fleet is also closely linked with Uranium Corporation of India’s ability to increase domestic uranium production, an element that remains beyond NPCIL's immediate purview.”

Imports presently originate from Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Canada, with an Uzbek long-term contract valid up to 2026. Last month India and Australia signed the administrative arrangement to enable uranium exports to India for peaceful purposes under the nuclear cooperation agreement signed between the two countries more than a decade ago.

India, which currently has about 7,900 MW capacity from 24 operable nuclear power plants, is planning a large expansion of its nuclear capacity. The country says that seventeen nuclear power reactors with a total of 13,100 MW capacity are either under construction (7) or under pre-project activities (10). The ambition is for India to reach a nuclear energy capacity of about 100 GW by 2047.

In other parts of the report, the committee stresses the need for regulatory and legislative moves to help facilitate the uranium projects. And it encourages NPCIL to develop its international market presence and global competitiveness, saying: "The Committee recommend that NPCIL adopt a focused and time bound internationalisation strategy, by accelerating the development and commercialisation of indigenous Light Water Reactors (LWRs) and modular reactor technologies aligned with prevailing global market demand. The Committee further recommend that NPCIL strengthen strategic partnerships with established international nuclear vendors and actively participate in joint ventures and global supply chains to enhance credibility and market access."

In response NPCIL says "The recommendation of the Hon’ble Committee is noted and NPCIL will make efforts to implement it appropriately".

X-Energy and Centrus sign HALEU supply agreement

Thursday, 6 August 2026

Centrus Energy Corp and X-Energy have signed an agreement for Centrus to provide enrichment services for low-enriched uranium and high-assay low-enriched uranium to fuel Xe-100 high-temperature gas-cooled small modular reactors.
 

How an X-Energy Xe-100 small modular reactor plant could look (Image: X-Energy)

The low-enriched uranium (LEU) and high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) will be produced at Centrus's American Centrifuge Plant in Pike County, Ohio. The HALEU will be supplied to X-Energy's fuel subsidiary TRISO-X, for the fabrication of TRISO-X-coated particle fuel at its fuel fabrication campus in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The contract will see prepayments from X-Energy to Centrus "under a phased approach to scale HALEU production in alignment with the advancement of X-Energy’s commercial pipeline".

HALEU fuel enriched to between 5% and 20% of the fissile uranium-235 isotope will be needed to fuel many of the advanced reactor designs that are under development. With no commercial source of the material in the USA, the US Department of Energy has been actively supporting the development of a domestic US supply chain. In 2019, it awarded Centrus a contract to license and construct a cascade of advanced centrifuges to demonstrate HALEU production at the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio, and in 2022 selected the company through a competitive process for the three-phase follow-on contract to bring the cascade into production and to deliver HALEU for the DOE's use.

Last year, Centrus announced plans for a major expansion of the plant to boost production of both low-enriched uranium and HALEU. The expansion is expected to create 1,000 construction jobs and 300 new operating jobs in Ohio alone, while retaining the 150 jobs that existed at the Piketon plant when the expansion began, the company said.

Prepayment arrangements and government funding has been helping to tackle the "chicken and egg" issue where advanced reactor developers need to know they will have the fuel for their projects, while the fuel companies want to be assured of future demand before investing in new facilities. Centrus says it has a USD3 billion "contingent LEU and HALEU backlog, of which USD2.4 billion is definitised".

Amir Vexler, President and CEO of Centrus, said: "This is another significant agreement that validates Centrus as the go-to, de-risked supplier of HALEU to the global market. Agreements like these provide important non-dilutive, non-debt capital to support our build-out and serves to advance commercial LEU and HALEU capacity expansion."

X-Energy CEO J Clay Sell, said: "Our approach is to build a resilient, long-term fuel supply strategy by partnering with enrichment providers that are investing in new HALEU production capacity. Through our agreement with Centrus, X-Energy has secured enrichment capacity that will support our customers’ initial fuel needs through the market's transition to a robust commercial HALEU supply."

Background

The Xe-100 is a pebble bed high-temperature gas reactor capable of a thermal output of 200 MW or (80 MW electrical). It uses fuel made from robust TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) fuel particles which are able to withstand extremely high temperatures without melting.

