GEMOLOGY

De Beers agrees to give Botswana more rough diamonds in new sales pact
Reuters | July 2, 2023 | 10:31 am Top Companies Africa Diamond

Rough diamonds. (Image by De Beers Group.)

Botswana and De Beers Group have agreed a new diamond sales deal in which the African country, the world’s No. 1 diamond producer by value, gradually increases the share of rough stones it gets from their joint venture Debswana over the next decade to 50%, the government and the mining company said on Saturday.


The Botswana government and De Beers said they had agreed on a 10-year sales deal for Debswana’s rough diamond production through to 2033, and on a 25-year Debswana mining licence valid until 2054.

Debswana is jointly owned by the Anglo American unit and the government and has been selling 75% of its output to De Beers, with Botswana’s state-owned Okavango Diamond Co (ODC) taking up the remainder of the stones.

ODC will receive 30% of produce from Debswana from the start of the new contract and this will be scaled up to 50% in the last year of the pact, De Beers and the government said in a joint statement.

“From the start of the new contract period ODC will receive 30 per cent of Debswana production, progressively increasing to 50 per cent by the final year of the contract, ensuring a sustainable transition path for both partners,” De Beers said in the statement.

The miner will also pump in 1 billion pula ($75 million) towards a diamond fund which would invest in “additional value to the Botswana economy,” the company said, adding the contributions would grow 10 times over the next 10 years.

Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who has been pushing for a bigger share of Debswana’s output, had threatened to sever ties with the mining company if the government’s concerns weren’t reflected in the new deal that has been in negotiation since 2018.

The Botswana-De Beers agreement allows the partners to advance the investment required to secure Debswana’s position as one of the world’s leading gem producers, De Beers said.

Botswana, where De Beers has been present for 50 years, is heavily reliant on diamonds, with two-thirds of its foreign currency receipts coming from mining, sales and ancillary activities linked to the precious stone.

(By Clara Denina, Brian Benza, Felix Njini, Promit Mukherjee, Nelson Banya and Nilutpal Timsina; Editing by Leslie Adler and David Holmes)

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF RARE EARTHS 

Argentina to begin lithium battery production in Sept

Reuters | July 2, 2023 | 

Livent’s Fenix operation in Argentina. (Image by Livent).

Argentina’s first plant for lithium batteries will begin operations in September, using metal extracted locally by US company Livent Corp, mining officials said on Saturday.


Livent had agreed earlier this year to supply lithium to the new plant, which was developed by Y-TEC, a unit of Argentine state oil firm YPF.

“We will start to produce the first lithium-ion battery cells in the country,” said Roberto Salvarezza, president of Y-TEC, in a government statement, noting that the batteries will use lithium carbonate extracted by Livent in northern Argentina.

Argentina is the world’s fourth largest producer of lithium and has been attracting investment. Along with Chile and Bolivia, the country is in South America’s so-called ‘lithium triangle’, which holds the world’s largest trove of the ultra-light metal, highly coveted for its use in batteries.

Argentina’s mining minister Fernanda Avila said she hoped it would be an example for future projects.

“The development of the supply around mining activity is a priority for our government,” she said.

(By Jorge Otaola and Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Glencore in talks to back Argentina lithium plant for future supply

Bloomberg News | June 30, 2023

Centenario Ratones lithium project being advanced by France’s Eramet in Argentina. (Image by Argentina’s Minister of Economy, Twitter.)

Glencore Plc is in advanced talks about backing a lithium project in Argentina being developed by French miner Eramet SA, in return for future supplies of the key battery ingredient.


The commodity giant will sign an offtake agreement in exchange for helping to fund the lithium processing plant that Eramet is building with China’s Tsingshan Holding Group Co., according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

The Argentina plant is one of a slew of new projects being developed around the world to meet surging demand for lithium. The metal is vital to the shift to electric vehicles and is facing a supply crunch toward the end of this decade. While sales in the relatively tiny market were historically agreed bilaterally in long-term deals between producers and their customers, commodity traders like Glencore have begun seeking to build up lithium businesses.

