It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, May 29, 2025
CRIMINAL CRYPTO CAPITALI$M
Why ‘wrench attacks’ on wealthy crypto holders are on the rise
New York police officers arrest John Woeltz, May 23, 2025, in New York, who was charged with kidnapping, assaulting and holding a man against his will for several weeks in an upscale Manhattan town house.(AP Photo/Kava Gorna via AP)
The headline-grabbing tale of an Italian man who said he was kidnapped and tortured for weeks inside an upscale Manhattan townhouse by captors seeking his bitcoin highlights a dark corner of the cryptocurrency world: the threat of violence by thieves seeking digital assets.
The alleged attempted robbery is known as a “wrench attack.” It’s a name popularized by an online comic that mocked how easily high-tech security can be undone by hitting someone with a wrench until they give up passwords.
Wrench attacks are on the rise thanks in part to cryptocurrency’s move into mainstream finance, Phil Ariss of the crypto tracing firm TRM Labs said in a recent blog post.
“Criminal groups already comfortable with using violence to achieve their goals were always likely to migrate to crypto,” Ariss said.
Some of the crypto’s key characteristics help explain why wealthy individuals who hold a lot of digital assets can be ripe targets for such attacks.
The draw
Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin offer traders full control of their funds without the need for a bank or permission from a government to buy, sell or hold it. The trade-off is that if funds are lost or stolen, there can be no way to get them back.
Self-reliance is a key ethos of crypto. Securing and controlling one’s private keys, which are like passwords used to access one’s crypto holdings, is viewed as sacrosanct among many in the crypto community. A popular motto is “not your keys, not your coins.”
Transactions on the blockchain, the technology that powers cryptocurrencies, are permanent. And unlike cash, jewelry, gold or other items of value, thieves don’t need to carry around stolen crypto. With a few clicks, huge amounts of wealth can be transferred from one address to another.
In the case in New York, where two people have been charged, a lot of details have yet to come out, including the value of the bitcoin the victim possessed. Crypto thefts
Stealing cryptocurrency is almost as old as cryptocurrency itself, but it’s usually done by hacking. North Korean state hackers alone are believed to have stolen billions of dollars’ worth of crypto in recent years.
In response to the threat of hacking, holders of a large amount of crypto often try and keep their private keys off the internet and stored in what are called “cold wallets.” Used properly, such wallets can defeat even the most sophisticated and determined hackers.
But they can’t defeat thieves who force a victim to give up their password to access their wallets and move money.
The case in New York is the latest in a string of high-profile wrench attacks. Several have taken place in France, where thieves cut off a crypto executive’s finger.
Mitigation
Experts suggest several ways to mitigate the threats of wrench attacks, including using wallets that require multiple approvals before any transactions.
Perhaps the most common way crypto-wealthy individuals try to prevent wrench attacks is by trying to stay anonymous. Using nicknames and cartoon avatars in social media accounts is common in the crypto community, even among top executives at popular companies.
Alan Suderman, The Associated Press
Why Apple doesn’t make iPhones in America – and probably won’t
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus smartphones at an Apple store in New York on May 23, 2025. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
In 2011, then-U.S. president Barack Obama pressed Apple CEO Steve Jobs on what it would take to bring iPhone production to the United States, according to The New York Times.
Fourteen years later, U.S. President Donald Trump is resurfacing that question to current Apple CEO Tim Cook – and the stakes are a lot higher. Trump threatened a hefty 25 per cent tariff against Apple and other smartphone companies unless they manufacture phones sold in the U.S. stateside.
“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25 per cent must be paid by Apple to the U.S.”
Earlier this month, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he expected the majority of U.S.-bound iPhones to be shipped from India.
Reviving U.S. manufacturing has been a tentpole goal of Trump’s presidency. Within the first three months of his second term, he went on a tariff blitz, promising to impose levies on nearly every product made abroad in an effort to boost jobs in the U.S. and rebalance what he saw as unfair practices by America’s trading partners.
But experts who spoke with CNN said making iPhones in the United States would upend the way Apple builds its most lucrative product. Moving iPhone production to the U.S. would mean shifting away from countries like China and India that have the highly specialized workforce and skills needed to produce the millions of iPhones that Apple ships each year. The result could mean price hikes or design changes for the iPhone, some analysts estimate.
“It just fundamentally doesn’t work,” said Dipanjan Chatterjee, vice president and principal analyst at market research firm Forrester.
Apple did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on whether it plans to shift iPhone production to the U.S.
China already has a sprawling system of plants tailored specifically for assembling electronics. Foxconn, Apple’s longtime iPhone assembly partner, employs 900,000 people in its peak season, although it’s unclear how much of that employment occurs in China and is related to iPhone work. Workers live in dormitories, making it easier to shift production plans with little notice, as Chatterjee points out. Production processes are highly specialized depending on the product; it’s not a “one size fits all” approach that’s easy to replicate.
“The expertise to make each of the components is something that has to be worked on for a long period of time,” said David Marcotte, senior vice president at international market research company Kantar.
There’s also the question of whether there’s enough demand for factory jobs in America. Manufacturing has been on the decline in the United States, with only 8 per cent of American workers holding jobs in that sector as of earlier this year compared to roughly 26 per cent in 1970, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
And a lot has changed since 1970.
Carolyn Lee, executive director of the Manufacturing Institute, previously told CNN that “the job has very much changed” and that modern manufacturing roles involve skills like coding and data analytics.
Apple said in February that it plans to invest US$500 billion in growing its U.S. footprint over the next four years, which will go towards boosting its research and development efforts, opening a new facility to manufacture servers to support its Apple Intelligence software features and launching a Detroit academy to teach companies about smart manufacturing techniques and AI. Trump has declared this investment – along with a $100 billion commitment from Taiwan-based chipmaker TSMC to expand in the U.S. – a political win and a step towards onshoring more tech production.
But Apple’s academy will be for small-to medium-sized businesses, according to Apple’s press release, not training workers or building infrastructure to produce iPhones the way it is done in China or India.
