THE GREAT GAME

Russia, Iran, and Turkey Forge New Economic Alliance in South Caucasus

By Eurasianet - Mar 06, 2024, 

• A policy brief highlights the strategic partnership between Russia, Iran, and Turkey, aimed at creating a new economic order in the Caucasus region and countering Western influence.
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• Wars in Syria, Ukraine, and Gaza have facilitated closer collaboration between the three states, with a focus on bypassing Western regulatory frameworks and establishing independent monetary systems and energy markets.
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• Despite incentives for collaboration, challenges such as Azerbaijan's ties with Israel and Armenia's partnership with Iran present stumbling blocks to the cohesive reshaping of the Caucasus' geopolitical and economic landscape.

The Caucasus is the key link in a rapidly developing “value chain” forged by Russia and Iran to circumvent Western sanctions, according to a policy brief published by a Dutch think-tank.

The policy brief prepared by the Hague-based Clingendeal Institute asserts that wars in Syria, Ukraine and Gaza have abetted the strategic partnership between Russia and Iran. Both states have also developed strong ties with an increasingly authoritarian Turkey, a NATO member state. The three states are intent on creating a new economic order in the Caucasus, a region that the policy brief contends is “no longer grafted onto the global liberal market economy.”

Before the Ukraine conflict began in 2022, the Kremlin had long been recognized as the Caucasus’ strategic arbiter. That is no longer the case. Yet, Russia’s diminished ability to project strategic influence “created scope for a tighter web of economic partnerships between itself, Iran and Turkey,” according to the policy brief. The thread that binds the three states together is a desire to keep Western economic influence in check. 

“This new geo-economic reality is significant for Tehran because Russian objectives of establishing an independent monetary system, energy market and parallel supply chains outside the purview of Western regulatory frameworks can help break Iran’s isolation,” the brief adds. “Iran can now leverage its geography to facilitate a land-based Russian economic pivot to the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent that bypasses both the Persian Gulf and the Suez Canal.”

The Russian-Iranian-Turkish partnership began taking shape in 2017, when representatives of the three states met in the Kazakh capital Astana to discuss war-ravaged Syria’s future. The Ukraine war hastened the need for collaboration, especially between Iran and Russia. Israel’s ongoing operation in Gaza “further accelerated this process due to the anti-Israel views that dominate among the political establishments of all three countries,” the policy brief states.

While the incentives for Russia, Iran and Turkey to work on reshaping the Caucasus’ geopolitical and economic landscape are abundant, the policy brief identifies several stumbling blocks, including Azerbaijan’s close strategic relations with Israel and Armenia’s partnership with Iran. The brief notes, for example, that officials in Tehran believe Israel smuggled the drones used to attack nuclear facilities in 2023 into Iran via Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Azeri authorities believe Armenia relies on Iran as an arms supply conduit.

“The war in Ukraine turned the Caucasus into an economic opportunity, but also rendered its security landscape more fluid,” the brief says. “While the core stakeholders work together to manage this fluidity, they have not yet clearly worked out their roles. The war in Gaza adds both new pressures and incentives to this semi-stable mix.”

By Eurasianet.org

 

Australian synchrotron goes solar

08 March 2024

Nearly 6600 square metres of solar panels installed across the rooftops of the ANSTO's Australian Synchrotron will save ANSTO more than two million kWh per year while also reducing its carbon footprint by more than 1680 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Solar panels have been installed on the iconic circular roof of the main Australian Synchrotron building (Image: ANSTO)

The Australian Synchrotron is a major research facility located in Clayton, southeast Melbourne. The particle accelerator is one of Australia's most significant pieces of scientific infrastructure.

The installation of more than 3200 solar panels covering the rooftops of the main Australian Synchrotron building which houses the particle accelerator, the Australian Synchrotron Guesthouse, and the Environmentally Controlled Storage Facility was carried out over five months. The 1668 kWh system and inverter will supply part of the Australian Synchrotron’s total energy requirements and is expected to deliver savings of about AUD2 million (USD1.3 million) over the next five years.

The Australian Synchrotron building before it went solar (Image: ANSTO)
"Going solar was a no-brainer," Australian Synchrotron Director Michael James said. "The size of our rooftops, paired with the ample, uninterrupted exposure to sunlight at our location within the Monash precinct, was a major incentive for us to become more energy efficient." The saved running costs will be used to support operations as well as the expansion of research capabilities and facilities.