It is unclear how much Glencore will invest and how much lithium it will secure from the offtake agreement.

A spokesman for Glencore declined to comment. Eramet said it had received interest from several potential partners including Glencore, and that “talks are continuing to determine which offer is in the best interest of the company.”

As one of the world’s biggest commodity merchants, Glencore regularly signs deals with producers for some or all of their future supply, which it trades alongside production from its own sprawling suite of operations.

The company doesn’t mine any lithium but it does produce the material at its recycling operations and is looking to grow in lithium trading. Chief executive officer Gary Nagle said in December it had set up a desk with two to three traders.

The deal comes as automakers including Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. are stepping up efforts to secure future lithium supplies, including by striking direct pacts with miners — a shift from tradition in which they typically bought automotive components or entered into long-term contracts for raw materials at fixed prices.

Eramet is building the 24,000-ton-a-year lithium processing plant with China’s Tsingshan, which is the world’s biggest producer of nickel and stainless steel.

The project has an estimated cost of more than €700 million ($763 million) and is due to start production in the second quarter of next year, with a full ramp-up by mid-2025, Eramet said in a presentation in May. The French company and its Chinese partner plan to decide later this year whether to triple the plant’s capacity.

(By Yvonne Yue Li, Thomas Biesheuvel and Francois de Beaupuy)

UH OH

Myanmar and Russia push ahead with nuclear energy cooperation

29 June 2023

The first meeting of the joint coordinating committee, established as part of the Intergovernmental Agreement between Russia and Myanmar, discussed the construction of a nuclear power plant and the development of nuclear infrastructure in the country.

The bilateral links include a science fair (Image: Rosatom)

The meeting, headed by Myanmar's Deputy Science and Technology Minister Aung Zeya and Rosatom Deputy Director General Nikolai Spassky, also covered the "regulatory framework for bilateral cooperation" as well as training of personnel and issues related to public opinion on nuclear energy. Rosatom said that "following the meeting, a protocol was signed".

Spassky also held meetings with Minister of Science and Technology Myo Thein Kyaw and Minister of Electrification Taung Khan, at which, according to Rosatom, "priority issues of cooperation were discussed in detail, with an emphasis on the construction of Russian-designed power units and the arrangement of nuclear infrastructure in Myanmar in accordance with the requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency".

According to the Myanmar government's Ministry of Information, "during the meeting, the pre-feasibility study report of the thermal power plant project conducted under the memorandum of understanding signed by the Ministry of Electric Power and Rosatom in November 2022 was presented by Rosatom to the Ministry of Electric Power. In addition, a memorandum of understanding in the field of Nuclear Infrastructure Assessment and Enhancement was signed between the Ministry of Science and Technology and Rosatom".

Agreements on establishing cooperation between the two countries in the peaceful use of nuclear technology were signed in February between Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev and Myanmar's Prime Minister, Senior General Min Aung Hlain. In addition to the meetings, various other bilateral cooperation events took place, including the Yangon Science Festival which they coorganised. Rosatom said both sides backed cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear technology and "expert consultations" would continue "in accordance with the agreed schedules" with a "desire to quickly translate this joint work into practice".

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Nuclear power to reduce Microsoft data centre carbon footprint

29 June 2023

A new hourly energy-matching agreement between US company Constellation Energy Corporation and Microsoft will harness the environmental attributes of nuclear to put the data centre in Boydton, Virginia "very close" to the goal of 100% carbon-free operation.

(Image: Microsoft)

The "landmark" agreement will see the facility will receive up to 35% in environmental attributes from nuclear power, complementing the wind and solar purchases, Constellation said. Microsoft will track its performance using Constellation's hourly carbon-free energy (CFE) matching platform.

"Constellation and Microsoft have been working collaboratively for several years to pioneer this technology, so it is fitting that Microsoft is one of our first hourly CFE matching customers," said Constellation Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer Jim McHugh. "We are confident this agreement will demonstrate the value and impact of hourly matching in the fight to address the climate crisis."

