World Nuclear News
AtkinsRéalis producing study for six-unit Candu plant in Turkey
The agreement, signed at COP31 in Turkey (see picture above), will see the Canadian engineering giant undertake feasibility and Front-End Engineering Design studies for the expansion of Turkey's nuclear programme.
It will focus on a potential multi-unit deployment, evaluating the proposed site's characteristics, infrastructure requirements, environmental considerations, broader project development needs as well as economic and funding options. It will also look at how local supply chains can be developed and long-term economic value maximised in Turkey.
Ian Edwards, President and CEO of AtkinsRéalis, said: "This milestone reflects the federal government's ambitions to strengthen international partnerships and the global reach of Canadian nuclear expertise, with Candu nuclear technology at the centre of that strategy."
The feasibility study is due to be completed in May, Edwards said, adding, "we will home in on a site-specific proposal with a costing and a financial framework around it, with partners and with a full proposal … we bring the reactor technology, we bring the innovation, but importantly, we probably add about 35% to 40% of the overall capex, but the rest of it will come from Turkey".
Joe St Julian, President, Nuclear, AtkinsRéalis, said the agreement "creates the momentum needed for projects to get to a final investment decision" and stressed the bilateral benefits of such a project, saying that the Candu technology offers greater potential localisation than other technologies.
"What that means for Turkey is you can build a nuclear power station in Turkey with Turkish manufacturing, Turkish labour, and you can create a durable, sustainable nuclear industry that's self-reliant … and those are good-paying jobs," he said.
"The benefit to Canada is, even though you're building this plant in Turkey, there are certain components that will still be manufactured in Canada, and it's their technology. So Canada has a benefit at home in their GDP, maybe to a far less extent than other OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), but there is a benefit, both economic, and also a geopolitical benefit as well. So it's a win-win."
Background
Turkey is currently in the process of constructing its first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, in the southern Mersin province. Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom is building four VVER-1200 reactors, under a so-called BOO (build-own-operate) model. According to the terms of the 2010 Intergovernmental Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey, the aim was for the commissioning of the first power unit of the nuclear power plant to take place within seven years from receipt of all permits for the construction of the unit.
The licence for the construction of the first unit was issued in 2018, with construction work beginning that year. Nuclear fuel was delivered to the site in April 2023. The aim has been for unit 1 to begin supplying Turkey's energy system by the end of 2026. First concrete was poured for unit 4 in July 2022. When the 4,800 MWe plant is completed, it is expected to meet about 10% of Turkey's electricity needs.
Turkey has plans for a second nuclear power plant, at Sinop, and has also been in talks with China about plans for a third plant, in the Thrace region in the country's north-west. The country is also developing plans for small modular reactors (SMRs), with the aim of adding 5 GWe of capacity by 2050 - which would mean the equivalent of at least 16 individual SMRs. According to a Bloomberg report earlier this week, Turkey's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the country was in talks with Canada and South Korea about new nuclear power projects and expected to finalise its partners in the next few months.
Candu - for Canada Deuterium Uranium - technology is a Canadian reactor design that uses heavy water (deuterium oxide) as a moderator and coolant, and is fuelled using natural uranium (as opposed to enriched uranium). The first prototype unit - with a gross capacity of only 25 MWe - was connected to the grid at Rolphton, Ontario in 1962. Since then, some 34 units have been built around the world, including all 17 of the reactors currently operating in Canada, building up nearly 1,000 reactor-years of experience. It has demonstrated strong operational and safety performance internationally, in Canada, Romania, Argentina, South Korea, and China.
Canadian-headquartered global engineering giant AtkinsRéalis is the original equipment manufacturer and exclusive licence holder of Candu technology: the intellectual property belongs to the Canadian government, and is held on its behalf by Crown corporation Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.
OPG set to revise timeline and cost of first SMR unit
The company has previously acknowledged that the Darlington New Nuclear Project (DNNP) is "subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that could affect project cost and schedule".