Cook has acknowledged the gap in labor required to produce iPhones in the U.S. Speaking at a Fortune Magazine event in 2017, he described the manufacturing environment in China as providing a combination of “craftsman” skills, “sophisticated robotics” and “the computer science world.”
“That intersection, which is very rare to find anywhere, that kind of skill, which is very important for our business because of the precision and quality level that we like,” he said.
Mohit Kumar, CEO and founder of smart ring maker Ultrahuman, has firsthand experience shifting production of a tech product to the U.S. from India. Ultrahuman began producing its finger-worn health tracker in Texas in November after partnering with electronics manufacturer SVtronics. The smart ring company automated more tasks to avoid higher labor costs in the United States and hired workers that were trained in multiple steps of the process – such as casting and polishing rings – rather than just one of those steps, he told CNN.
The topic came up in April, with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick telling CNBC that Cook said Apple needs “robotic arms” to build iPhones in the United States at the same scale and precision as its facilities abroad.
Patrick Moorhead, founder and CEO of analysis firm Moor Insights & Strategy, thinks Apple could feasibly shift some iPhone production to the U.S. in five years. But that would involve automating some processes to account for the skill gap in America compared to China and India, he says. That could also involve changing the iPhone’s design to accommodate more automation, such as changing how certain components are glued together.
Many of Apple’s suppliers are based in China, so transitioning to the U.S. even just for assembly would mean shifting further away from critical components. Dan Ives, global head of technology research for Wedbush Securities, told CNN last month via email that an estimated 90 per cent of the iPhone’s production process takes place in China, although he says that number is closer to 40 per cent now that Apple has shifted more production to India. He has also estimated that making iPhones in the United States could triple the price of the device.
Apple is faced with a tough decision either way, says Forrester’s Chatterjee, despite Cook’s meeting with Trump last week and the $1 million donation he made to Trump’s inauguration, according to Axios.
“Because neither can you realistically, from an economic standpoint, bring production to the U.S., nor is it really tenable in this climate to say, ‘No, I won’t do that,’” he said. “So you’ve got to walk that fine line, that tightrope, for as long as you can.”
ACORN Canada
Tenant group pushes for climate protections in report highlighting extreme heat risks
A cat sleeps in an apartment window beside an air conditioner in Burnaby, B.C. on August 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A Canadian tenant advocacy group says nearly half the renters they surveyed don’t have air conditioning, as they press for protections from climate-fuelled extreme heat.
A report released by ACORN Canada says affordability was cited as the main barrier to access among the 44 per cent of surveyed tenants who don’t have air conditioning.
The group says it collected more than 700 responses to the online survey, which was sent to its database of members and tenant contacts.
“As governments and other actors intensify their efforts to combat climate change, it is critical that tenants have a seat at the table so that tenants’ needs and concerns are accounted for and housing strategies include tenant protections so as to not further worsen the housing situation,” said the report, released Wednesday.
Climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, has cranked up temperatures across Canada and increased the likelihood of dangerous heat waves.
The report says just over half of respondents, mostly low- and middle-income renters, identified excessive summer heat as a top maintenance issue for their unit.
ACORN Canada has been pushing cities to bring in bylaws that would require landlords to keep their units below a maximum temperature threshold, similar to how they have to keep it heated when it’s cold.
“The weather and climate is changing and so we need to be prepared. We need to have an apartment that is healthy,” said Alejandra Ruiz Vargas, the group’s national president.
Toronto is among the cities exploring a maximum temperature bylaw. Council directed staff to report back with possible next steps later this year.
The number of days exceeding 30 degrees in Toronto could more than triple by mid-century, from about 20 days to 66 days, according to a staff report prepared for council. Landlord groups have argued a maximum temperature bylaw would prompt building owners to pass on air conditioning costs to tenants through rent increases, which would create additional backlogs at provincial tribunals.
Tenant groups argue any maximum temperature bylaws should also be paired with government supports to ensure tenants are not saddled with additional costs.
Wednesday’s report calls on the federal government to implement a national energy poverty program, modelled after the Ontario Energy Support Program. The monthly benefit program is intended to help low-income tenants cover utility costs and some advocates have suggested it could be topped up in the summer to help cover the costs of running an air conditioner.
The ACORN report says federal efforts to decarbonize Canada’s homes and buildings have often overlooked tenants who tend to live in older and energy inefficient buildings.
About a third of surveyed tenants said they received a rent increase notice when their landlord carried out energy efficiency upgrades, the report said.
The report said retrofit incentives backed by the federal government should only be provided if landlords sign anti-eviction agreements and demonstrate how they would benefit the tenant.
The government has faced questions about whether public financing has been used by corporate landlords to justify rent hikes and extra utility costs.
In response, the previous federal government said any building upgrades financed by the Canadian Infrastructure Bank would, going forward, not be used as a rationale to increase rent. It also said the bank’s future loan agreements for multi-unit residential building retrofits would include provisions that limit a borrower’s ability to hike rents or impose additional utility costs on existing tenants.
The housing minister’s office did not immediately respond to questions Wednesday about the report.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025.
Ontario to amend mining bill, add Indigenous economic zones amid First Nations uproar
Premier Doug Ford’s government is set to capitulate to some First Nation demands on a controversial mining bill, though it will not kill the proposed law outright despite the growing backlash.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford and Mining Minister Stephen Lecce said the province will amend Bill 5 to explicitly include duty to consult provisions throughout the legislation.
The bill, which seeks to speed up mining projects, was set to go through amendments Wednesday at committee as it moves toward becoming law.
The province has framed the omnibus bill, which critics say also guts protections for endangered and threatened species, as necessary to combat the instability created by U.S. President Donald Trump and his tariffs.
The new legislation would create so-called “special economic zones” where it can suspend provincial and municipal laws, but will also add in “special Indigenous economic zones” at the request of First Nations for projects they want fast-tracked.
The province is set to designate the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario as the first such zone, a move that has set off a firestorm of anger among First Nations, many of which have pledged to take the fight to the land and the courts.
