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)
Chevron has reportedly opted out in funding preliminary studies for Guyana’s planned Berbice deepwater port. Hess Corporation - acquired by Chevron last year - supported pre-planning studies for the port, but Chevron is said to have reconsidered.
The American engineering firm Bechtel has been leading the initial design plans. Bechtel in 2023 completed the pre-front-end engineering design, but the feasibility study is yet to be completed. Commenting on the issue last week, Bechtel’s Guyana Engineering Director Harry Pastuszek said that Hess financed the preliminary engineering and design for the project. For the remaining parts of the feasibility study, Chevron declined to move ahead with financing.
Through the Hess acquisition, Chevron secured a 30% stake in the Stabroek Block, Guyana’s prized offshore oil and gas resource. ExxonMobil, the block’s operator, is the majority shareholder with a 45% stake while China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) holds 25%.
With the ongoing Stabroek production ramp up through 2030, it is expected that a deep-water facility such as Berbice port would accommodate strengthened offshore energy logistics. The port project is estimated to cost between $1 billion and $2 billion, and would feature an industrial hub including data centers, a fertilizer plant and a refinery.
Berbice’s development has been in the pipeline for over a decade now. Back in 2016, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) presented a report on the potential economic prospects of an improved port. The report highlighted regional benefits of the project, specifically linking Northern Brazil to the Atlantic Coast. Berbice port could therefore become a transshipment hub for northern Brazil.
The ongoing feasibility study is intended to update the findings made by the IDB report. Already, several development partners have shown interest in the port project but further progress can only be made after the feasibility study is completed. The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) has pledged to finance phase three engineering design study. This followed a meeting held last month in New York between Guyana’s President Mohammed Irfaan Ali and Exim’s Chairman John Jovanovic.
In addition, President Ali recently told local media that Qatar has also expressed interest in participating in the development of the proposed port. If the port project is finalized, it will be another major economic milestone for Guyana. In the last year, the country has become one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, projected to reach GDP growth of 22.3 percent this year, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates.
The economic boom has also seen expansion in Guyana’s maritime capacity. Unfortunately, the country’s major ports lack deep water access to accommodate larger vessels. For instance, the main port of Georgetown - on the eastern banks of the Demerara River before it enters the Atlantic Channel - has a shallow channel. The maximum allowable draft is about 9.7 meters. Development of a deep-water port would create greater opportunities for Guyana.
Contracts announced as Pickering refurb approaches
The Province of Ontario has announced the signature of more than CAD3 billion (USD2.1 billion) worth of contracts for the refurbishment of four units at Ontario Power Generation's Pickering plant as site construction for the project gets under way.
Aecon's Samantha Roussy, an operating engineer working with the Pickering Refurbishment team, speaking at the contract announcement watched by Minister Lecce (Image: Aecon)
Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) Pickering units 5 to 8 - together known as Pickering B - are to be removed from service by the end of September for refurbishment to officially begin in January 2027, subject to final regulatory approval. After the major project - which will include the replacement of 1,520 fuel channels, 48 boilers and building a 1.5-kilometre deep-water intake - the refurbished station will supply up to 2,200 MW of power.
As site construction began on 21 September, the Province of Ontario announced that a CAD1.7 billion contract for the execution phase of the Retube, Feeder and Boiler Replacement (RFBR) for Pickering 5 has been awarded to a 50:50 joint venture of Aecon Group Inc and Candu Energy, an AtkinsRéalis company. A consortium of Aecon and Siemens Energy Canada has been awarded a contract worth CAD1.3 billion for the Turbine Generator Replacement. The refurbishment project as a whole is expected to contribute CAD41.6 billion to Canada's GDP.
The scope of the Retube, Feeder and Boiler Replacement work is a critical component of the Pickering refurbishment project, including the replacement of steam generators, fuel channels and feeders. The contract covers engineering and design services, project delivery, as well as programme and project management associated with the CANDU reactors, including work that would enable Unit 5 to operate until the 2060s, AtkinsRéalis said. Similar work will need to be carried out on units 6, 7 and 8 in subsequent phases of the refurbishment project.