ANSTO is the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Atomic secures uranium properties near Athabasca Basin

The acquisition includes nine properties spanning approximately 6,500 hectares (ha)

March 7, 2024

The company noted that two of the project properties are situated near known uranium deposits. 

Credit: RHJPhtotos via Shutterstock.com.

Vancouver-based exploration company Atomic Minerals has finalised an asset purchase agreement to acquire a significant uranium land package near the Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan, Canada.

The acquisition includes nine properties spanning approximately 6,500ha.

Atomic Minerals announced this plan on 5 February 2024 with a letter of intent.

The deal includes a payment of C$100,000 ($74,068) within five days of TSX Venture Exchange approval and the issuance of six million common shares in the capital of the company.

A second payment of C$100,000 is due on the six-month anniversary of the exchange approval.

Of the properties to be acquired, two are situated near known uranium deposits, with a third hosting a historic resource from 1957.

The property package features the Bleasdell Lake property, which has a historic resource estimated at 620,700 pounds of U3O8 (triuranium octoxide) across two zones.

Additionally, the Parks Lake property is located 3km south-east of the historic Rabbit Lake Mine and 2–4km east to north-east of Uranium Energy’s Horseshoe and Raven deposits.

The Pistol Lake property is entirely surrounded by Cameco territory and is situated just 600m north of its Sand Lake deposit.

Atomic Minerals CEO Clive Massey said: “With this Saskatchewan acquisition, Atomic now holds significant land positions in the two largest producing North American uranium districts, the Athabasca Basin and the Colorado Plateau.

“While the Bleasdell Lake historic resource may turn out to be the jewel, both Parks Lake and Pistol Lake hold significant exploration potential given Pistol Lake is mere metres away from Cameco’s 5,000,000-pound Sand Lake discovery.

“Our technical team is currently reviewing the data rooms for the various projects with the objective of generating drill targets for near-term diamond drilling.”

 

Updated study extends Niger mine life

07 March 2024

An updated feasibility study for Global Atomic's Dasa project has more than doubled the mine life with uranium production increasing by 55%. The company has also announced its fourth offtake agreement for the mine, where processing operations are expected to begin in late 2025 or early 2026.

The ramp to the Dasa orebody, pictured in January (Image: Global Atomic)

The Dasa Project is defined in three phases. The 2024 Feasibility Study replaces the previous Phase 1 Feasibility Study, completed in late 2021. The new study extends mine life from 12 to 23 years, and includes a 50% increase in mineral reserves - the economically mineable part of the mineral resource - to 73 million pounds U3O8 (28,079 tU). Uranium production increases by 55% to 68.1 million pounds.

The company updated the mineral resource estimate for the project in May last year, when the conversion of resources from the inferred category saw indicated resources increase 50% to 109.3 million pounds U3O8.

Global Atomic President and CEO Stephen Roman said the new study has identified "significant improvements" in the project. "The payback period estimated in the 2024 study is expected to be 2.5 years, including recovery of amounts already spent," he said, adding that these estimated returns are "conservative", with opportunities to add value. "For example, there are 51.4 million pounds of Inferred Resources grading at 5,243 ppm in the Dasa deposit that could be converted to the Indicated category and brought into the mine plan," he said. "We expect to have full project financing in place soon and are on track for plant construction to commence in the second half of 2024 and plant commissioning to occur at the end of 2025."

Underground development of the mine began in late 2022, but was suspended following a military coup in the country the following year. Global Atomic continued to open up underground ore access and development of mine infrastructure, as well as site preparation for the processing plant, during a period of sanctions against the country that followed, developing an alternate shipping route through Togo and Burkina Faso for necessary supplies. Niger's neighboring ECOWAS nations lifted sanctions on Niger on 24 February this year, including reopening Niger's historic primary trade route to ocean shipping channels through the port of Cotonou in Benin.

"The government sees the Dasa Mine as playing a significant role in revitalising the central Agadez region of Niger," the company said.

New off-take agreement

Global Atomic also said it has finalised a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the sale of uranium from Dasa to a "strategic Europe-based nuclear power utility", subject to the successful conclusion of a purchase-sale contract. The LOI is "priced close to current market prices escalating each year".