But Rickford and Lecce said the province will not designate the Ring of Fire a special economic zone until it meaningfully consults with all First Nations in the area.
“We are going to enunciate explicitly in each one that the duty to consult is there and it will be upheld to the highest standards,” Rickford said.
“The aim is to make First Nations partners.”
Once the bill is passed — likely next week — Ford, Rickford and Lecce will meet immediately with First Nation leadership, they said.
Ford struck a softer tone Wednesday than he has previously.
“We’re always going to respect the duty to consult and their treaty rights,” he told CityNews. “We’re going to work with them and collaborate with them.”
He said the legislation was put forward because the country is in an “economic war” with Trump.
“We want prosperity for the First Nations communities right across our province,” he said.
First Nation chiefs have shown up en masse at Queen’s Park over the past week from the far reaches of northern Ontario to tell the politicians that the province is going about this in the wrong way. They say the government has already failed in its duty to consult.
On Wednesday, New Democrat Sol Mamakwa put forward a third motion to add committee hearings in northern Ontario in order to better hear from First Nations peoples. The government rejected that pitch.
“You cannot fulfil your duty to consult at the 11th hour,” he told committee.
“There was no free, prior or informed consent.”
Mamakwa met with Rickford and Lecce Wednesday morning and said he told the pair a “showdown” is coming.
“It’s a slap in the face when you try to do last-minute changes to appease the First Nations,” said Mamakwa, the lone First Nation member at Queen’s Park. He represents the riding of Kiiwetinoong in northwestern Ontario, where the Ring of Fire is located.
He said the government should have had language around the duty to consult in the bill from the start, after an extensive consultation process. He said he has heard nothing about Indigenous-led economic zones and has many more questions about it.
“That’s a dialogue that we need to have,” he said.
Ford has long talked about mining the Ring of Fire, which is said to be replete with critical minerals, and is located some 450 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont.
The Chiefs of Ontario, which represent all 133 First Nations in the province, said the bill should be killed outright so they can be consulted from the start.
Their leader, Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict, met with Ford last week at the premier’s home, where he told him about the problems with the bill.
Benedict said First Nations are not against development or mining. In fact, they want to be part of major projects, but he said his member nations are furious about how the government has approached this.
That meeting touched off talks with numerous First Nation chiefs, in which the ministers said they planned to work together with them to create the regulations that will enforce the new law.
“We will not use the authorities like a special economic zone until we’ve meaningfully consulted,” Lecce said.
The ministers said they’ve received a number of great suggestions from First Nations.
Rickford and Lecce said there are large infrastructure projects they want to complete to help some remote First Nations get off diesel gas that they use for electricity generation.
They are also proposing to help build roads to connect communities to the provincial highway system, since climate change is wreaking havoc with winter ice roads the communities rely on to haul in all sorts of goods.
Rickford pointed to the government’s announcement last week that will triple the province’s amount of loan guarantees through a provincial Indigenous financing program, to the tune of $3 billion, as proof of Ontario’s commitment to economic reconciliation with First Nations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025.
Provinces ‘hold the key’ to unlocking homebuilding, new report argues
A new report card gives poor grades to Canada's provinces on encouraging quality home construction. New housing construction is shown in Markham, Ont. on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
OTTAWA — While the federal government and cities across Canada are making strides on expanding the housing supply, the provinces still need to get serious about building quality homes, a new report released Thursday argues.
No province earned a grade higher than C+ in the report assembled by the Task Force for Housing and Climate, a non-governmental body that was struck in 2023 with backing from the philanthropic Clean Economy Fund.
It gave the federal government the highest grade in the country — a B — while Alberta ranked at the bottom of the pile with a D+. The rest of the provinces’ scores were in the C range.
Mike Moffatt, the report’s author and founding director of the Missing Middle Initiative at the University of Ottawa, suggested that the provinces have thus far avoided “scrutiny” for their role in perpetuating the housing crisis, while Ottawa and the cities have taken the heat for red tape and high costs.
“Provinces really hold the key here. They have the most policy levers and, in many cases, they’ve actually done the least,” he said.
The task force is co-chaired by former Edmonton mayor Don Iveson and former deputy leader of the federal Conservatives Lisa Raitt. Prime Minister Mark Carney was one of the group’s members before becoming federal Liberal leader.
“Currently, no government is doing enough to get these homes built,” said Raitt in a statement accompanying the report.
The task force compiled its report card based on its evaluations of government policies to encourage factory-built housing, fill in market gaps, boost density, map high-risk areas and update building codes.
The report found plenty of variability even within provinces, said He said both Saskatchewan and Ontario are doing well on building away from high-risk areas but are falling short on increasing density.
The report gave British Columbia, Quebec and Prince Edward Island a score of C+ — the highest score received by any province.
Moffat said B.C.’s grade suffered because while it encourages density “on paper,” its slow permit approvals and high building costs frustrate development.
While Alberta is doing well on the pace of housing starts alone, he said, that’s mostly due to leadership at the municipal level in Calgary and Edmonton — not provincial policy.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in the provincial legislature in November that the government was “not standing in the way of the private sector to build more affordable housing.” She said increasing housing supply would “automatically” bring down costs for Albertans.
Moffatt said Smith’s stance is “correct” — lowering barriers to development is critical to expanding the supply of affordable housing — but that’s “only part of the story.”
He said Alberta has to take “responsibility” for the housing demand it induces through its successful marketing campaign to lure Ontarians to the province.
Moffatt said the province also has to make sure homes are built sustainably and not in the path of wildfires, and can’t abdicate its responsibility for filling gaps in social housing.
“We need both. We need a strong, robust private sector to deliver housing, but we also need government to come in and fill in the gaps,” he said.
Moffatt said the provinces are falling behind on mapping flood plains and need to take responsibility for provincial legislation that leads to higher development charges.
He noted that the report card was based only on implemented policies and did not capture the impact of proposed legislation such as Ontario’s Bill 17, which is meant to speed up permits and approvals, simplify development charges and fast-track infrastructure projects.