The Turbine Generator Replacement scope includes installation of 14 new steam turbine rotors, the overhaul of four generators (including stator rewinds), as well as the delivery of new auxiliary systems, and a control and monitoring system. Aecon holds a majority interest in the consortium with Siemens, and will provide construction services and material procurement.
Both projects are currently nearing completion of collaborative development work, with further prerequisite work expected to start this month, Aecon said.
"Advancing the Pickering Nuclear Refurbishment Project is another significant milestone in Ontario's clean energy future and further demonstrates the strength of Aecon's comprehensive nuclear construction expertise," Aecon Group President and CEO Jean-Louis Servranckx said. "Building on decades of experience successfully delivering the largest and most complex nuclear projects across North America, our teams are proud to support OPG in extending the life of this important nuclear generating station while helping ensure a reliable supply of low-carbon electricity for Ontario."
"AtkinsRéalis brings decades of hands-on experience refurbishing Canadian-owned CANDU reactors in Ontario, with a proven track record of delivering complex life-extension work safely, reliably and with the discipline required for on-time and on-budget performance," AtkinsRéalis President and CEO Ian Edwards said. "This work at the Pickering station will help ensure Ontario continues to benefit from reliable, affordable and low-carbon electricity for decades to come."
Pickering units 5-8 began operations in the mid-1980s and had been scheduled to end electricity production this year, but in 2022 the provincial government directed OPG to keep them in operation until 2026 and to reassess the feasibility of refurbishing the units. The government gave OPG the go-ahead to begin the initiation phase of the refurbishment project in January 2024, and one year later, it gave its permission for the start of the project definition phase. In November, the Ontario government formally approved OPG's refurbishment plan, clearing the way for the execution phase of the project to begin.
Over the years, Pickering Nuclear has consistently met up to 14% of Ontario's electricity needs, according to OPG. President and CEO Nicolle Butcher said that since the first unit at Pickering A began operating in 1971, the plant has established itself as one of the world's largest and best-performing nuclear facilities. "Through its refurbishment, we will ensure this important station continues to play a vital role in powering Ontario for future generations," she said. The last of the Pickering A units, Pickering unit 4, was permanently shut down at the end of 2024.
"When the previous government planned to shut down Pickering, our government chose to protect 4,500 jobs and create 30,500 new jobs by doubling down on Canadian workers, technology and energy sovereignty," Stephen Lecce, Ontario's Minister of Energy and Mines, said. "Today, we are marking a national achievement as we begin work on Canada's largest clean energy infrastructure project and strengthen our made-in-Ontario nuclear supply chain."
SGE confident of UK SMR fleet prospects
By Alex Hunt
World Nuclear News, in London
The team behind plans for a fleet of 14 BWRX-300 small modular reactors in the UK says they are confident of the economic model and supply chain capability to deliver these units.
How a BWRX-300 could look (Image: GE Vernaova Hitachi)
SGE (formerly Synthos Green Energy) in July submitted an application under the UK's Advanced Nuclear Framework for reactors which could provide 4.2 GW of capacity, equivalent to 11% of current UK power demand.
Poland's SGE - whose deployment team includes Samsung C&T, Laing O'Rourke, Aecon Group and Google Cloud - says it will privately finance the deployment of the fleet of GE Vernova Hitachi’s BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) across three sites in the UK.
The plan is for the initial site to host six of the 300 MW SMRs, with four each at two subsequent sites. The locations of the proposed sites have not yet been disclosed, pending final negotiations.
Rafał Kasprów, CEO of SGE, told World Nuclear News, "I think the UK market has amazing opportunities for SMR developers, and especially us with a fleet approach".
From the financial point of view he says "we are bringing this investment to the UK … with the disruptive model of not asking government to cover everything on the development and construction phase. We are asking the UK government for Contract for Differences for a fleet of reactors. So it is only when electrons are delivered to the grid that we can benefit from the Contract for Difference model".
The Contract for Difference (CfD) would work by a future price being agreed for electricity generated by the SMRs - if the price of electricity is higher, the developer will pay the extra back, and if the price of electricity is below the agreed level, the difference is provided to the developer. In the energy sector, a CfD acts as a very long-term price stabilisation mechanism. The UK used a Contract for Difference funding model for Hinkley Point C, but moved away from it for the Sizewell C project.