Last year, Constellation announced it was collaborating with Microsoft on the development of an energy matching technology using real-time, data-driven carbon accounting solution and hour-by-hour regional tracking to match customer needs with local carbon-free energy sources.

US companies have used renewable energy certificates - or RECs - to reduce their emissions by matching their energy use with non-emitting sources. However, annualised RECs do not ensure the energy being used by a customer is actually carbon-free at the point in time it is being used, according to Constellation, meaning companies were still reliant on fossil fuel-generated electricity and making it difficult to achieve carbon reduction goals.

Matching a customer's electricity needs with regional, clean, carbon-free energy, when and where it is needed is a "game-changing approach" to clean energy procurement, according to Constellation.

"Microsoft is proud to offer technology that enables other climate conscious companies to also reduce their carbon footprint," said Adrian Anderson, general manager of renewable and carbon free energy at Microsoft. "Our collaboration with Constellation makes real-time matching of regional clean power generation and demand available to all companies that want to advance the energy transition."

Some 60% of the capacity of Constellation's diverse 32,400 MWe generating fleet - and more than 86% of its output - comes from nuclear. The company says it produces 10% of all clean power on the US grid, and is the USA's largest producer of carbon-free energy.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Work begins to re-open US underground uranium mine

29 June 2023

Consolidated Uranium Inc has announced the start of "comprehensive" work programmes including the reopening of the underground workings at its 100%-owned Tony M uranium mine, fifteen years after it last produced uranium. The Vancouver-based company also plans to investigate the vanadium potential of the underground mine in Utah.

Preparing for the 2023 drilling programme at Tony M (Image: Consolidated Uranium)

Tony M is fully developed and permitted, and produced nearly one million pounds of U3O8 during two different periods of operation from 1979-1984 and from 2007-2008. It is one of three past-producing uranium mines in Utah owned by Vancouver-based Consolidated Uranium.

Historically, it had been thought that there was "no vanadium of consequence" at the mine, but in the process of completing an NI 43-101 technical report on the project, an inverse relationship between uranium and vanadium mineralisation had been discovered. This led to the recommendation by SLR International Corporation - who prepared the technical report - to reopen the underground for a sampling programme as well as carrying out a drilling programme.
 
"We view the reopening of the underground as a first step in the restart of the Tony M Mine," Consolidated Uranium President and COO Martin Tunney said. "Any vanadium mineralisation of economic value would allow us to reach that goal that much faster," he added.

The NI 43-101 technical report for Tony M, dated 9 September 2022, estimates indicated mineral resources of 6.6 million pounds U3O8 (2534 tU) and inferred resources of 2.2 million pounds. The 2023 drilling programme - which will include up to 59 vertical drill holes, totalling some 38,000 feet (about 11,600 metres) across the deposit - and the underground sampling programme are designed to collect detailed information on vanadium mineralisation with the ultimate aim of calculating a vanadium mineral resource, but might also allow for some of the current estimated mineral resources to be converted from the 'inferred' to the 'indicated' category.

"With uranium market fundamentals showing significant strength and the unquestionable need and political support for domestic US uranium production, we believe advancing the Tony M project toward a near term production decision is the correct course of action," Chairman and CEO Phil Williams said. "The programmes announced today will not only provide detailed information to guide ultimate mining of the Tony M resource, by potentially upgrading mineral resources into the indicated category and allowing us to evaluate the conditions of the extensive underground workings, but, if successful, could add meaningful value to the deposit through the possible addition of vanadium resources not previously evaluated."
 
Tony M - along with the Daneros and Rim mines - were part of a portfolio of permitted, past-producing conventional uranium and vanadium mines in Utah and Colorado which Consolidated Uranium acquired from Energy Fuels Inc in 2021. The company has an agreement with Energy Fuels for the toll-milling of uranium mined from the projects at Energy Fuels' White Mesa mill, which is the only currently permitted and operating conventional uranium mill in the USA.