Optimised as a four-unit plant delivering 320 MWe, the reactor can provide baseload power to an electricity system or use its thermal output to support industrial applications with high pressure, high temperature steam.

The first deployment of the Xe-100 is planned for Dow’s Seadrift site on the Texas Gulf Coast, to supply both power and high-temperature heat to industrial-scale operations. X-energy and Amazon have also committed to the goal of more than 5 GW of new nuclear by 2039, starting with a joint plan with Washington state utility Energy Northwest to build up to 12 SMRs near Energy Northwest's Columbia Generating Station.

In February, TRISO-X received a 40-year Special Nuclear Material Licence from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, enabling TRISO-X to commercially manufacture fuel using HALEU under a single licence.

TRISO fuel is composed of small spheres of enriched uranium that are coated with multiple layers of carbon and ceramic materials, forming a robust shell that can withstand high temperatures. HALEU contains between 5% and 20% of fissile uranium-235 - a higher enrichment than that found in typical uranium fuel used in today's operating commercial reactors, which contains between 3.5% and 5% U-235.

Bechtel assumes responsibility for Polish plant site

Thursday, 6 August 2026

Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe, which plans to build Poland's first nuclear power plant, announced it has handed over management of the project site to general contractor Bechtel as earthworks start on the construction site.
 

The Lubiatowo-Kopalino site, pictured in February (Image: PEJ)

Bechtel will be responsible for both the execution and supervision of the work carried out during the preparation of the future construction site, as well as cooperation with the investment subcontractors and ensuring safety on the site in Lubiatowo-Kopalino, in the Choczewo municipality of Pomerania in northern Poland.

"This is a very important day for both Bechtel and the implementation of the entire multi-year project to build a key infrastructure and energy project for our country - the first nuclear power plant in Poland," said Leszek Hołda, President of Bechtel Polska. "We are formally becoming the site's administrators, taking over this role from Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe. This marks the investment's transition to the next stage - a phase of further operational activities, carried out by Bechtel engineers and experts, as well as specialised contractors, including local contractors."

The takeover of site management coincides with the selection of Budimex SA, one of the largest construction companies in Poland, as the main contractor for earthworks.

Initially, this will include ground levelling, reconstruction and expansion of drainage systems, and construction of a network of temporary roads totalling about 16 kilometres (10 miles). Simultaneously, work will be carried out to prepare the site for future technical, logistics, and production facilities, as well as adapting existing infrastructure. An extensive construction site will also be constructed, including fuel storage and refuelling areas, car washes, equipment maintenance workshops, storage yards, and material warehouses, as well as office, staff, and sanitary facilities. Work, under the permit obtained, is scheduled to take place between the third quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2029.

Ground movement and levelling will be carried out on the more than 300-hectare future construction site. Additional embankments will be constructed to prepare the area for the commencement of the main construction work. About 6 km of drainage ditches, along with culverts and erosion protection, will also be constructed.

(Image: US Embassy Warsaw)

"Budimex has been involved in projects of fundamental importance to Poland's development for many years," said Artur Popko, President of the Management Board of Budimex SA. "For nearly 60 years, we have been building roads, railways, energy facilities, and critical infrastructure. These investments benefit millions of people every day. I am extremely satisfied that Bechtel - the general contractor of Poland's first nuclear power plant - has trusted Polish contractors and entrusted us with the initial work, which paves the way for the next stages of this key investment. We are proud that, as a Polish company, we can participate in a project that will be of fundamental importance to the security and future of our country."

Marek Woszczyk, President of the Management Board of PEJ, said: "The handover of the site where Poland's first nuclear power plant is being built, along with the commencement of earthworks, marks the next, very concrete steps towards commencing construction. After years of preparation, research, and obtaining the necessary administrative decisions, we are entering a phase of intensive fieldwork. This is clear evidence that the Polish nuclear programme is moving from planning to implementation. Over 200 people are already working on the project site, and this number will steadily increase in the coming months. Entrusting Bechtel with the coordination of the work will allow us to maintain the planned pace of implementation and effectively prepare the project for the next stages of construction."