SGE's project is currently going through the "deep dive" stage of the UK's Advanced Nuclear Framework which they believe will conclude in October or November and allow them to be part of the pipeline, and start to execute the project.
As an investor in the project, SGE says that it knows what it needs to do internally to de-risk the project "so we know how to translate that same conversation to markets".
Kasprów, seated, centre, at June's event outlining its UK fleet plan (Image: SGE)
The company has also developed plans for a fleet of SMRs in Poland and in June submitted its contract for difference application to the government there. As to which country's projects might happen first, Kasprów says that the UK project could happen at the same time, praising the UK regulatory regime and its infrastructure.
He also rejected concerns about the capacity of supply chains and workforce to cope with the construction of Sizewell C and a number of SMR projects at the same time. He stressed the maturity of the BWRX-300 technology, its use of existing nuclear fuels and the example and experience of the first unit being constructed in Canada.
"We are using existing supply chains - there is also an advantage to the fleet approach because there are places where the supply chain exists, but maybe needs to scale up, and by coming to market with a 14-unit project as our starting point those companies can see a clear path to making that investment worthwhile," said Robert Rudich, Chief Business Development Manager.
They also stress that the non-nuclear part of the plant is similar to conventional power plants, with the industrial giants GE Vernova and Hitachi as partners and all part of a Europe-wide supply chain.
GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy's BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems that leverages the design and licensing basis of the company's US Nuclear Regulatory Commission-certified ESBWR boiling water reactor design and its existing, licensed GNF2 fuel design, a unique combination that GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy says positions it to deliver an "innovative, carbon-free baseload power generation source" this decade.
The first BWRX-300 is under construction at Ontario Power Generation's Darlington site in Canada, with completion expected by the end of the decade. The Darlington project is a reference project for OSGE.
Luba Kotzeva, founder and CEO of advisory and consultancy group Etara and part of the project team, said there had been "good engagement" with the UK side on the issue of a Contract for Difference funding model and stressed the importance of the proposal being for a fleet programme: "I think that is essential to getting the economies of scale, to getting the economics to flow, to getting the private capital."
The example of the first SMR being built in a G7 country, at Darlington in Canada, is also seen as a key development. Kasprów said: "It's extremely important, it is the difference between having something and nothing. It's not about promises anymore - it's happening."
Škoda JS to supply control rod drives for Rolls-Royce SMR's reactors
Czech company Škoda JS has been chosen as sole supplier of control rod drive mechanisms for Rolls-Royce SMR's future small modular reactors.
(Image: CEZ)
Škoda JS is part of the Czech majority state-owned CEZ Group, which also has a 20% stake in UK-based Rolls-Royce SMR.
Earlier this year Škoda JS and Doosan Enerbility were selected by Rolls-Royce SMR for pre-production work for key components - including the reactor pressure vessel - with work which encompasses "early supplier engagement, design finalisation and manufacturing readiness to support the delivery of first power at the earliest possible date".
The Pilsen-based firm has now added the contract for the control rod drive mechanisms, which are key bits of equipment in a nuclear reactor, ensuring the precise movement of the control rods which control the reactor’s power, ensuring its safe operation. According to CEZ "each drive is a unique electromechanical linear motor, almost eight metres long and weighing 450 kg, capable of safely controlling the nuclear reactor in all operating modes".
Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček said: "Small modular reactors are a technological opportunity for our companies with global reach. The contracts that Škoda JS has already concluded with Rolls-Royce SMR are clear proof of this. Small modular reactors will not only strengthen the energy security and self-sufficiency of our country, but will also create new jobs and create opportunities for follow-up investments."
The first of Rolls-Royce SMR's 470 MWe small modular reactors is due to be built in North Wales in the UK, with the first in the Czech Republic to be built at Temelín, with an expected operational date "in the second half of the 2030s" and with five or six more units to follow across three sites.
Rolls-Royce SMR CEO Chris Cholerton said: "Škoda JS has proven that it is one of the few companies in Europe capable of providing one of the most important components of our power plant … our cooperation shows the clear benefits that this project brings to industrial companies."