Announcing its financial and operating results for the third quarter of 2026, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) said: "While OPG is undertaking a comprehensive assessment of the project cost and schedule, DNNP Unit 1 is no longer expected to achieve the previously disclosed commercial operation date target of October 2030 or be completed within the previously disclosed estimated cost of CAD7.7 billion (USD5.4 billion), inclusive of required systems and services that would be common to all SMRs planned as part of the project."
OPG said the delay and cost overrun "reflects GE Vernova Hitachi (GEVH) Nuclear Energy's ongoing engineering for its first-of-a-kind SMR, which has impacts on construction execution and supply chain performance. OPG is working with GEVH to complete outstanding engineering scope and move the project forward as quickly as possible".
It said the assessment of the project cost and schedule will be "informed by the completion of engineering scope, including construction deliverables". The assessment will also include further evaluation of engineering design maturity and completion timelines, first-of-a-kind design complexity impacts on construction and procurement assumptions, updated market conditions including inflationary and geopolitical risk, other residual risks, and the effectiveness of mitigation and recovery actions.
"We have made meaningful progress in building the G7's first small modular reactor, and critical work continues every day on site," said OPG President and CEO Nicolle Butcher. "At the same time, we have identified risks that will impact Unit 1's schedule and budget. As we continue construction, we are working to fully assess those impacts, and establish mitigation measures and a cost and schedule outlook that we can stand behind. As work progresses, we will share the information transparently."
"While engineering and design maturity are important considerations, as OPG's update recognises, there are multiple interconnected contributions across engineering, procurement and construction, as well as evolving market conditions, including inflation and geopolitical risks," GE Vernova Hitachi spokesperson Jonathan Allen was quoted as saying by The Globe and Mail.
OPG said it expects to "substantially complete" the comprehensive assessment of the projected cost and schedule by mid-2027.
Background
GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy's BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems that leverages the design and licensing basis of GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy's US Nuclear Regulatory Commission-certified ESBWR boiling water reactor design and its existing, licensed GNF2 fuel design.
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An illustration of how the completed BWRX-300 could look (Image: OPG)
The Darlington New Nuclear Project will be the first new nuclear build in Ontario in more than three decades. OPG received a Licence to Construct the first of four planned BWRX-300s at Darlington from the CNSC in April 2025. The following month the Province of Ontario approved the CAD20.9 billion (USD15 billion) budget and the start of construction for the first of the proposed four SMRs at the site.
Ontario's Ministry of Energy and Mines said its approval of OPG's plan would create up to 18,000 Canadian jobs and inject CAD500 million annually into the Ontario economy, with the construction, operation and maintenance of the four units set to add CAD38.5 billion to the country's GDP over 65 years. It said the provincial government and OPG have worked together to ensure that 80% of project spending goes to companies in Ontario.
Site preparation works began in the autumn of 2022, and several long-lead items, including the reactor pressure vessel, have already been procured. The giant Basemat module, which will serve as the foundation of the reactor building, was set into place 35 metres below ground in the excavated reactor building shaft in April (see top picture).
US issues landmark construction permit for Texas SMR plant
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The plant, known as the Long Mott Generating Station, is being developed through Dow's wholly owned subsidiary, Long Mott Energy, in collaboration with X-energy under the US Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP).
Industrial giant Dow signed a joint development agreement with reactor developer X-energy in 2023. In March 2025, the company, alongside other major energy users, signed a pledge supporting the goal of at least tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050. Later that month, the construction licence application for the plant was submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Dow has not yet made a final decision to proceed with construction of the proposed facility: before potential construction activities could begin, further milestones including continued engineering and design finalisation and review by Dow's Board of Directors must be completed. But if approved, construction could begin later this decade, with startup early next decade, the company said. The company is expected to consider a preliminary investment decision in 2027.