The report said the federal government’s housing accelerator fund, which encourages municipalities to simplify zoning rules to get more shovels in the ground, has made progress but needs enforcement tools to keep cities accountable after they strike funding deals with Ottawa.
Moffatt said he hopes to use the report card framework to track progress on housing goals in the future, and to work on separate research to evaluate municipalities’ housing policies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2025.
Craig Lord, The Canadian Press
Bell announces plans to open six AI data centres in B.C. as part of Bell AI Fabric
Bell signage is seen at BCE Inc., headquarters in Montreal on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)
Bell Canada has announced it will open six artificial intelligence data centres in B.C. as part of a plan to create the largest AI compute project in Canada.
The Montreal-based telecom company, which has in recent years touted its intent to become more tech-focused, said the facilities will provide around 500 megawatts of hydroelectric-powered AI compute capacity.
AI compute refers to the technology that enables artificial intelligence systems to perform tasks, such as processing data and training machine-learning models.
The project, called Bell AI Fabric, will help support Canadian businesses and governments’ AI needs, ranging from strategy and applications development to infrastructure deployment, the company said.
Bell AI Fabric’s first seven-megawatt data centre is slated to open next month in Kamloops, in partnership with American AI inference provider Groq.
The company said Groq’s technology is designed to accelerate AI inference tasks, particularly for large language models — algorithms that use massive data sets to recognize, translate, predict or generate text and other content.
“Groq’s advanced LPU technology, combined with Bell’s extensive fibre infrastructure, is setting a new standard in AI inference,” Groq founder and CEO Jonathan Ross said in a press release.
“We’re excited to bring these capabilities to Canada, significantly enhancing performance and affordability for AI-driven applications.”
A second facility is planned to open in Merritt, B.C., by the end of this year.
Bell said an additional 26-megawatt data centre, being built in partnership with Thompson Rivers University, will open by the end of 2026, followed by another in 2027.
Two more AI data centres are in advanced planning stages, which will be designed for high-density AI workloads, with a total capacity of more than 400 megawatts. The company said future facilities planned across the country will take advantage of Bell’s real estate assets to add further capacity.
“Bell’s AI Fabric will ensure that Canadian businesses, researchers, and public institutions can access high-performance, sovereign and environmentally responsible AI computing services,” Bell president and CEO Mirko Bibic said in a press release.
“Through this investment, Bell is immediately bolstering Canada’s sovereign AI compute capacity, while laying the groundwork to continue growing our AI economy.”
Earlier this month, Bell launched a new tech services brand called Ateko, which unifies recently acquired tech companies FX Innovation, HGC Technologies and CloudKettle under a single umbrella.
The company said Ateko will help businesses streamline operations, cut costs and boost productivity using AI, and serves as a cornerstone of Bell’s ambition to build a $1-billion tech services business.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)
Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press
BNN Bloomberg, CTV News and CP24 are owned by Bell Media, which is a division of BCE.
Amazon’s in-car software deal with Stellantis fizzles: Reuters exclusive
An Amazon sign is shown at a location in San Francisco, Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
DETROIT - Amazon’s deal with Stellantis to create in-car software that the companies hoped would transform the driving experience while bolstering their vehicle-tech credentials is “winding down,” the companies confirmed after a Reuters inquiry.
The Stellantis SmartCockpit project, which would rely on Amazon’s in-car technology, is the latest example of traditional automakers struggling to work with Silicon Valley to introduce more sophisticated vehicle software.
“Stellantis remains a valuable partner for Amazon, and the companies continue to work together on a range of initiatives,” the companies said in a statement, adding that the decision to end their joint work on SmartCockpit was mutual.
The project between the Seattle tech giant and the maker of Jeeps, Peugeots and Alfa Romeos was hailed by the CEOs of both companies when it was announced in 2022. The two planned to develop features that would make the cars feel like an extension of home by detecting the driver and personalizing settings such as the thermostat, navigation and even home automation, like turning on lights.
Stellantis had hoped Amazon’s software expertise would help the global automaker in the race against companies like Tesla and China’s BYD. And for Amazon it was meant to serve as a prototype for a wider rollout to more automakers.
In a January 2022 press release, Stellantis’s then-CEO Carlos Tavares said he hoped the partnership would help make the vehicles “the most wanted, most captivating place to be, even when not driving.”
Tavares left the automaker abruptly last year, and the company is expected to name his replacement soon. Stellantis has since tried to revive its slumping stock, which fell about 40 per cent in 2024, amid disappointing sales, especially in North America.
Automotive software has emerged as one of the most important, and difficult, areas for legacy automakers to nail. Much of what modern cars do today is dictated by code, including the feel of the brakes, infotainment system, and advanced driving-assistance features such as automated steering – for which automakers can charge subscription fees, unlocking significant revenue streams. Ford recently axed its next-generation electrical architecture due to ballooning costs around the technology.
Reuters couldn’t determine any singular reason the partnership on SmartCockpit ended. The companies said the shift “will allow each team to focus on solutions that provide value to our shared customers and better align with our evolving strategies.”
Relative newcomers, like Elon Musk’s Tesla, built electrical and software systems that can quickly deliver new features or fixes to customers at a lower cost to the company. Traditional carmakers, including Volkswagen and General Motors, have struggled to master these systems on their own, and have been poaching talent from Silicon Valley or forming partnerships in an effort to reverse that trend.
Unlike Tesla which has very little complexity across its smaller lineup of vehicles, Stellantis manages dozens of models across 14 brands and a maze of global suppliers, increasing the challenges around implementing new software.
SmartCockpit was initially planned to arrive in vehicles in late 2024 to early 2025. It was a part of what Stellantis called its ABC platform, which included its electrical architecture, called STLA Brain, and Autodrive driver-assistance system.
Under the agreement, Stellantis would pay Amazon for access to the software in each car, as well as other maintenance fees. As envisioned, Amazon would pay Stellantis incentive fees for things like drivers signing up for its music subscription service through the vehicles, two sources said.