The background

In November 2022, the then Polish government selected Westinghouse AP1000 reactor technology for construction at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Choczewo municipality in Pomerania in northern Poland. In September 2023, Westinghouse, Bechtel and PEJ - a special-purpose vehicle 100% owned by Poland's State Treasury - signed an 18-month engineering services contract under which Westinghouse and Bechtel will finalise a site-specific design for a plant featuring three AP1000 reactors. In April last year, PEJ and the Westinghouse-Bechtel Consortium agreed the terms and conditions of an Engineering Development Agreement (EDA) after the previous agreement expired.

How the completed plant could look (Image: Polish Government)

On 29 December, PEJ announced it had signed an amendment to the EDA with the Westinghouse-Bechtel Consortium. The amended scope of the agreement provides for the continuation of design works covering the nuclear island, turbine island, and the balance of plant, as well as further in-depth geological survey campaigns. This, it said, allows it to maintain the project schedule by advancing the power plant design and continuing field works, while simultaneously conducting negotiations and finalising the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract, "which will ultimately determine our cooperation with the Westinghouse-Bechtel Consortium".

On 31 March this year, PEJ submitted an application to the President of Poland's National Atomic Energy Agency (PAA) for a construction permit.

PEJ said it expects to pour first concrete for the plant's first unit in the fourth quarter of 2028. In order to meet this schedule, the company must obtain both a construction permit from the PAA and a building permit from the Pomeranian Voivode. PEJ said it plans to submit a building permit application in 2027.

Construction of each reactor is expected to take about seven years. This will be followed by approximately one year of testing and commissioning. The aim is for the first reactor to begin commercial operation in 2036, the second in 2037, and the third in 2038.

Water levels to be increased in Zaporizhzhia's used fuel pools

Friday, 7 August 2026

A decision has been taken to increase the water levels in the used fuel pools at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, amid ongoing concerns about possible losses of off-site power, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said.
 

A file image of Zaporizhzhia's six units (Image: Energoatom)

The agency (IAEA) said its experts at the site had been informed by the operators of the plant - which has been under Russian military control since March 2022 - that "the measure is intended to increase the time available before water could begin to boil off in the event of a prolonged loss of off-site power during which the site exhausted its diesel fuel supplies and could no longer continue cooling the pools".

The IAEA added: "The decision was taken in light of the prolonged unavailability of the 750 kV Dniprovska line and current challenges in resupplying the site’s diesel fuel stores because of military activity in the area. The work began this week, with the IAEA team present to observe."

Cooling pools are used for storing used nuclear fuel underwater. This is normally for at least five years to allow decay of radioactivity and heat.

The Zaporizhzhia plant's six units have all been shut down since the start of the war in 2022, with the last unit transferring to a cold shutdown in April 2024.

The plant is close to the front line of Russian and Ukrainian forces and the plant has suffered a number of incidences where it has lost all external power, and had to rely on its fleet of emergency diesel generators for the power needed for essential safety functions. Nuclear power plants generally have enough diesel stored on site to operate emergency generators for an initial seven days if necessary. This ensures there is time to fix external power issues, or allow time for new supplies of diesel to be brought in if the generators are to be in use for a longer period.

According to the IAEA there have now been 24 times that the plant has lost external power, with half of those occurring in the past four months, including twice in the past week.

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said: "This trend, with the rising number of off-site power cuts at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, is deeply concerning and clearly not sustainable. The agency will continue its work to help improve the situation and support nuclear safety and security at the site."

At the moment the plant is relying on a single 330 kV backup power line, with its main 750 kV power line unavailable since March. Repairs were carried out, under an IAEA-arranged localised ceasefire, but it remains unavailable because of damage to a substation which provides power to the line.

Grossi said: "These substation missions have a clear nuclear safety and security purpose. As set out in the seven indispensable pillars, nuclear power plants require reliable off-site power, and substations are a crucial part of that process."

The IAEA said that its teams at Zaporizhzhia and at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant and the Chernobyl site all continue to report hearing military activity and/or air raid alarms.

Grossi said: "With each new day of the conflict, the risks to nuclear safety and security are not decreasing, on the contrary. I renew my call for maximum military restraint around all of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and their associated electrical infrastructure."