The construction permit authorises the facility to be built, but does not authorise operation: a separate operating licence will be needed before the reactors can be fuelled or operated. However, the companies said, this means they can also work on maturing the supply chain for long-lead components and materials, as well as on their operating licence application. Ensuring the design, equipment, and materials are in place before allocating major capital for full-scale construction is consistent with Dow's global project management practices, and, for a first-of-a-kind project, reduces schedule and cost risk once work begins on site.
The NRC completed its safety review for the plant when it released its Final Safety Evaluation Report for the construction permit application on 30 October. X-energy CEO Clay Sell said the construction permit had been received earlier than expected, thanks, in part, to "thorough and efficient" work by the NRC plus Congressionally-mandated reforms put in place over the past six years. "This milestone is further validation of the XE regulatory approach that can be replicated across our growing commercial pipeline, giving our customers greater confidence in the regulatory process and a clearer path to deployment," he said.
Edward Stones, business vice president, Energy & Climate at Dow, described the issuance of the construction permit as a "testament to the thoughtful, thorough and efficient review conducted by the NRC", appreciating the regulator's commitment to maintaining the highest safety standards while advancing a clear and predictable regulatory process for advanced nuclear technologies. "As we move forward, we will continue to evaluate the project through the lens of competitiveness, execution readiness, and capital affordability before any decision regarding construction is made," he said.
A rendering of the plant (Image: X-energy)
Regulatory firsts
X-energy's Xe-100 is an 80 MWe/200 MWt high-temperature gas-cooled reactor which uses advanced TRISO-X coated particle fuel. The passive physics of the fuel - with the coating in effect providing each fuel particle its own containment for fission products which is stable up to very high temperatures - gives it a safety profile expected to support a 400-metre emergency planning zone, compared with 10 miles (16 kilometres) for conventional light-water reactors, enabling new generation to be safely sited closer to the point of need.
The proposed Long Mott plant is intended to provide both electricity and high-temperature steam to Dow's Seadrift site, replacing existing energy and steam assets near their end-of-life and providing clean industrial power to the site for 60 years and is expected to be the first advanced nuclear project deployed at an industrial site in North America.
The construction permit also marks several regulatory firsts for the NRC: its first approval of a multimodule advanced reactor facility; its first approval of a reactor with a pebble-bed core; its first approval of a design featuring online nuclear refuelling; and its first review of a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor under the agency's risk-informed, technology-inclusive Licensing Modernisation Project framework.
"Today, the new NRC is issuing America's first construction permit for a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor in more than half a century," NRC Chairman Ho K. Nieh said. "We delivered on the 18-month schedule, proving we can do rigorous safety reviews on predictable timelines that move advanced nuclear technology from design to construction."
US test reactor cleared for operations
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The test reactor, near Lockhart in Caldwell County, Texas reached first criticality in August, less than a year after groundbreaking. It is one of 11 advanced reactor projects selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in August 2025 for the Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, a programme aiming to expedite the testing of advanced reactor designs under a DOE authorisation pathway.
The DOE has now cleared the final operations hold point for the reactor - also known as Groves-1 - allowing the facility to advance into its research, testing, and training phase. This will help Oklo prepare the teams and systems needed to support the efficient delivery and operation of future nuclear projects, the company said. Operating experience from Groves-1 will directly inform Groves-2 Forge, Oklo's planned isotope production and processing pilot facility, which is part of the DOE's Nuclear Energy Launch Pad initiative to promote the rapid development and implementation of advanced nuclear technologies by private industry.
With Groves-1 now cleared for unrestricted operations, Oklo said it will test its capabilities relevant to future isotope reactors and the company's fast fission reactor, the Aurora powerhouse.
Groves-1 will serve as a key training and qualification platform for nuclear personnel at future reactor deployments, alongside further equipment testing, including continued evaluations of control rod drive mechanism performance and reliability. It will also enable criticality and reactivity benchmarking operations that support Oklo's isotope production capabilities, its engineering and design models, and potentially light water reactors and the large light water reactor fleet. The company says the resulting data could also help improve fuel performance and power output in small and large light water reactors.