The automaker also partnered with Amazon to use the tech company’s cloud business, called Amazon Web Services, to store and update data across its complex lineup. Stellantis will continue to rely on AWS, the companies said, and Alexa will also still be available in some Stellantis vehicles.
Stellantis could potentially continue work on the SmartCockpit with another operating system as its base, such as Google’s Android platform, people familiar with the matter said. Amazon hoped that the team’s work, internally called Digital Cabin or “Project Quatro,” would rival Google’s Automotive Services, the standard Android-based operating system used by many automakers, one of the sources said.
Most of Amazon’s Digital Cabin staff has been reassigned or left the company, one of the people said.
By Nora Eckert and Greg Bensinger, Reuters
Trump tariffs suffer staggering setback in U.S. court
One U.S. trade lawyer called this the most significant legal defeat of a president on trade policy in decades
Story by Alexander Panetta CBC
A U.S. court delivered a sharp rebuke of President Donald Trump's trade policy on Wednesday, declaring he abused his authority and striking down many of his tariffs — at least for now.
The upshot for trading partners, including Canada: Certain specific tariffs on steel and aluminum remain in place, but gone, for now, are sweeping levies on entire countries.
The order by the Manhattan-based U.S. Court of International Trade quashes Trump's 10 per cent across-the-board tariff on most nations and his declaration of a fentanyl emergency to impose 25 per cent tariffs on numerous Canadian and Mexican goods.
The White House vowed to fight back with every available tool. This means an immediate appeal and Trump possibly turning to different legal weapons to fight his trade wars.
Nevertheless, this decision made history.
'By far the biggest decision in ages'
American courts tend to be deferential to presidents on trade policy, but Trump has tested their limits with a barrage of protectionist actions unlike anything in modern history.
One U.S. trade lawyer called this the most significant legal defeat of a president on trade policy in decades, with the possible exception of certain court setbacks for Richard Nixon.
"It's by far the biggest decision in ages," Scott Lincicome told CBC News. "It's a very big deal. The only question is how long it lasts."
He predicted fallout on several fronts. The court said the U.S. Constitution gives Congress exclusive authority to regulate commerce with other countries that is not overridden by the president's emergency powers to safeguard the economy.
It said Trump abused the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to apply his fentanyl tariffs on Canada and Mexico, as well as his worldwide tariffs.
"We do not read IEEPA to delegate an unbounded tariff authority to the president," said the 49-page decision. "The challenged [tariffs] will be vacated and their operation permanently enjoined."
One of Lincicome's predictions is that some countries will now feel less urgency to negotiate tariff deals with Trump. Another prediction? Expect a gusher of goods to flow into the U.S. soon — especially at the land borders with Canada and Mexico — as importers take advantage of this potentially temporary lull in Trump's trade wars, pending a higher court decision.
"The June import stats are going to be wild," said Lincicome, vice-president of general economics at the Cato Institute, a Washington-based think-tank.
Transport trucks approach the Canada/U.S. border in Windsor, Ont., on March 21, 2020. Cross-border shipping is expected to surge in the wake of Wednesday's ruling. (Rob Gurdebeke/The Canadian Press)
"Particularly for Canadians, this stuff's just sitting on the other side of the border. It's going to be like the Flight of the Valkyries across the border."
That is, until, and if, Trump wins an appeal or he uses another legal tool, such as a 1974 trade law that allows temporary 150-day tariffs for less urgent matters.
The ruling came in a pair of lawsuits, one filed by the non-partisan Liberty Justice Center on behalf of five small U.S. businesses that import goods from countries targeted by the duties and the other by 13 U.S. states.
The companies, which range from a New York wine and spirits importer to a Virginia-based maker of educational kits and musical instruments, have said the tariffs will hurt their ability to do business. At least five other legal challenges to the tariffs are pending. 'Our laws matter'
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, a Democrat whose office is leading the states' lawsuit, called Trump's tariffs unlawful, reckless and economically devastating.
"This ruling reaffirms that our laws matter, and that trade decisions can't be made on the president's whim," Rayfield said in a statement.
Wednesday's ruling reaffirmed that 'trade decisions can't be made on the president's whim,' said Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, whose office led the lawsuit over the tariffs launched by 13 states. Here, he is pictured at a news conference at the Oregon Department of Justice office in Portland in April. (Jenny Kane/The Associated Press)
The White House promised to fight. Trump spokesman Kush Desai said unfair foreign trade had created historic and persistent deficits and decimated American communities, workers and defence manufacturing.
"It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency," he said.
"President Trump pledged to put America First, and the administration is committed to using every lever of executive power to address this crisis."
In imposing the tariffs in early April, Trump called the trade deficit a national emergency that justified his 10 per cent across-the-board tariff on all imports, with higher rates for countries with which the United States has the largest trade deficits, particularly China.
Many of those country-specific tariffs were paused a week later. The Trump administration on May 12 said it was also temporarily reducing the steepest tariffs on China while working on a longer-term trade deal. Both countries agreed to cut tariffs on each other for at least 90 days.
Trump's on-and-off-again tariffs, which he has said are intended to restore U.S. manufacturing capability, have shocked U.S. financial markets.
The U.S. dollar rose against both the Swiss franc, a traditional currency safe haven, and the Japanese yen following the court decision.
The Cosco Shipping France container ship moored at the Long Beach Container Terminal in the Port of Long Beach, Calif., in April. The court ruling could embolden the U.S.'s European trading partners and make them hesitant to enter into tariff negotiations. (Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press)
Wednesday's decision can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court.
Several Washington-based trade experts said the defeat casts a cloud over Trump's attempts to negotiate with other countries, including Canada. They said other countries may have less incentive to bargain.
"This decision throws the existing negotiations for a loop," said trade lawyer Simon Lester. "Foreign governments will have to reevaluate how they react to the Trump administration's trade demands."
Another Washington trade analyst said the coming days will be telling.