The LOI represents the supply of 260,000 pounds U3O8 over a three-year delivery window beginning in 2026, and is the fourth such agreement signed by the company. It brings the company's total current committed volume up to 9.5 million pounds U3O8, representing revenue of up to USD770 million at current market levels, Global Atomic said.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

 

UK nuclear regulator assesses preparedness for climate change

07 March 2024

The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has selected five nuclear sites where it will carry out inspections to assess arrangements for and resilience to climate change effects. It recently hosted a meeting with fellow international regulators to discuss the implications of climate change on the nuclear sector.

The Dounreay site is among those to be inspected (Image: DSRL)

The Chief Nuclear Inspector's (CNI's) themed inspections were introduced by the ONR in 2017 and are designed to examine regulatory matters that are strategic or broader in nature than its more routine regulatory inspection activities. They also raise awareness of important issues and highlight ONR's regulatory activities and expectations to a wider audience, in addition to the nuclear industry.

Last year, the ONR asked site operators to complete a self-assessment questionnaire on their arrangements and resilience in relation to climate change effects. This stage aimed to understand the approach currently adopted by licensees for consideration of climate change in safety cases, including climate change projections used to define the design basis for external hazards affected by climate change.

It has now selected five sites - Heysham 2, Sizewell B, Sellafield, Dounreay and the Atomic Weapons Establishment (Aldermaston and Burghfield) - to be taken forward to the inspection stage.

"These five sites provide a cross-section of the industry and selections have been based on factors including site lifetimes, safety significance and opportunities for learning," the ONR noted.

The inspections will take place between April and December.

The ONR said the focus will be on how sites are considering climate change in their hazard definitions and arrangements, the types of external hazards affected by climate change that pose the biggest challenge to nuclear facilities, and longer-term considerations of climate change in view of potential uncertainties with climate science evolution.

Once the site-based regulatory inspections are completed, the CNI themed inspection report on climate change will be published, detailing the conclusions and findings.

"It is essential that nuclear licensed sites remain safe and secure against the effects of climate change and that all reasonably-foreseeable impacts of climate change over the lifetime of a facility should be taken into account," said Nuclear Safety Inspector Alexandra Edey. "We look forward to entering this next important stage of the CNI themed inspection to gain first-hand insight of the industry's ongoing plans to adapt and mitigate for future climate change challenges."

International discussions

Last month, the ONR hosted a meeting with the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), the Dutch Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ANVS), and Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) to discuss the implications of climate change on the nuclear sector.

The meeting provided opportunities to share learning and discuss how each regulator considers climate change when regulating their industries.

"Given the environmental similarities between the four nations, it is considered that there is significant benefit in sharing expectations and regulatory approaches, and comparing the maturity of the respective countries' preparedness to withstand the potential consequences of climate change," the ONR said. "Aligning with national and international guidance, standards and good practice is vital for the effective regulation of climate change at each stage of a nuclear site's lifecycle."

ONR's Executive Director of Regulation, Donald Urquhart, said: "This was an important meeting with our counterparts in France, Belgium and the Netherlands for progressive discussions about regulating effectively in the face of climate change and protecting the nuclear industry from its potentially adverse effects.

"Sharing experiences and growing our international networks to collaborate on this global issue is essential in preparing the nuclear industry for the effects of climate change."

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

 70 YR OLD SCI FI TEK

First Light Fusion hails success of initial test in Z Machine

07 March 2024

The UK's First Light Fusion has become the first private fusion company to conduct an experiment on the Sandia National Laboratories 'Z Machine' in New Mexico USA. The experiment set a new pressure record for quartz.

(Image: First Light Fusion)

Nuclear fusion is the process by which two light nuclei combine to form a single heavier nucleus, releasing a large amount of energy. First Light is pursuing a form of inertial confinement fusion called projectile fusion, which creates the extreme temperatures and pressures required to achieve fusion by compressing a target containing fusion fuel using a projectile travelling at a tremendous speed. This differs from approaches pursued by other mainstream fusion companies in that it does not involve using complex, energy-intensive, expensive lasers, or magnets.

Oxford-based First Light leveraged the vast power of Sandia's Z Machine for the first time last month to fire a projectile at its unique amplifier technology.