US test reactors achieve milestones

Thursday, 6 August 2026

Nuclear technology company Oklo has announced its Groves Isotope Test Reactor has achieved first criticality, while Deep Fission's underground reactor has received safety design approval. Both reactors are part of the USA's Reactor Pilot Program.
 

(Image: Oklo)

Oklo's Grove reactor - located near Lockhart in Caldwell County, Texas - was one of 11 advanced reactor projects selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in August 2025 for the Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, which aims to expedite the testing of advanced reactor designs that will be authorised by the DOE at sites located outside of the national laboratories. Part of the Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy executive order signed by President Donald Trump in May last year, its goal was "to construct, operate, and achieve criticality of at least three test reactors using the DOE authorisation process by 4 July, 2026".

"Reaching criticality in less than a year is an incredible milestone for our team," said Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte. "Oklo developed Groves from a greenfield site on private land, completed full-scale civil excavation and construction, manufactured or commercially procured all components, including fuel, and developed its operating programmes in-house. Taken together, we believe these accomplishments establish a new benchmark for the Reactor Pilot Program and set the stage for the future of advanced nuclear deployment at scale."

Groves is a low-power test reactor designed to demonstrate reactor design, build, and operations, and to establish operating experience needed to support future isotope production facilities. The project advances Oklo's plans to establish domestic production of critical isotopes for potential use in cancer care, manufacturing, scientific research, space exploration, and national security.

"Groves demonstrates that the domestic nuclear industry can once again move from design through construction, authorisation, and startup on timelines that are measured in months rather than years when developers, suppliers, and regulators work together on an integrated deployment approach," Oklo said.

The company said the project has generated practical experience in project engineering, construction, procurement, reactor operations, startup procedures, safety readiness, training, qualification work, and deployment execution that can inform future isotope production facilities. It has also established engineering practices, operating procedures, training programmes, commissioning experience, and organisational capabilities "that will reduce uncertainty and execution risk across every Oklo facility, including the company's future isotope, powerhouse, and fuel cycle deployments".

Antares Nuclear's Mark-0 reactor became the first reactor under the Reactor Pilot Program to reach initial criticality in early June, closely followed by Valar Atomics' Ward 250 reactor. Deployable Energy's Unity demonstration reactor achieved criticality on 1 July, while Aalo Atomics' Critical Test Reactor chieved initial criticality in the early hours of 4 July.

Deep Fission reactor gets safety design approval

California-based startup Deep Fission, which aims to place small modular reactors in boreholes a mile underground, announced DOE's approval of the Nuclear Safety Design Agreement for its Gravity reactor, confirming that its design warrants advancement under the Reactor Pilot Program.

Gravity reactor cutaway detail (Image: Deep Fission)

The DOE's authorisation pathway mirrors many elements of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's licensing framework, including the development of preliminary and final safety analyses for construction and operation (read more about the DOE pathway here). The Nuclear Safety Design Agreement - also referred to as the NSDA - is the first step under the Reactor Pilot Program authorisation pathway. It covers design requirements, safety analysis approach, regulatory engagement process, applicable regulatory requirements, and identifies the key safety decisions for the design.

"With this milestone in place, Deep Fission moves forward to the next phase of the DOE authorisation pathway, advancing toward demonstration and eventual deployment of its underground nuclear reactor technology," the company said.

Deep Fission's Gravity reactor is a small modular reactor designed to be placed underground in an optimised borehole one mile (1.6 km) deep. Using traditional pressurised water reactor technology and low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel, each reactor will generate 15 MWe, the company says, while its small footprint and dense power output means it will require a fraction of the land needed for traditional surface nuclear: ten reactors on the same site would deliver 150 MWe, or 100 reactors would produce 1.5 GWe. In this design, thermal energy is transferred through a closed-loop system from the reactor canister to a heat exchanger, then rises to the surface in a secondary closed-loop for conversion into electricity, like a geothermal system. The company says passive shielding and natural containment offered by the surrounding geology, and the combination of mature technologies from the nuclear, oil and gas, and geothermal industries, while using off-the-shelf parts and readily available LEU fuel, aims to improve safety and security and enable a faster, more cost-effective path to deployment.