Daniel Beneš, Chairman and CEO of ČEZ, said: "A global supply chain for small modular reactors is now being formed, and it is essential for our industrial companies to act quickly and now. This opportunity is unique. If they manage to get involved in this chain right from the start, they can win attractive contracts for the next decades. Škoda JS now faces the task of developing a prototype directly for small modular reactors so that it can subsequently supply them to Rolls-Royce SMR all over the world."
Background
The Rolls-Royce SMR is a 470 MWe design based on a small pressurised water reactor. It will provide consistent baseload generation for at least 60 years. Ninety percent of the SMR - measuring about 16 metres by 4 metres - will be built in factory conditions, limiting activity on-site primarily to assembly of pre-fabricated, pre-tested, modules which significantly reduces project risk and has the potential to drastically shorten build schedules.
In October 2024, Rolls-Royce SMR was selected by ČEZ to deploy up to 3 GW of electricity in the Czech Republic, and ČEZ took a 20% stake in Rolls-Royce SMR. The plan is for the first SMR to be deployed in the area of the Temelín site (which already has two gigawatt-scale VVER-1000 units), with further projects being developed for coal-fired power plant sites, including Tušimice.
In June 2025, Rolls-Royce SMR was selected as the UK government's preferred technology for the country's first SMR project. In November, the UK government announced that Wylfa on the island of Anglesey, North Wales, would be the site to host the three Rolls-Royce SMR units. It said the site - where a Magnox plant is being decommissioned - could potentially host up to eight SMRs. A final investment decision is expected to be taken in 2029.
Škoda JS has long experience in the construction and servicing of nuclear power plants, including manufacturing 21 VVER-440 reactors and three VVER-1000 reactors, as well as supplying engineering, equipment and servicing for nuclear power plants, research reactors and spent nuclear fuel storage facilities in Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, France, Germany, the USA, Austria, Finland, Belgium, the UK, China and Armenia.
GE Vernova, Hitachi, SGE and Samsung C&T sign BWRX-300s MoU
An agreement to work together to identify and develop market opportunities for the deployment of BWRX-300 small modular reactors in Europe was signed on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The signing took place during the Atlantic Council Nuclear Energy Policy Summit (Image: SGE)
The signatories of the memorandum of understanding - Poland's SGE, the US's GE Vernova, Japan's Hitachi and South Korea's Samsung C&T - will establish "a framework for cooperation on market development and commercial opportunities" for the deployment of the BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR).
GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, a joint venture between GE Vernova and Hitachi, is the designer of the BWRX-300. Samsung Construction and Trading Corporation (Samsung C&T) has considerable experience in major nuclear and energy infrastructure projects. SGE is already developing projects for a fleet of BWRX-300 reactors in Europe, notably in Poland and the UK.
The official announcement of the MOU signing said it was "linked to the memorandum of cooperation for SMR deployment in third countries signed on the margins of this year's NATO summit by United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japan Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, and Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Cho Hyun".
It said the US Department of State saw it as "a concrete industry effort to advance BWRX-300 deployment across Europe and deepen government-industry cooperation on global energy security".
In quotes
Roger Martella, GE Vernova's Chief Corporate Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer, said: "GE Vernova has a long-standing history and presence across the European continent. This collaboration brings together complementary capabilities to help advance BWRX-300 deployment across multiple markets and build on the momentum already behind the technology."
Yasunori Inada, CEO of Nuclear Energy Business Unit, Hitachi, said: "This collaboration brings together the strengths and expertise of each partner, and Hitachi will contribute to exploring the deployment of the BWRX-300 in Europe by drawing on the technological capabilities cultivated through our nuclear business and on our collaboration with qualified Japanese suppliers."
Jung Wook Kim, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Business Unit and Global Operation, Samsung C&T, said: "Samsung C&T is honoured to open a new chapter in Europe's SMR business together with GE Vernova, Hitachi and SGE. Building on Samsung C&T's proven EPC capabilities, we will fully leverage the synergy created by this four-way partnership to strengthen Europe's energy security and contribute to the realisation of carbon neutrality."