The Z Machine is the most powerful pulsed power facility in the world. With a peak power of 80 trillion watts, it electromagnetically launches projectiles to higher velocities than any other facility in the world. These are used to impact samples of material, testing their properties at extreme pressures.

Funded by the US Department of Energy, Sandia allows the Z Machine to be used for multiple high-energy density research fields in stockpile stewardship science and other forms of energy generation. It fires around 200 shots per year.

First Light - which has been granted three 'shots' on the Z Machine - is focusing on exploring the limits of its unique amplifier technology. Access to the Z Machine allows First Light access to pressure regimes that simply are not possible anywhere else in the world, including on its own pulsed power machine, Machine 3, one the largest machines of its kind in Europe.

First Light's successful first experiment set a new pressure record for quartz at Sandia's facility, raising it from 1.5 terapascal (TPa) to 1.85 TPa, while also maintaining the sample conditions required for high precision measurements.

The company said the test proved its target technology works across driver platforms and specifically on the most powerful pulsed power machine in the world. This, it said, validates that the core technology scales in line with simulations and highlights the experimental capability of First Light's team.

It plans to fire its next shot on the Z Machine at the end of this year.

"We are delighted to report that our first shot on the Z Machine was a resounding success - breaking the pressure record for the facility and further validating the value of First Light's unique amplifier technology," said Nick Hawker, founder and CEO of First Light Fusion. "Our ongoing partnership with Sandia and access to its state-of-the-art Z Machine enables us to test our unique amplifier technology at pressures we can't access anywhere else in the world.

"Testing at higher pressures is incredibly important as we seek to push the limits of what our amplifiers can do. We look forward to breaking the pressure record again later this year."

Daniel Sinars, director Sandia's Pulsed Power Sciences Center, added: "These joint experiments were conducted as part of Sandia's Z Fundamental Science Program, which permits potential academic and industry collaborators to propose basic science experiments on the Z Machine. Proposals undergo a competitive review process involving non-Sandia referees and we typically award about 14 shots annually.

"This proposal was intended to advance our knowledge of the response of quartz at high pressures, which is important because quartz is a standard window material used on many materials experiments on Z, NIF, and Omega. Getting a successful result on this first-ever experiment is a testament to the joint team's excellent experimental design and careful attention to its execution. Continued success along these lines could lead to new platforms for stockpile stewardship materials experiments on Z."

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

 NUKE NEWZ 

IAEA steps up efforts for gender balance in nuclear sector

08 March 2024

The International Atomic Energy Agency's Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has said that gender equality "is not just right - it is imperative for net zero, battling cancer, and ending global hunger".

Those attending had a clear message (Image: IAEA)

He was speaking as more than 400 women who have taken part in the IAEA's Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellowship Programme and Lise Meitner Programme gathered at the agency's headquarters in Vienna for an event coinciding with International Women's Day. Grossi posted a message on social media calling them "trailblazers ... reshaping the nuclear field, embodying our goal to open doors & break down barriers. The world needs nuclear and #NuclearNeedsWomen".

According to the IAEA, only a fifth of the global nuclear workforce are women and it "aims to change this by attracting a new generation of women to the nuclear field and inspiring them to stay and become leaders".

The Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellowship Programme was launched in 2020 and provides scholarships to help with tuition for master's programmes and living costs and provides internship opportunities. The Lisa Meitner Programme was launched in 2023, aimed at early- and mid-career women professionals "in a multiweek visiting professional programme to advance technical and soft skills at host institutions located around the world".

During the event World Nuclear Association signed an agreement with the IAEA to jointly promote professional development opportunities for women by providing opportunities within the nuclear industry for those taking part in the two programmes.


The WNA and IAEA director generals after signing the agreement (Image: IAEA)

Speaking from the event in Vienna, World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León said: "International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate women, whilst also highlighting the ongoing challenges women face everywhere. I am thrilled to join IAEA Director General Grossi, along with dozens of other global nuclear leaders and more than four hundred Marie Sklodowska Curie and Lise Meitner fellows from all over the world, to promote increased participation of women in all aspects of the nuclear sector. We need talented women everywhere to join the nuclear industry, not just to triple global nuclear capacity, but also because including and promoting women leads to a more inclusive and empowered world."