"The administration is likely in panic mode at the moment," said Inu Manak, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
"The very basis for all the negotiations they are undertaking has been jeopardized, so there is no incentive for any trading partner to continue negotiating with the United States until it is clear whether or not the tariffs will, in fact, be stopped in 10 days."
If the tariffs are, indeed, halted for a longer period, she said, Trump's aides will likely seek more targeted tools, such as the Section 232 tariffs used to penalize specific sectors, as Trump did with steel and aluminum.
The bottom line, Manak said: Trump's trade policy has been revealed to not only be "half-baked" but has also pushed the limits of presidential power too far.
Markets welcome court ruling against Trump’s tariffs as shares, U.S. dollar and oil gain
The screens show the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, center, and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) are seen at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Financial markets welcomed a U.S. court ruling that blocks President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law.
U.S. futures jumped early Thursday and oil prices rose more than $1. The U.S. dollar rose against the yen and euro.
The court found the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump has cited as his basis for ordering massive increases in import duties, does not authorize the use of tariffs.
The White House immediately appealed and it was unclear if Trump would abide by the ruling in the interim. The long term outcome of legal disputes over tariffs remains uncertain. But investors appeared to take heart after the months of turmoil brought on by Trump’s trade war.
The future for the S&P 500 was up 1.5% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.2%.
In early European trading, Germany’s DAX gained 0.5% to 24,160.75. The CAC 40 in Paris jumped 0.9% to 7,860.67. Britain’s FTSE was nearly unchanged at 8,722.63.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.9% to 38,432.98. American’s largest ally in Asia has been appealing to Trump to cancel the tariffs he has ordered on imports from Japan and to also stop 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos.
The ruling also pushed the dollar sharply higher against the Japanese yen. It was trading at 145.40 yen early Thursday, up from 144.87 yen late Wednesday.
A three-judge panel ruled on several lawsuits arguing Trump exceeded his authority, casting doubt on trade policies that have jolted global financial markets, frustrated trade partners and raised uncertainty over the outlook for inflation and the global economy.
Many of Trump’s double-digit tariff hikes are paused for up to 90 days to allow time for trade negotiations, but the uncertainty they cast over global commerce has stymied businesses and left consumers wary about what lies ahead.
“Just when traders thought they’d seen every twist in the tariff saga, the gavel dropped like a lightning bolt over the Pacific,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
The ruling was, at the least, “a brief respite before the next thunderclap,” he said.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.3% to 23,561.86, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.7% to 3,363.45.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2% to 8,409.80.
In South Korea, which like Japan relies heavily on exports to the U.S., the Kospi surged 1.9% to 2,720.64. Shares also were helped by the Bank of Korea’s decision to cut its key interest rate to 2.5% from 2.75%, to ease pressure on the economy.
Taiwan’s Taiex edged 0.1% lower, and India’s Sensex lost 0.2%.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks cooled, with the S&P 500 down 0.6% but still within 4.2% of its record after charging higher amid hopes that the worst of the turmoil caused by Trump’s trade war may have passed. It had been roughly 20% below the mark last month.
The Dow industrials lost 0.6% and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5%.
Trading was relatively quiet ahead of a quarterly earnings release for Nvidia, which came after markets closed.
The bellwether for artificial intelligence overcame a wave of tariff-driven turbulence to deliver another quarter of robust growth thanks to feverish demand for its high-powered chips that are making computers seem more human. Nvidia’s shares jumped 6.6% in afterhours trading.
Like Nvidia, Macy’s stock also swung up and down through much of the day, even though it reported milder drops in revenue and profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock ended the day down 0.3%.
The bond market showed relatively little reaction after the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its latest meeting earlier this month, when it left its benchmark lending rate alone for the third straight time. The central bank has been holding off on cuts to interest rates, which would give the economy a boost, amid worries about inflation staying higher than hoped because of Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
In other dealings early Thursday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.52% from 4.47% late Wednesday.
U.S. benchmark crude oil gained $1.06 to $62.90 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added $1.00 to $65.32 per barrel.
First safety-related concrete has been poured for the reactor building of unit 3 at the Shin Hanul nuclear power plant in South Korea. The APR1400 unit is scheduled to be completed in 2032.
(Image: KHNP)
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) announced "the start of full-scale structural work by pouring the first concrete for the reactor building, a key construction process for Shin Hanul unit 3, at the Shin Hanul units 3 and 4 construction site on 20 May".
In November 2014, KHNP signed an agreement with Ulchin County to build Shin Hanul 3 and 4. The company applied for a construction licence for the units in January 2016. Site preparation for the two units was originally scheduled to begin in May 2017, with commercial operation of unit 3 scheduled for December 2022, with unit 4 following a year later.
However, KHNP announced in May 2017 that it had instructed Kepco Engineering & Construction - which signed a design contract in March 2016 - to suspend work for the planned units as a result of the then new President Moon Jae-in's policy of phasing out nuclear power. Work towards licensing the new units continued.
A ceremony marked the pouring of first concrete (Image: KHNP)
President Yoon Seok-yeol - who assumed power in May 2022 - reversed the former president's policy of phasing out nuclear power. In July 2022, Yoon encouraged a speedy restoration of the country's "nuclear power plant ecosystem" after Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang set out plans for revitalising South Korea's nuclear power industry, including the aim for work on Shin Hanul 3 and 4 to resume as early as 2024.
Preparatory groundwork began for the construction of the two APR1400s following the approval by the South Korean government of the project's implementation plan in June 2023. This effectively approved 20 licensing and permitting procedures under the jurisdiction of 11 ministries required for the construction of nuclear power plants. South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission issued a licence to KHNP for the construction of Shin Hanul 3 and 4 in September last year. A ceremony was held the following month to mark the start of work on the two units.
In March 2023, KHNP and Doosan Enerbility signed a KRW2.9 trillion (USD2.2 billion) contract for the supply of the main equipment for Shin Hanul 3 and 4. Under the contract - which will run for 10 years - Doosan Enerbility will supply the nuclear reactors, steam generators and turbine generators for the two APR1400 units.