Michał Sołowow, founder of SGE, said: "Europe and the UK need a scalable commercial model for new nuclear, built on proven technology, established supply chains and world-class delivery partners. By combining GE Vernova Hitachi's BWRX-300 technology, Hitachi's industrial capabilities and Samsung C&T's global construction expertise, SGE is creating a platform to deploy standardised nuclear fleets across multiple markets."
Background
The BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems that leverages the design and licensing basis of GVH's US Nuclear Regulatory Commission-certified ESBWR boiling water reactor design and its existing, licensed GNF2 fuel design, a unique combination that GVH says positions it to deliver an "innovative, carbon-free baseload power generation source" this decade.
The first BWRX-300 is under construction at Ontario Power Generation's Darlington site in Canada, with completion expected by the end of the decade.
SGE has a number of potential projects under way across Europe - including in Poland, where a decision in principle has been issued for 26 BWRX-300 SMRs, and in the UK where a proposal for a fleet of 14 of the SMRs across three sites is being considered under the UK’s Advanced Nuclear Framework programme.
China's giant crane for nuclear power plant construction
China General Nuclear says the 250,000-ton-metre lifting torque ring-rail crane rolled off the production line last month to support the construction of Hualong One 2.0 nuclear power plants.
(Image: CGN)
The equipment uses a combination of a 137-metre and a 66-metre ultra-long boom, with a maximum height of 207 metres. According to the developers, under large-radius operating conditions in nuclear power plants, its lifting capacity is about 50% higher than that of similar foreign products, and it can meet the relevant hoisting operation requirements at a single station and under a single operating condition.
In terms of operation, the equipment adopts a fully electric drive mode and can be directly connected to 10kV industrial mains power, featuring zero emissions and low noise. According to project calculations, the application of this equipment is expected to shorten the construction period of nuclear power projects by 15%, reduce operating costs to about one-quarter of traditional oil-fired equipment, and decrease site costs and logistics costs by 20% and 30%, respectively.
In terms of safety control, the crane is equipped with digital systems such as intelligent anti-collision, 360-degree surround view, remote fault diagnosis, cable tangling detection, facial recognition, and work behaviour recognition to enhance risk identification and protection capabilities during on-site hoisting.
The crane - jointly developed by Sany Heavy Machinery and China Energy Engineering Guangdong Thermal Power Special Equipment Co Ltd - was produced at Sany's Huzhou Industrial Park in Zhejiang.
This crane was developed to meet the construction needs of the Hualong One 2.0 nuclear power plant's "one machine, two islands" system - this is where one ring-rail crane is positioned between two nuclear islands, allowing for the lifting of all modules and main equipment of both units with a single positioning and boom length.
"This marks a key breakthrough in the localisation of ultra-large tonnage nuclear power plant lifting equipment in China," China General Nuclear (CGN) said. It added that it "represents the culmination of seven years of technological research, achieving breakthroughs in structural design, manufacturing processes, and assembly control".
Hualong One 2.0
On 31 July, the construction of three pairs of Hualong One (HPR1000) reactors at the Jinqimen, Taipingling and Zhuanghe sites, as well as two Guohe One (CAP1400) reactors at the Laiyang site was approved by the State Council. The Phase II units (3 and 4) of China National Nuclear Corporation's Jinqimen plant in Zhejiang Province and the Phase III units (5 and 6) of CGN's Taipingling plant in Guangdong Province have been designated as demonstration projects of the Hualong One 2.0.
The Hualong One 2.0 is described as "an advanced pressurised water reactor nuclear power technology combining third-generation and advanced technologies, developed through independent innovation and overall collaboration, based on feedback from the construction and operation experience of Hualong One". So far, 10 Hualong One units are commercially operational both domestically and internationally, with another 37 units approved for construction.
CGN said the new crane "will be used at Taipingling Phase III and subsequent Hualong One 2.0 projects".
Framatome secures first contract for higher enriched fuel
Framatome announced it has signed a commercial contract to deliver the world's first nuclear fuel reload with uranium-235 enrichment above the industry standard of 5%, to an operating nuclear reactor in the USA.
(Image: Framatome)
Under the agreement - and as part of its Advanced Fuel Management (AFM) programme - Framatome will supply a series of higher enriched fuel reloads using AFM technology, beginning with delivery in early 2028. These reloads will support the long term deployment of AFM fuel for the reactor, with options for additional future reloads included in the contract. The company did not reveal the name of the reactor where the fuel will be deployed.