In a joint statement issued on behalf of those attending the IAEA event, they said: "We believe it is crucial to champion and empower women in nuclear science and technology. We are convinced that encouraging women to study science and technology is one of the main drivers for progress in societies, everywhere in the world. Women constitute a global talent pool to meet the technological challenges of today, to drive economic growth and diffuse knowledge. Closing the gender gap and breaking stereotypes in STEM not only promotes fairness and equality but also maximises human potential to tackle global challenges. The world is in need of more women role models to inspire future generations of girls to rise up to the role they are expected to play in the future.

"We, participants of the IAEA Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship and the Lise Meitner Programmes, pledge to support, advocate, promote and practice policies that empower women, ensure gender equality, and enable women to reach their full potential in the nuclear field ... Gender should never determine ambitions, dreams and goals. We hope girls and women around the world will keep on breaking the barriers, taking up high impact responsibilities, discovering and creating, while empowering each other."

France sets out long-term nuclear recycling plans

08 March 2024

Minister for the Economy, Finance, Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Bruno Le Maire announced the decision to continue with France's treatment-recycling strategy for used nuclear fuel beyond 2040, with plans to extend the life of existing recycling plants and to launch studies for a new MOX fuel fabrication plant and a new used fuel processing plant.

Lescure (second from left) and Le Maire (centre) pictured with La Hague Site Director Stéphanie Gaiffe (far left) and Orano CEO Nicolas Maes (on the right) during the visit (Image: Orano)

The announcement was made during a visit  by Le Maire and Minister Delegate for Industry and Energy Roland Lescure to Orano's La Hague recycling site, days after France's Nuclear Policy Council (Conseil de Politique Nucléaire) said on 26 February that the country would continue with its closed nuclear fuel cycle strategy.

Le Maire announced three measures that will be taken towards this goal: a sustainability/resilience programme extending the life of the La Hague and Melox recycling plants beyond 2040; the launch of studies for a new MOX fuel fabrication plant at the La Hague site; and the launch of studies for a new used fuel processing plant, also at La Hague, by 2045-2050.

"A new page in French nuclear history is about to open. The time for large-scale national projects has returned and the nuclear energy sector has a central role to play," Le Maire said during his visit to La Hague.

In a post on X, Le Maire said the visit to La Hague by the two ministers sends a strong signal. "Thanks to this strategy, we will ultimately reduce the volume of nuclear waste by 75%," he said. "Our message is clear: nuclear power occupies a central place in the decarbonisation of our economy, the strengthening of our energy sovereignty and the reindustrialisation of our country."

Orano CEO Nicolas Maes said the announcements provide for major investments for the La Hague site. "Processing-recycling is one of the French industry's centres of excellence, representing know-how that has been mastered for some 50 years in our plants and of which all the group's employees can be proud," he said.

From the very beginning of its nuclear programme France has chosen to pursue a closed fuel cycle, reprocessing used nuclear fuel to recover uranium and plutonium for re-use. Reprocessing and recycling fuel in this way also significantly reduces the activity and volume of radioactive waste material requiring final disposal.

In the French model, the reusable materials which make up some 96% of used fuel are separated at La Hague. The plutonium recovered from this processing is reused in MOX (mixed-oxide) fuels manufactured by Orano at the Melox plant. Some 10% of nuclear electricity in France today is generated by recycling materials in the form of MOX fuel, Orano said, and this can rise to 25% and to almost 40% if used MOX fuel is further recycled.

Only the plutonium recovered from processed fuel is currently used in MOX. Reprocessed uranium - or RepU - can be re-enriched for use as fuel in existing light-water reactors. Four of France's reactors - at the Cruas-Meysse plant in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes - are certified to use such uranium. In February, Cruas 2 became the first of those units to operate with a full core of fuel made from recycled uranium.

Reflector tank lifted for installation in Argentina's RA-10 research reactor

08 March 2024

The RA-10 reflector tank was manufactured by INVAP over 32 months at the Bariloche Atomic Centre. It is made of zirconium alloy and weighs 2540 kilograms, is 2 metres in diameter and 1.4 metres tall.

