Russia is looking to maintain its position as “one of the biggest builders of new nuclear plants in the world,” a top envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Financial Times in an interview published on Monday.
“We are building more than 10 different units around the world,” Boris Titov, Putin’s special representative for international cooperation in sustainability, told FT.
“We need a lot of energy. We will not be able to provide this energy without using . . . nuclear,” the official said.
This type of energy is safe and low-carbon, Titov added.
Russia currently has nuclear power plants under development and construction in countries such as China, India, Iran, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Turkey, among others.
Russia’s ambitions to boost its global influence in nuclear power fleets come as the West seeks to diminish its dependence on Russian nuclear fuel and technology.
Yet, the Western countries will need additional incentives and sanctions on Russia to reduce their dependence on the Russian supply of nuclear fuel, according to French company Orano, one of the top Western suppliers of enriched uranium.
“To entirely disconnect from Russia, we need new capacities, and industrial groups will only invest if they have long-term contracts,” Orano’s CEO Nicolas Maes told the Financial Times in an interview in October.
France’s Orano and Urenco, a consortium created in 1970 by the governments of Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK, are the main Western competitors of Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy firm Rosatom.
Europe has not sanctioned Rosatom or Russian nuclear fuel supplies as dozens of nuclear power stations in the eastern EU member states have been built by Russian companies and supplied with Russian nuclear fuel.
As many countries are now looking to nuclear power to cut emissions and reliance on imports of oil and gas, they would need to cut their dependence on enriched uranium from Russia.
But in order to reduce reliance on Russia, western contractors and suppliers would need visibility over the long-term demand, the chief executive of France’s Orano told FT.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
Government inquiry recommends lifting Swedish uranium ban
Sweden should remove its prohibition on uranium mining to allow it to be exploited like other natural resources regulated under the Minerals Act, a government inquiry has concluded.
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Uranium exploration and mining has been prohibited in Sweden since 2018, but in February this year Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari announced that a government inquiry would look into abolishing the ban.
The inquiry has now published its conclusions, in which it recommends that uranium be regulated as a "concession mineral" under the Minerals Act. This would allow deposits containing economic quantities of uranium to be exploited like other natural resources in the country. It envisages the legislation required would enter into force on 1 January 2026.
"More than a quarter of Europe's known uranium reserves are found in Sweden's bedrock," Pourmokhtari said. "Being able to mine uranium is absolutely essential for our work on climate change, to reduce emissions and dependence on fossil fuels and energy sources. I want us to mine and make use of the mineral that is found in Sweden, where the Swedish mining industry is among the most environmentally friendly and safe in the entire world."
Sweden's ban on uranium mining has had a negative impact for critical raw materials that are necessary in technology and climate-smart products, Energy and Industry Minister Ebba Busch said. "Removing the ban is absolutely necessary to reduce our dependence on third countries, create jobs and enable more ethical mines," she added.
The inquiry's findings - or memorandum - are now being referred for consultation to the relevant authorities, organisations, municipalities and other stakeholders. Australian mineral company Aura Energy, owner of the Häggån vanadium, potash and uranium project in Sweden, has been named as a party to the consultation, and said the inquiry's findings align Sweden’s mining legislation with its energy policy that calls for a substantial expansion of nuclear power. Extracting uranium from a "substantial endowment of geology which hosts uranium as a by-product would greatly increase Sweden’s energy security", it said.
"This is an important first step for Sweden to continue its path towards low-carbon energy self sufficiency," Aura Energy Managing Director and CEO Andrew Grove said. "Sweden has a rich geological endowment that can be harnessed to provide zero emissions nuclear power for both its own domestic use, as well as for export.
"Sweden has high environmental standards and a robust permitting system, which would of course also cover uranium extraction should this proposal be enacted. Uranium can be mined safely and put to use in support of the transition to carbon free energy in Sweden, Europe and across the globe. It will also reduce Sweden’s dependence on imported energy sources and release significant value for Sweden’s economy."
Häggån, in the municipality of Berg in the county of Jämtland, contains about 800 million pounds U3O8 (307,718 tU), which Aura says could meet Sweden's uranium needs for over 300 years, at current usage levels.
The public can also comment during the consultation process, which will run until 20 March.
Westinghouse signs agreement to diversify fuel supply for Bulgarian plant
The company has signed a contract with Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant to conduct safety analysis for licensing a new nuclear fuel assembly design for Kozloduy unit 6.