Uranium-235 is the main fissile isotope of uranium and occurs at a concentration of about 0.7% in natural uranium. Standard fuel used in today's operating light water reactors uses low-enriched uranium (LEU), with enrichment levels up to about 4.8% U-235. But higher-enriched fuel containing up to 10% U-235 - also known as LEU+ - can potentially offer improved nuclear fuel cycle economics for currently operating reactors.
AFM is a globally integrated Framatome programme designed to deliver fuel with higher enrichment and burnup limits. The company says enriching uranium oxide past the traditional 5% threshold, combined with its latest technology, allows reactor operators to maximise their energy production. The increases in enrichment and burnup support improved economic performance by extracting more cycle energy from the reactor core and reducing operations and maintenance costs. The AFM programme encompasses all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle including enrichment services, regulatory licensing and fuel fabrication infrastructure.
This advanced fuel solution has been developed by Framatome and will be manufactured at its facility in Richland, Washington. The facility has undergone upgrades and modifications over the past four years to support implementation of this innovative technology, and received US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval for the fabrication of fuel with increased uranium enrichments and to manufacture fuel with higher burnup limits.
Framatome said the fuel supply agreement "represents a major advancement for the global nuclear industry, enabling the first reactor in operation to extend its cycle lengths and burnup rates through this advanced technology. The contract establishes a new benchmark for innovation, performance and industry collaboration."
It said the agreement builds on ongoing deliveries of standard GAIA fuel, Framatome's most advanced pressurised water reactor fuel design, which serves as the foundation for these AFM enabled reloads. "With AFM, the US customer will extend its fuel cycle length from 18 to 24 months, reducing outage frequency and enhancing operational efficiency and power generation," it said.
"This contract reflects the strength of our long standing relationship with our customer and our shared commitment to advancing nuclear fuel technology," said Lionel Gaiffe, Framatome's Senior Executive Vice President, Fuel Business Unit. "Collaborating on this milestone project underscores the trust our customers place in Framatome's expertise and the innovative capabilities of our Advanced Fuel Management technology."
Framatome submitted a licence amendment request to the NRC in September 2024, seeking permission for the plant to handle uranium enriched up to 10%, up from the current 6.5% so that it can expand domestic capacity for advanced reactor fuels and support the acceleration of deployment of next-generation reactors. The NRC approved Framatome's request in July this year.
In October 2023, Southern Nuclear has announced it has received authorisation from the NRC to use Westinghouse advanced nuclear fuel enriched up to 6% uranium-235 at Vogtle unit 2. This marked the first time a US commercial reactor had been authorised to use fuel with over 5% enrichment.
Bechtel steps away from TerraPower project
TerraPower says it intends to rebid the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project to build the first-of-a-kind Natrium reactor in Kemmerer, Wyoming, following the two companies' decision to move forward separately.
Excavation work at the Kemmerer site (Image: X/TerraPower)
TerraPower named Bechtel as its design, licensing, procurement and construction partner in a federal grant application to build a demonstration Natrium plant as long ago as 2020. A ground-breaking ceremony for the 345 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor and its accompanying molten salt-based energy storage system was held at the Wyoming site in June 2024, with TerraPower announcing the official start of construction in April this year.
EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) and project management specialist Bechtel said it will remain on site to complete the plant's Sodium Test & Fill Facility and support an orderly transition.
"Bechtel has supported TerraPower’s Natrium project through several significant milestones, including securing the NRC construction permit, the first ever issued for a commercial non-lightwater reactor in the United States; completing the exterior enclosure of the Sodium Test & Fill Facility; placing major procurements; and beginning foundational work for Kemmerer Unit 1," Bechtel spokeswoman Molly Edwards told World Nuclear News.
"This work was performed under an earlier phase of the contract, prior to full EPC scope. As we considered the next phase of the project, Bechtel and TerraPower decided to move forward separately."
In late August, TerraPower announced it had selected 12 equipment vendors to receive contracts to support the construction of the Natrium plant and completion of the sodium facility, as it builds a supply chain to bring an envisaged fleet of Natrium reactors online in the coming decade. The company said it does not expect the latest development to affect the construction timeline.