(Image: CNEA)

It was lifted up by crane to the level of the RA-10 reactor pool ready for its installation, with the moment witnessed by visitors including Treasury Minister Carlos Guberman, together with the president of Argentina's National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) Adriana Serquis, staff who are working on the project and representatives of various domestic companies participating in the construction of the reactor.

RA-10 Project Manager Herman Blaumann said: "The reflector tank is a critical component ... and after its installation the stage of assembly of pool internals begins ... so we are getting closer to the start-up, which we hope can begin next year."

Once the reactor pool internals are assembled, the pool will be filled, with a target of January 2025 for pre-operational tests with the commissioning process continuing and the aim of it becoming operational in 2026.

Serquis paid tribute to the long history of nuclear expertise in Argentina, saying that knowledge, qualifications and experience had been built up over many years, adding: "That capacity that we have as a country is unique and we must not lose it."

CNEA says the RA-10 - a 30 MWt open-pool research reactor - will be used for the production of medical radioisotopes, including the capacity to cover 20% of the world demand for molybdenum: "Technetium is obtained from molybdenum, and widely used in nuclear medicine ... it will also be possible to produce other radioisotopes that are not made in the country today and that are widely used in the world, such as lutetium, which is applied to treat prostate cancer and other pathologies, as well as others for use in agriculture and the industry".

The RA-10 project was approved by the government and was officially started by CNEA in June 2010. Argentina's Nuclear Regulatory Authority granted a construction licence for RA-10 in November 2014. The civil works for the reactor began in 2016. Nuclear technology firm INVAP is involved in the design and construction of the reactor facility and related installations, playing the role of main contractor. The assembly of the RA-10 pool - which will house the core of the reactor - was completed in August 2018.

The RA-10 will replace the RA-3 reactor on the same site, a 10 MWt pool-type reactor which began operations in 1967. As well as producing radioisotopes the RA-10 will also provide new research and training opportunities and will have associated facilities such as the Argentine Neutron Beam Laboratory (LAHN) and the Laboratory for the Study of Irradiated Materials (LEMI).

Young  BOOSTERS FOR nuclear groups seek rethink on Spanish nuclear closure

08 March 2024

A gathering in Madrid of more than 70 representatives from the European and international young nuclear networks, from 27 countries, heard the case put against the planned closure of Almaraz nuclear power plant's unit 1.

Attendees wearing Almaraz campaign t-shirts (Image: Jóvenes Nucleares)

The aim of the gathering was to share experiences of the nuclear sector in their respective countries for members of the European Nuclear Society - Young Generation Network and the International Young Nuclear Network. The host Spanish Youth Network's 'Salvemos Almaraz' ('Let's save Almaraz') initiative gained support from representatives from different countries.

Spain has seven nuclear reactors generating about a fifth of its electricity, but under its nuclear phase-out policy the fleet is scheduled to shut down by 2035, with Almaraz 1 due to be taken offline in 2027. Jóvenes Nucleares, an association for young professionals and students from the Spanish nuclear sector, noted that the two unit Almaraz nuclear power plant's 2000 MWe installed capacity generates enough electricity for 4 million homes and represents 7% of total generation in Spain, avoiding the emission of 7.2 million tonnes of CO2 per year. It also highlighted that EUR600 million (USD655 million) had been invested in maintenance and operation to be included in the highest category by World Association of Nuclear Operators.

"For all these reasons, Jóvenes Nucleares ... believes that the closure plan established in the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan must be reconsidered. Spanish nuclear power plants generate clean energy, as they do not emit CO2, they are reliable, cheap, as proven by various studies by neutral international organisations that describe that extending the life of the plants is the most economical way to generate electricity per MW; and safe, which is not only more than demonstrated by their operation over the last 40 years, but also by their constant investment in improvements," the organisation said in a statement.

It said that 2024 was a crucial year as the deadline approaches for any reversal of the decision to end operations at Almaraz 1 in 2027. The nuclear phase-out policy was confirmed by the Spanish government in December.

The weekend also included a number of technical visits, to the TJ-II nuclear fusion device and the simulator of the control room of the Trillo nuclear power plant at Westinghouse Madrid.

Reflector tank lifted for installation in Argentina's RA-10 research reactor

08 March 2024

The RA-10 reflector tank was manufactured by INVAP over 32 months at the Bariloche Atomic Centre. It is made of zirconium alloy and weighs 2540 kilograms, is 2 metres in diameter and 1.4 metres tall.