An artistic impression of Shin Hanul 3 and 4 (Image: KHNP)
"We will do our best to raise K-Power's status in the global nuclear power plant construction market by achieving the goal of 'On-Time, Within Budget' as well as the safe construction of Shin Hanul units 3 and 4," said KHNP President Hwang Joo-ho.
"Shin Hanul unit 3 is scheduled to be completed in 2032 after structural construction, installation of equipment such as the reactor, and stage-by-stage testing," KHNP said. "Shin Hanul units 3 and 4 are expected to contribute significantly to the revitalisation of the nuclear power industry economy as a symbol of strengthening the nuclear power ecosystem after the resumption of operations in 2022, and will become the safest nuclear power plant representing Korea."
South Korea has four operational APR1400 units - Saeul units 1 and 2 (formerly Shin Kori 3 and 4) and Shin Hanul units 1 and 2. Two further APR1400s are under construction as Saeul units 3 and 4. Four APR1400 units have also been built at the Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE, which are all now in commercial operation.
Article researched and written by WNN's Warwick Pipe
Swiss nuclear fuel contract for Framatome
Wednesday, 28 May 2025
France's Framatome is to supply ATRIUM 11 fuel assemblies to the Leibstadt nuclear power plant in Switzerland following the signing of a long-term contract with operator Kernkraftwerk Leibstadt AG.
The Leibstadt plant (Image: KKL)
The ATRIUM-11 design uses an 11x11 rod array and chromia-enhanced uranium oxide pellets. This allows operators to run plants with more flexibility in response to fluctuating power demands while improving uranium utilisation and plant efficiency, resulting in lower costs for utilities, Framatome said.
The contract covers the supply of the fuel over the period 2028-2035. Framatome has been supplying fuel to Kernkraftwerk Leibstadt (KKL) since 2008, and has supplied it with ATRIUM 11 fuel since 2012.
"This contract underlines the solid relationship we have with our longstanding customer, KKL," said Lionel Gaiffe, Senior Executive Vice President, Fuel Business Unit at Framatome. "We are proud to continue supporting Leibstadt by providing our safe, reliable and high-performance ATRIUM 11 fuel assemblies for the long term."
Bruno Zimmermann, a member of KKL's board of directors, added: "With this contract signed with Framatome, KKL confirms its commitment to the long-term operation of the nuclear power plant through solutions that are geared towards the safety, reliability and efficiency of the plant."
The first lead fuel assemblies of ATRIUM 11 were inserted into plants in Europe in 2012 and in the USA in 2015, and the first reloads using the fuel were delivered and inserted in Europe in 2018 and in the USA in 2020.
Leibstadt features a single boiling water reactor built in the early 1980s. The plant produces 1165 MWe for six utilities with various stakes and provides electricity for two million households. Since 1984, KKL has invested a total of around EUR1.5 billion (USD1.6 billion) in the modernisation and maintenance of the plant. A further EUR1 billion is planned for renovations in the coming years to ensure safe, reliable and economical electricity generation until at least 2045.
Go-ahead for Columbia plant uprate
Wednesday, 28 May 2025
The Bonneville Power Administration has given the go-ahead to a USD700 million project which, together with planned energy efficiency upgrades, will add a total 186 MWe of capacity to the only operating nuclear power plant in the USA's Pacific Northwest region by 2031.
Columbia Generating Station (Image: BPA)
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) announced on 20 May that it has given Energy Northwest the go-ahead for the Extended Power Uprate (EPU) at its Columbia Generating Station after 18 months of in-depth analysis. Over the next six years, Energy Northwest and BPA will collaborate on planning and implementation of the project, which will involve around 30 individual upgrades, primarily focused on increasing the size of pumps and motors. The work will be timed to coincide with biennial refuelling outages, and will increase the station's output by 162 MWe - enough capacity to power around 12,500 homes, the companies said.
Alongside the EPU, energy efficiency upgrades incorporated during the next three scheduled refuelling outages - in 2027, 2029 and 2031 - are expected to add 24 megawatts of output capacity, bringing the total increase to 186 megawatts.
Energy Northwest intends to submit a licence amendment request for the EPU to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2028.
Energy Northwest CEO Bob Schuetz applauded BPA for its decision to approve the project and for its "strategic vision in advancing our region's future with additional, reliable capacity that nuclear energy can provide," saying the Administration's support for the initiative "underscores a commitment to affordable and carbon-free electricity for the Northwest region, including our public power member utilities and their customers."
"This is a great value for ratepayers in the Pacific Northwest," said BPA Administrator and CEO John Hairston. "Upgrading an existing resource to provide additional reliable energy will help BPA keep pace with its customers growing electricity needs and keep rates low."
Capacity uprates and licensing extensions to existing nuclear plants are specifically mentioned in the raft of executive orders signed on 23 May by President Donald Trump, seeking to reinvigorate the US nuclear energy sector and triple nuclear generating capacity by 2050.
"President Trump and Secretary Wright have made it clear: expanding America's nuclear energy capacity will be essential for meeting growing demand for affordable, reliable and secure energy," said Department of Energy Acting Undersecretary for Infrastructure Michael Goff. “This project exemplifies the energy vision for America by unleashing new power generation for the people of the Pacific Northwest without raising costs."
The Columbia Generating Station, near Richland, is a single boiling water reactor that began commercial operation in 1984. It is currently licensed to operate until December 2043.
Energy Northwest is a Washington state public power joint operating agency comprising 29 public power member utilities and serving more than 1.5 million customers. It owns and operates hydroelectric, solar, battery storage and wind facilities, as well as the Columbia nuclear power plant. The agency recently announced an agreement with Amazon and X-energy for an initial development of four advanced small modular reactors (SMRs) generating about 320 MWe, at a site near the Columbia plant, with an option to treble that number to 12 reactors.
The BPA is a federally owned, non-profit wholesale power marketer, responsible for marketing the electricity produced from federally owned and operated hydroelectric dams in the Columbia River Basin as well as the output from the Columbia nuclear plant.