Deep Fission broke ground in December at the Great Plains Industrial Park in Parsons for its pilot project and plans to build a full-scale commercial plant there following the test reactor demonstration.

"Deep Fission's Parsons project is not designed as a one-time criticality test," the company said. "Consistent with the intent of Executive Order 14301 and the Reactor Pilot Program, the company intends for its demonstration reactor to become a fully Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed, commercially operating unit, delivering power after initial testing and receiving DOE authorisation."

US collaboration to study used nuclear fuel recycling

Friday, 7 August 2026

US advanced nuclear recycling technologies firm Curio has signed a memorandum of understanding with NuScale Power and Framatome to evaluate how recovered materials from used nuclear fuel can support future fuel and product streams.
 

A dry storage facility for US used nuclear fuel (Image: NAC International)

Under the agreement, the partners will evaluate source-to-product and source-to-fuel pathways for materials recoverable through Curio's proprietary NuCycle technology, while identifying opportunities for future engineering coordination, fuel development, qualification, fabrication, and commercialisation. The collaboration will also seek to facilitate connections across the nuclear supply chain to more seamlessly bring next-generation fuel and product streams to market.

As part of the MoU, the companies will conduct technical assessments, feasibility studies, supply chain analyses, and interface evaluations to identify potential opportunities for future development agreements and commercial partnerships. Together, the parties seek to identify practical pathways that can strengthen both domestic and international nuclear fuel supply chains, support long-term energy security objectives, and help meet growing global demand for reliable, carbon-free nuclear energy.

"The collaboration reflects growing industry recognition that meeting future energy demand will require integrated fuel cycle solutions capable of supporting both domestic reactor deployment and expanding international nuclear energy markets," Curio said. "By evaluating opportunities across the entire value chain, the parties aim to identify pathways that could support the commercialisation of advanced fuels and fuel-cycle solutions needed to power the next generation of nuclear energy systems."

The parties anticipate that this collaboration may lead to future agreements focused on technology development, fuel qualification, supply chain development, and commercial deployment opportunities.

"America's ability to lead the next era of nuclear energy will depend on more than building reactors - it will require building the fuel cycle infrastructure needed to support them," said Curio CEO Ed McGinnis. "This collaboration brings together leaders in fuel recycling, fuel development, and advanced reactor deployment to evaluate innovative pathways that could strengthen domestic and international energy security, enhance fuel supply resilience, and unlock greater value from existing nuclear materials. By connecting these critical elements of the nuclear value chain, we are helping lay the foundation for a future of clean, sustainable energy."

Tony Robinson, president and CEO of Framatome Inc, added: "Advancing the next generation of nuclear energy demands bold innovation and strong alignment across the entire fuel cycle. At Framatome, we are committed to working with partners who share that vision and support efforts to strengthen America's nuclear infrastructure. This collaboration represents the kind of forward-looking, integrated approach needed to unlock new fuel technologies, and ensure the US remains at the forefront of safe, reliable, carbon-free nuclear power."

"With the most near-term deployable SMR (small modular reactor) technology, NuScale has long recognised that the nuclear industry requires a strong, reliable, sustainable frontend and backend fuel supply to meet increasing demand," said John Hopkins, President and CEO of NuScale Power. "We are pleased to work alongside our partners Curio and Framatome to leverage our complementary capabilities, including NuScale's position as the only SMR to have received US Nuclear Regulatory Commission design approval, to help advance a more resilient and integrated nuclear fuel cycle for off-takers in the United States and internationally."

Curio's proprietary NuCycle technology is designed to recycle used nuclear fuel and recover valuable materials that can be utilised in future nuclear energy applications. By dramatically reducing residual waste volumes by up to 97% while recovering strategic nuclear materials, NuCycle offers a pathway toward a more sustainable, secure, and economically productive nuclear fuel cycle.

In February this year, the US Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy awarded more than USD19 million to five US companies to research and develop recycling technologies for used nuclear fuel. Curio is to receive funding to support the development of its proprietary NuCycle technology. The funding will support a collaborative effort between Curio and key partners including Idaho National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and several other technical organisations to optimise for scale-up and commercialisation of NuCycle. The primary objective of the collaboration is to develop detailed engineering designs and specifications for NuCycle's core processes and prepare for a pilot-scale demonstration.