(Image: CNEA)

It was lifted up by crane to the level of the RA-10 reactor pool ready for its installation, with the moment witnessed by visitors including Treasury Minister Carlos Guberman, together with the president of Argentina's National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) Adriana Serquis, staff who are working on the project and representatives of various domestic companies participating in the construction of the reactor.

RA-10 Project Manager Herman Blaumann said: "The reflector tank is a critical component ... and after its installation the stage of assembly of pool internals begins ... so we are getting closer to the start-up, which we hope can begin next year."

Once the reactor pool internals are assembled, the pool will be filled, with a target of January 2025 for pre-operational tests with the commissioning process continuing and the aim of it becoming operational in 2026.

Serquis paid tribute to the long history of nuclear expertise in Argentina, saying that knowledge, qualifications and experience had been built up over many years, adding: "That capacity that we have as a country is unique and we must not lose it."

CNEA says the RA-10 - a 30 MWt open-pool research reactor - will be used for the production of medical radioisotopes, including the capacity to cover 20% of the world demand for molybdenum: "Technetium is obtained from molybdenum, and widely used in nuclear medicine ... it will also be possible to produce other radioisotopes that are not made in the country today and that are widely used in the world, such as lutetium, which is applied to treat prostate cancer and other pathologies, as well as others for use in agriculture and the industry".

The RA-10 project was approved by the government and was officially started by CNEA in June 2010. Argentina's Nuclear Regulatory Authority granted a construction licence for RA-10 in November 2014. The civil works for the reactor began in 2016. Nuclear technology firm INVAP is involved in the design and construction of the reactor facility and related installations, playing the role of main contractor. The assembly of the RA-10 pool - which will house the core of the reactor - was completed in August 2018.

The RA-10 will replace the RA-3 reactor on the same site, a 10 MWt pool-type reactor which began operations in 1967. As well as producing radioisotopes the RA-10 will also provide new research and training opportunities and will have associated facilities such as the Argentine Neutron Beam Laboratory (LAHN) and the Laboratory for the Study of Irradiated Materials (LEMI).

BN-600 reactor at Beloyarsk aims for further life extension

07 March 2024

Rosenergoatom is to seek approval to extend the life of the BN-600 fast neutron reactor following an inspection of the condition of the reactor vessel, heat exchanger supports and other equipment.

(Image: Rosenergoatom)

Russian nuclear regulator Rostekhnadzor extended the operating licence for the fast reactor - unit 3 of the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant in the Sverdlovsk district - by a further five years in 2020. The unit began operating in 1981 and a large-scale modernisation programme had been under way from 2009 before the first extension. At the time, in 2020, Rosenergoatom said further investment work would be completed by 2024 to allow for a licence extension to 2040.

It has since completed a number of important upgrades to the safety of buildings, structures, and systems, including replacement of steam generator modules and pumping units and the aim is to submit documents to Rostekhnadzor this month, with an expectation of them being checked within a year and a decision made about a new licence.

Rosenergoatom Director General Alexander Shutikov said: "Power unit No.3 is strategically important for us. It tests technical solutions for future fast reactors - we irradiate fuel elements there both for the BREST-OD-300 reactor plant (a fast reactor with lead coolant, which is currently being built in Seversk), and for the BN-1200, which is planned to be introduced at the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant."

Director of the Beloyarsk plant, Ivan Sidorov, said that in the next two scheduled maintenance rounds "we will replace the remaining steam generator modules and feed pumps, and modernise the diesel generator sets. This work will allow us to safely and efficiently generate electricity for the residents of the Sverdlovsk region for many years".

Rosenergoatom, which is part of Rosatom, says that extending the life of the unit could allow the generation of an additional 60 billion kWh of electricity. The sodium-cooled BN-series fast reactors are part of Rosatom's Proryv, or 'Breakthrough', project to develop fast reactors with a closed fuel cycle whose mixed oxide (MOX) fuel will be reprocessed and recycled. In addition to the BN-600 reactor, the 789 MWe BN-800 fast neutron reactor - constructed as Beloyarsk unit 4 - entered commercial operation in October 2016. This is essentially a demonstration unit for fuel and design features for the larger BN-1200 being planned for the same plant.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News