The company last year agreed to buy Virginia Energy Resources, which owns Coles Hill - the largest undeveloped uranium project in the USA - in a transaction worth around USD32.2 million. It also has past-producing and development projects in Argentina, Australia and Canada.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Framatome's PROtect fuel to be tested in French reactor

30 June 2023

Framatome has signed a collaboration agreement with EDF to test its PROtect enhanced accident tolerant fuel (EATF) technology. Under the agreement, four lead fuel assemblies will be loaded into one of EDF's French reactors by the end of this year.

(Image: Framatome)

Accident-tolerant fuel is a term used to describe new technologies that enhance the tolerance of light-water reactor fuel under severe accident conditions as well as offering improvements to reactor performance and economics. Such fuels may incorporate the use of new materials and designs for cladding and fuel pellets.

Supported by the France Relance recovery plan and the US Department of Energy (DOE), Framatome's EATF technology is based on advanced chromium coating applied to zirconium alloy cladding, and chromia-enhanced fuel pellets.

PROtect EATF is more tolerant to loss of active cooling in the reactor core for longer periods because its reduced oxidation behaviour increases "coping time", the company said. The fuel also offers improved performance during normal operations, allowing operators greater flexibility and efficiency.

Framatome, EDF and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) have collectively worked on the chromium coated cladding concept for nearly a decade. Framatome's development efforts led to the first lead fuel rods inserted in a Swiss and US reactor in 2019, followed by the first complete fuel assembly comprised of 100% chromia-enhanced pellets and chromium-coated rods delivered and inserted at a US nuclear power plant in the spring outage of 2021, and the recent completion of the second 18-month fuel cycle in a US operating plant. In total, Framatome's PROtect EATF solutions have been implemented in four different nuclear power plants in the USA and one in Europe.

These lead fuel assemblies will be manufactured in Framatome facilities in France. It said the results obtained during the EDF irradiation campaign will serve to confirm the performance of this technology in a French reactor and support the final approval from the French nuclear safety regulator, the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire.

"Our ambitious PROtect programme puts us at the forefront of developing and implementing inherently safe fuel technologies for long-term plant operations," said Lionel Gaiffe, senior executive vice president of Framatome's Fuel Business Unit. "This agreement cements our position and confirms the confidence of our customers in our EATF technology, developed together with the knowledge, skills and expertise of our partners and leaders across the nuclear sector."

Three vendors - Framatome, GE Hitachi with GNF, and Westinghouse - are working with DOE to develop new fuels under its Accident Tolerant Fuel Program.

In July last year, Westinghouse and EDF agreed to jointly explore the functionalities of Westinghouse's EnCore ATF technology. Westinghouse said it will study the use of the fuel in an EDF reactor for potential deployment across the EDF nuclear fleet after 2030. The company said it would deliver EnCore assemblies with lead test rods to EDF from its fuel fabrication facility in Västerås, Sweden, by 2023.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Agreement reached for extended operation of Belgian reactors

29 June 2023

French utility Engie and the Belgian federal government have signed an interim agreement defining the terms for the extended operation of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear power units by ten years. A final agreement is expected next month.

The Doel nuclear power plant (Image: Electrabel)

"This agreement aims to ensure a balanced distribution of risks between the two parties and to eliminate uncertainties concerning future changes in provisions related to the treatment of all nuclear waste," they said in a joint statement.

Under a plan announced by Belgium's coalition government in December 2021, Doel 3 was shut down in September 2022, while Tihange 2 shut down at the end of January this year. The newer Doel 4 and Tihange 3 would be shut down by 2025. However, in March last year the Belgian government decided to start talks with Electrabel - the Belgian subsidiary of Engie - with a view to extending the operation of Doel 4 and Tihange 3, allowing for the retention of 2 GWe of nuclear generation capacity. In July, the government and Electrabel signed a non-binding Letter of Intent on continuing negotiations on the feasibility and terms for the operation of the reactors for a further ten years. The two sides aimed to agree a binding legal agreement by the end of December. On 9 January, a non-binding agreement in principle was signed that "concretises the elements" of the Letter of Intent signed in July.