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The agreement, which was signed in the presence of Bulgarian Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov, follows the delivery of the first reload of Westinghouse-supplied VVER-1000 fuel assemblies to unit 5 at the plant earlier this year.
"The signing of the contract with Westinghouse marks a new key step in our consistent efforts to diversify nuclear fuel supplies for the Kozloduy NPP," Malinov said, describing the partnership between Kozloduy NPP and Westinghouse as a guarantee of Bulgarian energy security: "Thanks to the fruitful cooperation with our American partners, we have achieved tremendous progress in our common goal - to make Bulgaria's energy sector independent."
Kozloduy 5 and 6 are Russian-designed and supplied VVER-1000 units that were connected to the grid in 1987 and 1991, respectively. Both units have been through refurbishment and life-extension programmes and together generate about one-third of Bulgaria's electricity. Two Westinghouse AP1000 units are also planned for the site, aiming to come into operation in the latter half of the 2030s.
In November 2022 Bulgaria's National Assembly voted to accelerate the process of securing an alternative to Russia as supplier of nuclear fuel for the VVER-1000 units. The following month, Kozloduy NPP signed a 10-year contract with Westinghouse to fabricate and deliver VVER-1000 nuclear fuel for Kozloduy unit 5 from Westinghouse's fabrication site in Västerås, Sweden. The first fuel supplied under that contract was loaded into the reactor earlier this year.
Westinghouse said the nuclear fuel licensing for unit 6 will meet the rigorous requirements of the Bulgarian Nuclear Regulator, executing a Lead Test Assemblies Licensing Programme.
"We look forward to further contributing to the energy independence and fuel diversification for Bulgaria, which is so critical to Kozloduy NPP," Westinghouse President and CEO Patrick Fragman said. "We are also pleased about the continued progress on the project to build two Westinghouse AP1000 units at this site," he added, thanking Malinov for his "continuous and unwavering support in achieving this major milestone".
Viewpoint: International collaboration is key for geological disposal programmes
Different countries planning the safe, permanent disposal of nuclear waste in geological repositories are sharing experiences and learning from each other, as Neil Hyatt, chief scientific advisor to the UK's Nuclear Waste Services explains.
Why is there a need to collaborate internationally?
We’ve been pioneers in the nuclear industry for decades. But that doesn’t mean we should stop learning. Collaborating with our international network means we’re exposed to a much broader range of thinking. We can learn from each other and get the best from the huge reservoir of knowledge that’s been developed around the world. The evidence base and arguments we use to support our claims of safety are far more robust when they draw from multiple sources and are subject to cross examination from the best brains in the field. It's also good to be challenged. It keeps our thinking fresh.
It’s important for people early in their careers to work with more experienced programmes and with more experienced people. When they bring their evidence to the international arena it will be scrutinised by the best in the world. That sets a gold standard and challenges them to be at the top of their game.
It also gives us the chance to recruit, and at a time when we are facing a nuclear skills gap, that is vital. By working internationally, we can periodically "swap" experts with secondments. On these visits, they’ll work in a specific area for a long time to bring more knowledge, experience and understanding back home. They will also be exposed to different cultural professional approaches to research programmes. This mutual understanding will help to build and sustain these vital international relationships and give them a fresh perspective.
When I give talks, I always say we are not alone in our endeavour. The professional relationships we develop internationally means we can support each other in our goal to make nuclear waste permanently safe, sooner.
How do you collaborate?
The Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) programme is an international effort. More than 20 countries across the world are trying to develop a GDF. The most advanced is in Finland. It is expected to achieve the world first disposal of spent nuclear fuel by the end of the decade. Each GDF is likely to be the first (and only) of its kind in each nation state and its construction is very different to building an aircraft or submarine, for example. Every few decades engineers design new classes of submarines which are iterations on what came before. They build on the learning from the previous class and transfer it into the new class so they can build better submarines over time. But a GDF is a different kind of proposition.
That is why we have to learn through experiments and knowledge sharing, so that the design is right and the facility can be adapted over its lifetime. A lot of our experiments need to be run in a prototype environment in an underground research laboratory. But the best instruments and facilities for these experiments are one of a kind and expensive to build. We use relevant underground laboratories around the world, working with international teams, to undertake this kind of work, sharing cost and knowledge. This kind of collaboration is an essential part of developing the evidence base and technology to deliver.