"Taking Groves-1 from greenfield to criticality in less than a year was an important demonstration of what our team can accomplish," Oklo CEO and co-founder Jacob DeWitte said. "Now we're building on that experience by operating the reactor, testing new capabilities, and learning directly from the work. Those lessons can help us develop the people, systems, and processes needed as we advance additional isotope projects and Aurora powerhouses."
"DOE's Reactor Pilot Program reset the nuclear industry's expectations for how quickly we can move from advanced reactor design to demonstration while upholding best-in-class safety standards," Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Reactors Chimi Zacot said. "Successes like Groves-1's criticality are now paving the way for what comes next."
New reactor designs for commercial use in the USA are reviewed and approved by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), but under the Atomic Energy Act - the fundamental law governing civilian uses of nuclear materials and facilities in the USA - the DOE has the authority to approve reactor authorisations for research, development and demonstration. That authority is now being used to enable advanced reactor developers to certify, build and test prototype reactors that can inform full-scale commercial deployment under the Reactor Pilot Program pathway.
In response to executive orders issued in May 2025 that called for at least three prototype reactors to reach criticality by 4 July 2026, the DOE revamped its authorisation pathway to streamline the process.
In October, the NRC finalised a rule allowing applicants to use relevant analyses, test data and other information from DOE or Department of War (formerly the Department of Defense) reactor demonstration programmes to support commercial reactor licence applications. The rule is designed to make NRC reviews more efficient by allowing the agency to build on existing technical evidence while independently evaluating the safety of proposed commercial projects.
Dome installed at Pakistan's Chashma unit 5
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Chashma 5 will be the third Hualong One (HPR1000) reactor to be built in Pakistan. Karachi units 2 and 3 were the first exports of China National Nuclear Corporation's design, which has active and passive safety features including a double-shell containment and reactor filtered venting system, and a 60-year design life. Chashma 5 will also be the largest electricity-producing nuclear power unit in Pakistan with a capacity of 1,200 MWe.
Pakistan signed a USD4.8 billion deal with China for construction of the new unit in June 2023.
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(Image: APP)
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) applied to the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) for the construction licence for the unit in April 2024, along with the Preliminary Safety Assessment Report and licensing submissions covering design and operational aspects of nuclear safety, radiation protection, emergency preparedness, waste management and nuclear security. PNRA issued the licence on 26 December 2024. This cleared the way for construction of the unit - for which a ground-breaking ceremony was held in July 2023 - to officially begin. A concrete-pouring ceremony was held on 30 December 2024 at the site at Mianwali in Punjab. Chashma 5 is targeted to commence electricity generation in September 2030
The HPR1000 (Hualong One) reactor design features a double-layered containment building, the main function of which is to ensure the integrity and leak tightness of the reactor building, and it plays a key role in the containment of radioactive substances.
A ceremony was held on Tuesday to mark the hoisting into position of the inner dome of the double-layered containment dome. The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, as well as Chinese and other senior officials and representatives of relevant organisations.
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Shehbaz speaking at the ceremony (Image: APP)
Speaking at the ceremony, Shehbaz noted that the dome had been installed less than three and a half years after the unit's groundbreaking, ahead of schedule, and expressed confidence that the project would also be commissioned earlier than planned.
Pakistan's six operating nuclear power reactors, with a combined generating capacity of 3,262 MWe, currently produced about 17% of the country's electricity.
First steam generator installed at Lufeng unit 1
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Steam generators are used in pressurised water reactors to transfer heat from the reactor coolant into water in a secondary circuit, producing the steam used to power the electricity-generating turbines. Each steam generator contains thousands of kilometres of tubes through which hot water flows.