Reprocessing in the USA

In March 2022, the DOE launched the Converting UNF Radioisotopes Into Energy (CURIE) programme, which is under the auspices of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), with the aim of enabling commercially viable reprocessing of used nuclear fuel from the current US light-water reactor fleet by resolving key gaps and barriers in reprocessing technologies, process monitoring, and facility design. Later that year, twelve projects were selected to receive USD38 million of funding.

Reprocessing of used fuel from commercial reactors has been prohibited in the USA since 1977, with all used fuel being treated as high-level waste. However, the nation has more than 250 plant-years of reprocessing operational experience, mostly from reprocessing oxide fuels at government-operated defence plants as part of its military programme. A civil reprocessing plant at West Valley, New York, operated successfully from 1966-1972: a second one at Morris, Illinois, failed to work successfully and was declared inoperable in 1974. A third civil reprocessing plant was built at Barnwell, South Carolina but was not commissioned due to the changed government policy.

Newcleo sets out plan for licensing of US MOX plant

Friday, 7 August 2026

France-headquartered innovative nuclear energy company Newcleo has submitted a Regulatory Engagement Plan to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its planned mixed-oxide fuel manufacturing facility in the USA.
 

A visualisation of the planned French MOX facility (Image: Newcleo)

The Regulatory Engagement Plan (REP) sets out the proposed framework for the company's pre-application engagement with the NRC. It identifies the principal regulatory and technical topics that Newcleo expects to address with NRC staff, together with technical submissions and an indicative engagement schedule.

In March, Newcleo announced it had initiated pre‑application engagement with the NRC to support the future licensing of its first LFR-AS-200 lead-cooled fast reactor and an associated mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility in the USA. Following the submission of a letter of intent to the NRC on 23 February, Newcleo began early interactions with the NRC that were intended to familiarise NRC staff with the proposed facility designs and associated safety approaches for both the reactor and the MOX fuel fabrication facility. These discussions also supported the development of regulatory plans and facilitated NRC resource and budget planning, it said.

Newcleo submitted the Regulatory Engagement Plan for the LFR-AS-200 - the commercial 200 MWe version of its lead-cooled fast neutron reactor - last month. 

The company said that with the submission for the fuel facility it has "achieved a significant milestone in establishing a source of advanced nuclear fuel for its planned advanced modular reactors".

"This submission to the NRC is a concrete step to advance our MOX fuel facility in the US, building on the work of over 100 engineers with decades of industrial experience," said Newcleo CEO Stefano Buono. "Our goal is to reduce the long-term burden of spent nuclear fuel and increase energy independence, turning existing nuclear material into a domestic resource, not a long-term liability, effectively closing the nuclear fuel cycle."

In July, France's nuclear safety regulator, the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire et de Radioprotection (ASNR) - published its opinion on the safety features proposed by Newcleo for its planned French mixed-oxide fuel facility, concluding that the provisions adopted by the company for its safety approach are satisfactory at this stage. The ASNR's official opinion on the submitted safety options will contribute to securing the application for authorisation to construct such a facility.

Alongside its regulatory activities, Newcleo continues to develop FASTER (Fuel process Assembly Storage Training and Enhanced Reality), its engineering and testing centre in Chusclan, France. Designed to accelerate the development of its innovative fuel manufacturing pilot line in a non-nuclear environment, the facility will ultimately bring together around 100 employees and provide state-of-the-art engineering, immersive training and technology testing capabilities. The site is becoming increasingly operational, with several prototypes and test mock-ups already installed and supporting the development, validation and optimisation of future MOX fuel manufacturing processes.

Newcleo's delivery roadmap sees the first non-nuclear precursor prototype of its lead-cooled fast neutron reactor being ready this year in Italy and the first reactor operational in France as early as 2032, while the final investment decision for the first commercial power plant is expected around 2029. At the same time, Newcleo will directly invest in a mixed uranium/plutonium oxide (MOX) plant to fuel its reactors. It has initiated site acquisition and public consultation processes in France for the MOX fuel pilot assembly line in Nogent-sure-Seine.