Our partners in France and Switzerland, among others, are another great resource. The geologies they are looking to develop in are similar - for example France is developing its GDF in a clay geology similar to that of interest in the UK. That is why we have such a close technical relationship. We can also draw on technical learning from Sweden and Finland around pivoting from a scientific organisation into a delivery organisation and then an operating organisation as the building of our GDF moves through different phases. We can use their example to learn how we can build positive working relationships with communities too.
What kind of experiments do you run in underground laboratories?
Nuclear Waste Services staff in Switzerland (Image: NWS)
We’re running an experiment in Switzerland’s Mont Terri underground laboratory. The experiment, called HotBent, will help us determine whether we can pack High Heat Generating Waste (HHGW) more efficiently in the GDF. Our High Heat Generating Waste (HHGW) packages, like high level waste glass, could be emplaced horizontally in tunnels, within a lower strength sedimentary rock. The packages will be surrounded by a swelling natural clay, bentonite, which will seal them in place, protecting them. The HHGW will heat the surrounding bentonite clay and we need to ensure that the temperature does not rise to too much, otherwise its swelling characteristics could be affected. So, one aim of the HotBent experiment is to determine whether bentonite clay can sustain higher temperatures, at realistic scales, and in real conditions.
This information will help us to optimise the layout of the GDF and HHGW container spacing, which could translate into substantial saving in time, cost, and excavation, without any compromise in safety. So, you can see just how important these international facilities are. We need to verify and validate our disposal concepts through tests at realistic scale and in real environments. Laboratory work is very important, but in this context it only goes so far. Thanks to our strong relationships with international counterpart organisations, we can run these experiments in existing facilities which are relevant to our GDF design, without needing to develop our own underground research laboratory at this point.
What does international collaboration mean to you?
Communication and relationships are so important to progression in science. It takes dedication, it takes effort. And not just from me, from all of us. We all want the same thing - to keep people safe for hundreds of thousands of years.
When you consider we’ve only been on the planet for 300,000 years, you get a sense of the enormity of our work. Nuclear waste doesn’t know anything about international borders so we need to connect, human to human, to build relationships that will help us implement the technical solutions to make nuclear waste permanently safe, sooner.
Argentina aims to be nuclear pioneer, President Milei says
Argentina's President Javier Milei has said "nuclear energy will make its triumphant return and we will not only not be left behind, but we intend to be pioneers".
The president, standing between his chief adviser Demian Reidel, who will oversee a new nuclear programme, and International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, said "we are contemporaries of a true technological revolution ... the development of artificial intelligence opens a new frontier for this manifest destiny that we share as a species" but "many of the free nations that have always been at the forefront of technological development are now afraid of innovation and punish the technological sector with taxes and regulations". Argentina by contrast was "removing the regulations that have tied the hands of our people for decades and inviting the world's big capitals to cooperate with Argentina".
He added: "The potential for development in artificial intelligence is so immense that conventional energy will not be enough to supply this new demand, which is why we are convinced that a resurgence of nuclear energy will occur throughout the world, because despite the countless campaigns of discredit that some international foundations have mounted, nuclear energy is the only source that is sufficiently efficient, abundant and rapidly scalable to cope with the development of our civilisation.
"So, after decades of decline, nuclear energy will make its triumphant return and we will not only not be left behind, but we intend to be pioneers."
The outline of the plan announced, according to various reports, is initially for the construction of a small modular reactor on the Atucha site. According to the Financial Times, Reidel said the plan was to use Argentine technology, developed by its nuclear engineers, but with funding from a US investor joining a joint venture with Invap, with the goal of having a first plant online by 2030. No mention was made during the announcement about the existing Argentine SMR project, the CAREM-25.
The second stage of the government's nuclear plan is reported to be to develop uranium reserves to cover domestic demand and position the country as an exporter of high-value-added fuel elements.
Grossi said that the IAEA had signed a memorandum of understanding agreement with Argentina following the announcement, which aimed to expand their collaboration on small modular reactors "to meet the energy demands of data centres and AI applications".
The background
Argentina currently has three operable nuclear power units - Atucha 1, connected in 1974, Atucha 2, which was connected in 2014 and Embalse which was connected to the grid in 1983. Between them they generate about 5% of the country's electricity. There have been plans for a fourth unit, as Atucha III, with an EPC contract signed with China's CNNC in February 2022. It is unclear what the current status is of this project and whether it will be part of the nuclear programme.