The parties said the new interim agreement builds on the 9 January agreement and defines the terms for the extended operation of the two reactors.

It calls for "the commitment from both parties to use their best efforts to restart the nuclear units of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 as early as November 2026, or, subject to the effective implementation of an announced relaxation of regulations, as early as November 2025, with the aim to strengthen the security of supply in Belgium".

The agreement also says a legal structure will be established, jointly owned by the Belgian State and Engie, aligning the interests of both parties and guaranteeing long-term commitments.

A business model of the extension is also defined with balanced risk allocation, notably through a contract for difference mechanism with incentives for the operator to achieve favourable technical and economic performance at the plants.

It also defines an agreement on the fixed amount of future costs related to the management of radioactive waste - based on the work and expertise of Ondraf/Niras, the Belgian agency for the management of radioactive waste - covering all of Engie's reactors in Belgium, for a total amount of EUR15 billion (USD16.4 billion). This amount also includes a risk premium of 43% and is paid in two installments: in 2024 for intermediate and high-level waste to be disposed of in geological repository; and at the start of the extended operation of the reactors for low-level waste intended for surface storage.

This is in addition to the amounts already provided for the decommissioning of Engie's reactors in Belgium, for which the company bears the full costs. The total nuclear obligations of the Engie group towards Belgium amount to at least EUR23 billion euros. As a result of the transfer of all nuclear waste liabilities to the Belgian government, Engie will no longer be exposed to the evolution of future costs related to the management of waste.

The agreement has been approved by Engie's board of directors and by the Belgian government. The implementation of the agreement is planned for the end of July.

"After several months of intense and constructive dialogue with the Belgian government, we are pleased with the signing of this balanced agreement for both parties," said Engie CEO Catherine MacGregor. "It provides Engie with the necessary visibility on the total amount related to nuclear waste management and significantly reduces the risks linked to the extension of the two units. This is a new fundamental step towards the extension of Doel 4 and Tihange 3, for which Engie is fully and responsibly committed."

"The extension of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear power plants by ten years has now been established," added Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. "This agreement is important for the security of supply of our families and companies. It strengthens our electricity supply, reduces our country's energy dependence and guarantees the production of carbon-free, affordable electricity in Belgium. I would like to thank the management of Engie for all the work over the past months to reach this agreement."

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

IAEA sees progress made by SMR deployment initiative

29 June 2023

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last year launched a new initiative aimed at accelerating the safe and secure deployment of advanced nuclear reactors, with a particular focus on small modular reactors. 

A plenary meeting of the Nuclear Harmonization Standardization Initiative (NHSI) has now been held to take stock of progress already achieved and to set priorities for the year to come.

Rafael Mariano Grossi addressing the opening of the NHSI plenary meeting (Image: D Calma / IAEA)

The NHSI - announced in March 2022 by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi - aims to facilitate the safe and secure deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) to maximise their contribution to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. It is actively developing a series of tools and publications to help advanced reactors become part of the solution addressing climate change and energy security. NHSI is now composed of 30 countries, 94 unique organisations and more than 200 contributors.

On 27 June, more than 120 NHSI participants convened to share feedback and suggestions on the work that has occurred so far and possible areas for enhancement going forward.

NHSI participants work in two separate but complementary tracks: the NHSI Regulatory Track and the NHSI Industry Track. Both tracks have topical working groups, and over the past year, both held 16 working group meetings.

Under the Regulatory Track, three working groups work in parallel to: build an information sharing framework; develop an international pre-licensing regulatory design review; and develop approaches to leverage other regulators' reviews. The Industry Track is focused on four objectives: harmonisation of high-level user requirements; information sharing on national standards and codes; experiments and validation of simulation computer codes to model SMRs; and accelerating the implementation of a nuclear infrastructure for SMRs.

Regulatory Track participants have produced approaches that will help countries to work together in SMR regulatory reviews, sharing resources and knowledge. "The implementation of these approaches will help regulators to learn from each other, increasing their trust that other regulatory frameworks that may initially seem different, are able to achieve good results," said Paula Calle Vives, Senior Nuclear Safety Officer at the IAEA.