The first of the two steam generators for Lufeng 1 - each with a diameter of nearly 6 metres, a length of about 24 metres, and a net weight of about 630 tonnes - was hoisted into place within the reactor building on 11 November, said China National Nuclear Corporation subsidiary China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Company Limited (CNI23), which has been contracted by China General Nuclear (CGN) to build the unit.
"The entire process was safe, stable, and precisely controlled, marking a major breakthrough in the installation of main equipment in the nuclear island and laying a solid foundation for subsequent welding of the main pipeline assembly," CNI23 added.
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(Image: CNNC)
The reactor pressure vessel of the unit was installed in July. The vessel is the high strength steel cylinder that will house the reactor core and all associated components, including the reactor vessel internals which support and stabilise the core within the reactor vessel, as well as providing the path for coolant flow and guiding movement of the control rods.
Background
The Lufeng nuclear power plant is the first nuclear power project in eastern Guangdong Province. The proposed construction of four 1,250 MWe CAP1000 reactors (units 1-4) at the Lufeng site was approved by China's National Development and Reform Commission in September 2014. The CAP1000 design is the Chinese version of the Westinghouse AP1000.
The Lufeng units have not been built in the numerical order their names would appear to suggest.
In April 2022, the State Council approved construction of two Hualong One (HPR1000) units at Lufeng as units 5 and 6. First concrete was poured for unit 5 on 8 September 2022 and that for unit 6 on 26 August 2023. The reactor vessel of unit 6 was installed in February this year. Units 5 and 6 are expected to begin operating in 2027 and 2028, respectively.
The construction of units 1 and 2 did not receive State Council approval until August 2024. The first safety-related concrete for the nuclear island of unit 1 was poured on 24 February last year, with that of unit 2 following in December. Both units are scheduled to begin operating in 2030. Approval for units 3 and 4 is still pending.
According to CGN, once all six units are in operation, the Lufeng plant will generate about 52 TWh, which will reduce standard coal consumption by almost 16 million tonnes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 42 million tonnes.
Mochovce 4's power increased to 35%
The VVER-440 unit, which was connected to the grid for the first time on 15 October, has now produced about 16.2 GW of electricity, which is equivalent to the annual consumption of about 6,500 households.
It was connected to the grid when its power output was at about 20%, and the power was increased after a series of tests and measurements took place. Similar checks will take place at 35% power, before it is increased in stages to 55%, 75%, 90% and eventually 100% power.
Martin Mráz, Slovenské elektrárne's project director for the completion of the units, said: "By achieving 35% performance, we are entering the next part of the energy start-up programme. At each performance level, we have a set range of tests, with which we verify the behaviour of the unit in specific operating conditions. Only after their completion and evaluation do we continue with higher performance."
The final step of the commissioning process for the 471 MWe unit - which is equal to about 13% of Slovakia's total current consumption - will be a 144-hour trial run at full power.
Background
Construction of the first two VVER-440 units at the four-unit Mochovce plant started in 1982. Work began on units 3 and 4 in 1986, but stalled in 1992. The first two reactors were completed and came into operation in 1998 and 1999, respectively, with a project to complete units 3 and 4 beginning ten years later at an estimated cost of EUR6.7 billion (USD7.6 billion). Mochovce 3 entered commercial operation in October 2023. Mochovce 4 reached criticality on 6 August, ahead of its October grid connection.
Slovenské elektrárne's majority shareholder is Slovak Power Holding BV, which is owned by the Czech energy group Energetický a průmyslový. The second shareholder is the Slovak Republic, which has a 34% stake.
Slovakia already has five nuclear reactors generating more than 60% of its electricity. As well as the other three Mochovce units, there are two at Bohunice, which went into commercial operation in 1984 and 1985, respectively. When the new unit is running at full capacity it will reinforce the Slovak Republic's position as the country with the highest proportion of its electricity generated by nuclear power. The Slovak government has plans for a new large unit at Bohunice - a Westinghouse AP1000 reactor - and has also been exploring the potential for small modular reactors in the country.
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