"Bechtel will remain on site to complete the Sodium Test and Fill Facility, and we look forward to continuing our work with them on that first-of-a-kind facility," a TerraPower spokesperson told World Nuclear News. "Construction in Kemmerer will maintain its current schedule with the exemplary subcontractor teams and EPC support services from commercial-grade firms that have been working on site. TerraPower is managing this transition to protect the overall construction schedule for Kemmerer Unit 1 and will rebid the EPC contract."
News of the split emerged after Reston, Virginia-headquartered Bechtel filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act Notification with the State of Virginia, in which it said it would be scaling down its operations supporting the project and reducing staffing levels as work is completed, with around 200 positions and employees affected. The reductions are expected to commence "on or about" 16 November, but Bechtel told the State it is "actively collaborating with our team to identify the next assignments for these employees".
"Our people will move to other nuclear projects under way across the company, where demand for these skills continues to grow. While the WARN notices are a legal requirement, we do not expect any actual layoffs," Edwards said.
France prepares to start dismantling first UNGG reactor
EDF subsidiary Cyclife announced the Chinon A nuclear power plant dismantling project has reached a major milestone with the validation of the contractual strategy for dismantling the Chinon A2 plant's heat exchangers.
Chinon A2 (Image: Cyclife)
Chinon A2 is one of six gas-cooled reactors (Uranium Naturel Graphite Gaz¸ or UNGG) at Bugey, Chinon and St Laurent-des-Eaux currently being decommissioned by EDF in France. The six UNGG reactors entered service between 1963 and 1972. With the exception of Chinon A1, which closed in 1973, all operated for more than 20 years. Chinon A2 is the lead site for EDF's immediate dismantling strategy for its UNGG fleet. The company's objective is to dismantle the facilities in the shortest timeframe possible.
With the validation of the contractual strategy for dismantling Chinon A2's heat exchangers, the project "has reached a decisive milestone", Cyclife said. "After more than three and a half years of studies conducted jointly by the teams from EDF's Deconstruction and Waste Projects Department (DP2D) and Cyclife Engineering, this milestone paves the way for the launch of the first operational phase of the dismantling of the world's first UNGG reactor."
Subject to the entry into force of the dismantling decree, this first operation will consist of dismantling in series the equipment present in the four heat exchanger rooms of Chinon A2. The heat exchangers made it possible to transfer the heat from the carbon dioxide, heated in the core of the reactor, to the water of the secondary circuit which then turned into steam.
Teams from EDF and Cyclife Engineering visting the heat exchangers of Chinon A2 (Image: Cyclife)
Cyclife said the dismantling operation will "fully benefit" from the lessons learned during the dismantling of the Chinon A3 reactor heat exchangers.
The start of operations is planned for mid-2028, following the public inquiry into the UNGG reactor dismantling strategy, scheduled for 2027. The project is expected to take six years.
"This is an essential step forward in preparing for an exceptional industrial project, which is set to serve as a benchmark for EDF's entire UNGG programme," said Stéphanie Proust, EDF Chinon A-AMI project manager.
In December 2019, EDF and Veolia established the Graphitech joint venture for the decommissioning of reactors that use graphite technology. Graphitech's first objective was to provide EDF with an optimised scenario for decommissioning the Chinon A2 reactor in 2028 and to offer a testing programme to evaluate the technological solutions needed to complete the project. This programme began in 2022 with a development and qualification phase using full-scale models to prepare the remote-operation tools to be used in decommissioning the Chinon reactor.
Graphitech has produced an outline decommissioning methodology for the five remaining UNGG reactors: where possible, transposition of the Chinon A2 methodology to the other reactors; and where not possible, identification of additional engineering work required.
Graphitech will seek contracts for assisting in the dismantling of gas-cooled reactors in France, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Spain and the UK.
Thursday, August 13, 2026
GRIFT
Trump’s Bosnia Power Play Puts an Opaque Energy Deal at the Center
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.
The deal has raised major transparency and conflict-of-interest concerns, as AAFS was inserted into the pipeline project without a competitive tender.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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