For the nuclear industry, NHSI is identifying common approaches on codes and standards used as a part of design, manufacturing, construction, commissioning and operation of advanced reactors, like SMRs. "The SMR business model is often based on serial production, which means that after the deployment of the first-of-a-kind reactor, cost and time savings materialise under a standardised approach," said Aline des Cloizeaux, Director of Nuclear Power at the IAEA and Chair of the Industry Track.

One of the main objectives of the Industry Track is to harmonise high-level user requirements. An international reference is under development to help regulatory bodies understand what future licensees expect and to help embarking or expanding nuclear power countries structure their specifications for prospective suppliers. The Industry Track is also forming a network and associated platform for resource sharing on experiments and code validation for SMRs.

Technical publications and toolkits developed through the NHSI initiative are expected to be available by the end of 2024.

Speaking at the opening of the NHSI plenary meeting, Grossi said: "Across all continents, policy makers and the public are turning to nuclear energy to mitigate climate change, ensure energy security and deliver a just, reliable, affordable and timely transition to net-zero. We must step up as international organisations, regulators, policy makers and industry. Nuclear energy faces opportunities and headwinds, including a reputation of unfulfilled promises. Getting it right will require a concerted, global effort.

"Harmonisation of the regulatory process reduces uncertainty. It helps to lower the cost of building and deploying SMRs. Harmonisation of approaches facilitates international trade of SMRs and components as developers design and manufacture reactors that comply with a more uniform set of global standards rather than having to deal with multiple, sometimes conflicting, sets of requirements in different countries."

"We're keen to work with the IAEA on this important initiative and explore opportunities to streamline the safe and secure deployment of SMRs around the globe," commented Rolls-Royce SMR's Safety and Regulatory Affairs Director Helena Perry. "Rolls-Royce SMR is working with a range of developers, utilities and industrial customers, and we believe that there are real opportunities to capitalise on the progress we're making in the UK to streamline the process elsewhere in the world."

"For many years World Nuclear Association's Cooperation in Reactor Design Evaluation and Licensing (CORDEL) Working Group has been coordinating industry viewpoints and engaging with regulators to develop approaches to streamline the regulatory design review processes to accelerate the deployment of standardised reactor designs," said a World Nuclear Association spokesperson.

"We have been pleased to be a key partner within the IAEA NHSI, which over the last year has brought a lot of visibility to this important issue, and substantially contribute to the outcomes. It is important that we maintain the momentum created and develop a truly coordinated approach that can provide maximum benefit to all stakeholders ultimately allowing faster deployment of standardised designs, while maintaining high levels of safety and national sovereignty in decision making."

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Digital twin of STEP fusion machine to be created

30 June 2023

A collaboration between the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), Dell Technologies, Intel and the University of Cambridge will explore how supercomputers and artificial intelligence technologies with advanced predictive capabilities can deliver a 'digital twin' of the UK's prototype fusion power plant design.

A cutaway of the STEP fusion plant (Image: UKAEA)

The UKAEA carries out fusion energy research on behalf of the UK government, overseeing the country's fusion programme, including the MAST Upgrade (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak) experiment as well as hosting the Joint European Torus (JET) at Culham, which is operated for scientists from around Europe. It is also developing its own fusion power plant design with plans to build a prototype known as STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) at West Burton in Nottinghamshire, which is due to begin operating by 2040.

The engineering designs of STEP will be developed in a highly immersive and connected virtual environment, known as the 'Industrial Metaverse'.

The digital twin will enable STEP's scientists and engineers to create a robust design in the virtual world to ensure ecosystem readiness, value for money and to help STEP achieve its goal of delivering electricity to the grid in the 2040s.

"Exascale computing – the next generation of computing technology – will provide powerful analytics to test STEP's initial concepts," UKAEA said. "The collaboration brings together world-class research and innovation and supports the government's ambitions to make the UK a scientific and technological superpower. It aims to make the next generation of high performance-computers (HPC) accessible, practical to use and vendor agnostic."