The CAREM SMR - the name comes from Central Argentina de Elementos Modulares - is a 32 MWe prototype and is Argentina's first domestically designed and developed nuclear power unit. First concrete was poured in 2014, but construction has since been suspended a number of times. It is currently estimated to be about two thirds complete, and a Critical Design Review was ordered for it in May this year with reported uncertainty over funding.
IAEA commends Ghana on nuclear power programme progress
The International Atomic Energy Agency says Ghana is committed to the "continuous improvement of nuclear and radiation safety" and urges the government to ensure the independence of the country's Nuclear Regulatory Authority.
This was the first Integrated Regulatory Review Service mission to Ghana, and took place from 25 November to 4 December with a team of 14 experts from 13 countries plus three IAEA staff members. It was requested by Ghana's government and its aim was a peer review of the "legal and regulatory framework for nuclear, radiation, radioactive waste and transport safety as well as the interface between safety and nuclear security".
The Integrated Regulatory Review Service team spent time with the management and staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) and staff from the ministries of energy and environment, science, technology and innovation. They visited the GHARR-1 research reactor and the radioactive waste management centre.
In its findings highlighting Ghana's commitment to safety, it noted that the NRA was an independent regulatory authority and the country had initiated "the strengthening of the regulatory framework for nuclear and radiation safety through the development of regulations and guides" and provided "support and advocacy for the NRA, through the provision of financial and human resources commensurate with the current national nuclear and radiation programme".
The mission team said the primary challenge was "the completion and issuance of regulations and guides to support the consistent and stable implementation of the National Regulatory Act", and recommendations included that the government "establish and implement national policies and strategies for safety and for radioactive waste management" and "establish and implement an enforcement policy and process, including criteria for corrective actions, for responding to non-compliance with regulatory requirements".
Thiagan Pather, mission Team Leader from the National Nuclear Regulator in South Africa, said: "The efforts and constructive engagement of NRA staff during the peer review process enabled the IRRS team to gain a comprehensive understanding of Ghana’s regulatory framework. As a country with ambitions for a nuclear power programme, it is important that the Government of Ghana and the Nuclear Regulatory Authority work together to deliver the improvements identified during the mission."
Aba Bentil Andam, NRA Board Chairperson, said: "The mission has provided the NRA with a clear understanding of the state of its regulatory infrastructure with reference to the IAEA Safety Standards. The results of the mission will be helpful to the NRA in its quest to improve the nuclear and radiation safety infrastructure to adequately ensure the protection of people and the environment."
Hildegarde Vandenhove, Director of the IAEA Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety, said: "I am confident that the recommendations and suggestions by the IRRS review mission will be implemented by Ghana to strengthen their national regulatory framework for safety, and they intend to invite the IAEA for a follow-up mission within the next few years."
The final report of the mission will be provided to Ghana's government in about three months. Ghana has been developing plans for both gigawatt-scale nuclear power capacity and small modular reactors. It already uses nuclear and radiation technologies in healthcare, agriculture, research and industry.
Podcast: Nuclear energy's key moments in 2024
What were the most-read World Nuclear News stories, and what has World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León picked out as her key moments of 2024? See below, and listen to the full podcast episode for what to watch out for in 2025:
January
The start of the year was dominated by nuclear energy developments in the UK, with the then government launching a roadmap for reaching its ambition for the UK to have 24 GWe of nuclear generating capacity by 2050, representing about 25% of the country's projected electricity demand. There was also EDF's announcement that the timeline and cost estimate of Hinkley Point C had risen and the World Nuclear News podcast interview with Great British Nuclear's Simon Bowen about the country's SMR selection process. The report about Beijing Betavolt New Energy Technology Company's plan to mass produce a miniature atomic energy battery was also keenly read.
February
The big news story to start the month was EDF and KHNP being the two contenders left for the Czech new nuclear tender. Other well-read stories were Westinghouse signing an agreement with Community Nuclear Power Limited for a fleet of four AP300 SMRs in northeast England, a pioneering welding technique being developed and the news that US fusion energy developer Type One Energy Group had announced plans to build Infinity One - its stellarator fusion prototype machine - at Tennessee Valley Authority's Bull Run Fossil Plant.
March
The month's most read included one of Bilbao y León's key moments of the year - the attendance of 32 national leaders, and senior representatives, at the inaugural Nuclear Energy Summit co-organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency and Belgium. It was, she says, "a big moment and fantastic" to have the heads of state saying "loudly and boldly how nuclear energy was a key piece of their energy mix ... when governments speak multilateral development banks, the finance community and others need to listen, so I think that was a very important moment".
Also well read in March were stories covering the start of fuel loading at the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor in India, and California-based Longview Fusion Energy Systems contracting Fluor Corporation to design what it hopes to be the world's first commercial laser fusion power plant. There was also significant news from Barakah 4, but more of that in September's entry.
April
New-build news dominated the charts with unit 2 of the Shin Hanul nuclear power plant in South Korea - the fourth Korean APR-1400 - entering commercial operation, as did the Vogtle 4 AP1000 in the USA. Staying in the US, TerraPower submitted its application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build the Natrium reactor demonstration project, near a retiring coal facility at Kemmerer in Wyoming. In the UK, the Nuclear Industry Association applied to the UK government for a justification decision for Newcleo's lead-cooled fast reactor, the LFR-AS-200, while in Ukraine work got under way at unit 5 of the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant on the first of the planned wave of Westinghouse AP1000s.
May
The month began with the US Senate passing the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act. The act, which was followed later in the year by Russia's response, was one of the key geopolitical moments of the year, with Bilbao y León saying a lot of work was taking place "to create policies and industrial strategies that are going to ensure there is the fuel that is needed ... if we are serious about tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050, clearly we need to make sure that we have in place a plan that is serious and realistic for how we are going to get this fuel that is going to help run all these new units".
The other most-read stories during May included Poland's Industria saying it had all the necessary ministerial opinions required to move on to the next stage of its construction of small modular reactor plants using Rolls-Royce SMR's technology, the G7 nations recognising nuclear's role in reaching climate targets, and the announcement that the first tier of El Dabaa unit 1's inner containment structure had been completed at the Rosatom-led project in Egypt.
June
Finland's various plans for new nuclear became a feature of the news agenda during the middle part of the year, with Steady Energy announcing it aimed to start construction of its first LDR-50 district heating reactor pilot plant in 2025. The US company Infinity Power was the latest to announce a breakthrough on nuclear battery development and Terrapower broke ground on its Natrium plant (see April). There was also the news that EDF had completed the purchase of a portion of GE Vernova's nuclear conventional islands technology and services including its Arabelle steam turbines, and the US announcement of cooperation to support Ghana's small modular reactor plans. And in fusion, there was the announcement of a revamped project plan for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor which aims for "a scientifically and technically robust initial phase of operations, including deuterium-deuterium fusion operation in 2035 followed by full magnetic energy and plasma current operation".
July
The big news story was Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power winning the Czech government's contest for at least two new nuclear power units in the country. The other most read developments included EDF announcing its plans to modify its Nuward small modular reactor design to focus on existing and proven technologies, and its decision to withdraw from the UK's selection process for which SMR technology to back. There was a lot of interest in reading/hearing from Southern Nuclear's Senior Vice President at Vogtle 3 and 4, John Williams, on the achievement of completing the first new US nuclear power units in more than 30 years - and the lessons which can be shared. South Korea's Mokpo National University opened the world's first SMR Ship Research Institute, aiming to develop a global hub for SMR ship research and education, and there was the news that four years after it shut down, NextEra Energy was looking into restarting the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant.
August
With the Olympics in full swing in Paris, the gold medal for most-read World Nuclear News story in August goes to Kairos Power announcing the start of site work and excavation for the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor, the first non-light-water reactor to be permitted in the USA in more than 50 years. Also on the podium was the news that China's State Council had approved five nuclear power projects - Xuwei Phase I, Lufeng Phase I, Zhaoyuan Phase I, San'ao Phase II and Bailong Phase I - with a total of 11 reactors. Plus South Africa pausing its nuclear procurement process, Westinghouse and EDF launching appeals to the Czech competition authorities about the tender process for the new nuclear units in the country and the plan for Lloyd's Register, Core Power and AP Moller - Maersk to conduct a regulatory assessment study to determine the safety and regulatory considerations for a potential nuclear-propelled container ship to undertake cargo operations at a port in Europe.
September
In a very newsy month, a group of 14 global financial institutions expressed their support, at New York Climate Week for the call to action to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050. Bilbao y León picked this out as another of the key moments of 2024: "This is an audience we have been trying to inform and educate about the opportunities in nuclear and for these 14 major banks and financial institutions to boldly and loudly say 'nuclear is something that we are considering and we support' was a very big moment and is opening new channels - we are starting to have conversations with the World Bank. We are having discussions with them on what is it that would it take, what information do they need in order to reassess their lending policies that currently do not include nuclear. So this was a very big moment in 2024."