"Exascale supercomputing, and the advent of the 'AI era' are essential and potentially transformative milestones that will help the UK to ensure STEP achieves its mission to connect fusion power to the national grid in the early 2040s," said Rob Akers, Director of Computing Programmes at UKAEA. "These powerful technologies will allow us to embed robustness, flexibility, and resilience into the STEP design."

Adam Roe, EMEA HPC Technical Director at Intel, added: "Planning for the commercialisation of fusion power requires organisations like UKAEA to utilise extreme amounts of computational resources and artificial intelligence for simulations. These HPC workloads may be performed using a variety of different architectures, which is why open software solutions that optimise performance needs can lend portability to code that isn't available in closed, proprietary systems. Overall, advanced hardware and software can make the journey to commercial fusion power lower risk and accelerated - a key benefit on the path to sustainable energy."

Paul Calleja, Director, Research Computing Services at the University of Cambridge, noted that the Cambridge Open ZettaScale Lab in partnership with Intel, Dell, UKAEA and a team of HPC experts from across UK Research & Innovation have been working together for the past two years on a world leading co-design activity called Project Dawn. This project aims to design and prototype a candidate UK exascale class converged AI and simulation GPU/CPU supercomputer, with the computation power capable of helping UKAEA meet it its vast computational requirements.

"This project demonstrates the crucial role supercomputing will play in accelerating the energy transition, advancing decarbonisation and ensuring energy security," said Tariq Hussain, Head of UK Public Sales at Dell Technologies.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Canadian government support for radioisotope 'ecosystem'

30 June 2023

The government has announced funding of CAD35 million (USD26.5 million) to enable a pan-Canadian consortium - the Canadian Medical Isotope Ecosystem (CMIE) - to advance and accelerate the development of the next generation of novel medical isotopes and technologies.

The government initiative was announced at the Bruce Power Visitors' Centre. Pictured are (L-R): Dave Tucker (McMaster University); Mike Rencheck (Bruce Power); Rory Henry (Saugeen First Nation); Owen Roberts (CPDC); Pam Damoff; Kathryn Hayashi (TRIUMF Innovations); Chief Veronica Smith (Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation); Pat Dalzell (Bruce Power); John MacQuarrie, President (BWXT); Rachel Pickering (BWXT Medical); Douglas McIntyre (CNL) (Image: Bruce Power)

The partnership includes Indigenous communities as well as the nuclear industry, leading research facilities, academics, and firms working to commercialise novel therapies.

The CMIE was officially launched on 27 June by Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety Pam Damoff, on behalf of Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne. The consortium will be under the oversight of the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC) and TRIUMF Innovations, supporting projects with Bruce Power, BWXT Medical, McMaster University and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories.

The funding will be used over five years to develop initiatives focused on the production, advancement and distribution of medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals in Canada. The government estimates that the new ecosystem will attract more than CAD75 million in investments, create or maintain over 600 highly skilled jobs for Canadians, and create 30 internship opportunities, as well as advancing Canadian expertise on medical isotopes and making the country an attractive hub for investment in the medical isotopes sector.

As part of the funding, the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) will take the next step in their partnership with Bruce Power to jointly produce, advance and market new isotopes in support of the global fight against cancer, while also working together to create new economic opportunities within the SON territory. The power plant operator and SON's Gamzook’aamin aakoziwin collaboration, set up to market isotopes produced through the first-of-a-kind Isotope Production System installed at Bruce Power's Ontario power plant in 2022, includes a revenue-sharing program that provides a direct benefit to the community.

"The COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains for critical medical materials, such as medical isotopes," Damoff said. "With this investment in the creation of the Canadian Medical Isotope Ecosystem, the Government of Canada is taking another major step toward building resiliency in our domestic medical production capabilities, which will help to ensure the health and safety of Canadians in the event of any potential future global supply chain disruptions. This investment will not only grow the economy … but also contribute to the economic reconciliation with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation."

Researched and written by World Nuclear News