The month also saw the announcement on the first day of World Nuclear Symposium in London that Barakah 4 had entered commercial operation. Also among the most read articles was the Czech Republic choosing UK firm Rolls-Royce SMR after assessing seven potential technology suppliers for its proposed small modular reactor programme. Rolls-Royce SMR also featured among the four shortlisted technology developers left in the UK's SMR selection process as the final set of negotiations began. But the month also saw news from Constellation that made front page headlines and heralded a flurry of data centre-focused stories as it announced a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft that will see Three Mile Island unit 1 restarted, five years after it was shut down.
October
Taken together, the series of articles about Amazon and Google joining Microsoft in investing in nuclear energy to provide carbon-free and 24/7 energy for their data centres - including Deep Atomic launching its data centre-focused MK60 SMR - dominated the month. As Bilbao y León said: "For decades there was a feeling that energy efficiency and demand-side management would make sure there was a more-or-less flat energy demand. But it's been clear for the past year or two that that is no longer the case. We are going to see a huge increase in electricity demand ... big tech or metallurgical companies and others that are really becoming very pragmatic - how to get the energy in a way that is really what they need - which is without carbon emissions and 24/7".
The month also saw the first SMR projects selected by the European Industrial Alliance, Kazakhstan backing new nuclear in a referendum and continued uncertainty in Niger led to SOMAÏR, the operator of the Arlit uranium mine in Niger, deciding to suspend its activities from the end of October. There had been due to be a referendum held on new nuclear in Slovenia in November but that was cancelled in October amid political differences. There was more positive news in Romania, where the US Export-Import Bank approved a final commitment for a USD98 million loan for pre-project services for the development of a first-of-a-kind NuScale small modular reactor in the country.
November
The most-read news in November was that the first of two demonstration Guohe One (CAP1400) reactors at Huaneng Group's Shidaowan site in China's Shandong province had been connected to the grid. The 1400 MWe pressurised water reactor design is intended to be deployed in large numbers across the country, as well as for export. The CAP1400 is an enlarged version of the CAP1000 PWR developed from the Westinghouse AP1000, with consulting input from the USA-based company. At COP29 in Azerbaijan six more countries signed the Net Zero Nuclear declaration backing the tripling of nuclear capacity by 2050 - El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Nigeria and Turkey.
Bilbao y León picked this as another of the significant moments of the year, saying: "Expectations for some people had been low for COP29 but it was a very important event - nuclear has a key role to play and now the questions are not whether nuclear should be at COP, but pragmatic questions such as 'how do we get nuclear into the mix', 'how much nuclear is needed?' and 'what type of nuclear?'. We were very happy to be able to announce the six additional countries signing the tripling nuclear declaration and we engaged a lot with the work on carbon markets, which maybe went a bit under the radar, but carbon markets are going to be very important to drive investment in the right projects with the right technologies to achieve decarbonisation".
Other well-read developments were Russia announcing restrictions on exports of enriched uranium to the USA, the UK pushing back deadlines for key decisions on Sizewell C and the SMR selection process to spring 2025, and a key engineering, procurement and construction management contract signed for Romania's Cernavoda's units 3 and 4. Further chart-toppers were news about Oklo being cleared to begin site characterisation for its first-of-a-kind plant in Idaho in the US, and Heysham 2's station director Martin Cheetham telling the World Nuclear News podcast what was next for the plant.
December
The big news on 21 December was that the long-delayed Flamanville 3 EPR reactor in Normandy in northern France has begun delivering electricity to the grid. Other news proving popular as we headed towards the end of 2024 included Facebook owner Meta saying it was seeking proposals for as much as 4GW of nuclear capacity in the USA to "meet our AI innovation and sustainability objectives", Newcleo submitting its SMR design for UK assessment, US-based engineering company Amentum and Norwegian consulting firm Multiconsult Norge AS appointed by Halden Kjernekraft AS to evaluate the potential for constructing a small modular reactor at Halden in southeast Norway, Canada considering financing the Polish nuclear power plant project, Russia completing the preliminary design on a prototype fusion reactor, and, finally, the UK announcing life extensions for four of its nuclear plants.