Article researched and written by WNN's Claire Maden
Norwegian firms select partners for uranium, decommissioning
Wednesday, 28 May 2025
Norwegian nuclear project developer Norsk Kjernekraft is to cooperate with Aurum Green Energy, a private company exploring for uranium resources in Norway. Meanwhile, Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning has selected Amentum for the next phase of Norway's nuclear clean-up programme.
(Image: terimakasih0 / Pixabay)
Norsk Kjernekraft is a private company that aims to build, own and operate small modular reactor (SMR) power plants in Norway in collaboration with power-intensive industry. It has initiated joint projects in several places, along with power companies and municipalities.
Aurum is in the process of mapping and assessing uranium occurrences in several places in Northern Norway. Initial geological investigations indicate the occurrences may be of interest and are located a short distance from ports or main roads.
The aim of the agreement between Aurum and Norsk Kjernekraft is to examine the possibility that future nuclear power plants in Norway and other Western countries may someday be powered by Norwegian uranium. As part of the agreement, Norsk Kjernekraft will assist Aurum with its knowledge of regulatory, commercial and political issues related to nuclear power.
"Energy security and self-sufficiency are becoming increasingly important, both for Norway and for Europe," said Norsk Kjernekraft CEO Jonny Hesthammer. "Uranium processing facilities are located in Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and France, where uranium product can be converted into fuel that could power Norwegian and European nuclear power plants for many decades."
Aurum Green Energy CEO Barry Stoffell added: "Norsk Kjernekraft has shown that it is possible for communities, politicians and industry to support building nuclear power plants in Norway. We are pleased to work with them to do the same when it comes to the search for domestic sources of uranium."
In June 2024, the Norwegian government appointed a committee to conduct a broad review and assessment of various aspects of a possible future establishment of nuclear power in the country. It must deliver its report by 1 April 2026.
Norsk Kjernekraft noted that the Geological Survey of Norway carried out geological mapping of uranium deposits in the country during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and conducted an extensive nationwide exploration and assessment campaign in the early 1980s. The renewed effort to explore for uranium in Norway is taking place at the same time as the Swedish government is working toward encouraging uranium exploration and potential extraction.
"We can currently buy uranium from allied countries such as Australia, Canada, the USA and Ukraine, as well as several other countries," Hesthammer said. "In the future, if exploration is successful, we may also be able to buy it from Norway and Sweden."
Support in decommissioning
US-based engineering company Amentum and its joint venture partner Multiconsult Norge AS have been selected by Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning (NND) to deliver safety case management and training for Norway's nuclear clean-up programme.
This contract is focused on delivering a new methodology for robust and well-documented safety cases for new design and existing legacy nuclear facilities, including reactors in shut down conditions, post-operational clean-out and decommissioning, as well as facilities for storage and management of used fuel and radioactive waste. It covers work at KLDRA - a combined storage and disposal facility for low and intermediate-level radioactive waste in Himdalen in Aurskog/Høland - and two research sites - the nuclear fuel and materials testing reactor at Halden and the JEEP-II neutron scattering facility at Kjeller.
Established as an agency under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries in February 2018, NND is responsible for decommissioning the research reactors and other related nuclear infrastructure, as well as the safe handling, storage and disposal of radioactive waste.
Amentum and Multiconsult have been working for NND since summer 2022 under an engineering and technical framework, helping to develop a decommissioning strategy, including approaches for used fuel and radioactive waste management.
"This contract award is a strong vote of confidence from a client and comes at a pivotal time when Norway is considering the deployment of small modular reactors to meet its future energy needs," said Andy White, senior vice president of Amentum Energy and Environment International. "We will bring our extensive global experience in nuclear safety analysis - spanning the entire lifecycle - to this project, with particular emphasis on assessing legacy facilities and supporting their decommissioning in line with advanced safety standards."
Article researched and written by WNN's Warwick Pipe
Fast-tracked US uranium project receives federal approval
Wednesday, 28 May 2025
The US Department of the Interior has approved Anfield Energy Inc's Velvet-Wood uranium-vanadium project in San Juan County, Utah, after the Bureau of Land Management completed its review of the project in less than 14 days.
Velvet-Wood, in Utah (Image: DOI)
The project is the first to be approved under a new accelerated review process launched as part of a strategic response to the national energy emergency declared by President Donald Trump in January. The Department of the Interior (DOI) announced on 14 May that it had selected Velvet-Wood for expedited review.
The DOI announced its approval of the project on the same day that Trump signed a raft of executive orders aimed at reinvigorating the US nuclear industry and supply chain, with aims to quadruple US nuclear generating capacity by 2050.
"This approval marks a turning point in how we secure America's mineral future," Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said. "By streamlining the review process for critical mineral projects like Velvet-Wood, we're reducing dependence on foreign adversaries and ensuring our military, medical and energy sectors have the resources they need to thrive. This is mineral security in action."
Anfield acquired the Velvet-Wood project, along with other conventional uranium mining assets, from Uranium One in 2015. The two areas making up the project had been historically held by separate companies: previous owner Atlas Minerals recovered some 4 million pounds U3O8 (1539 tU) - as well as 5 million pounds of V2O5 - from the Velvet deposit between 1979 and 1984. The Wood area was drilled by then-owner Uranerz between 1985 and 1991, but was not mined. The combined Velvet and Wood historical mines are currently estimated to contain 4.6 million pounds U3O8 of measured and indicated resources and inferred resources of 552,000 pounds U3O8.
"With the final environmental assessment completed by the Bureau of Land Management, Anfield Energy has the necessary approval from Interior for restarting the old Velvet Mine and developing the nearby Wood mineralisation," the DOI said. With most of the work taking place underground and targeting known mineral deposits left from earlier operations, the operation will result in only three acres (1.2 hectares) of new surface disturbance, it added.
"We are very pleased that the Department of the Interior has greenlit our Velvet-Wood project in an expedited manner," Anfield Energy CEO Corey Dias said. "This confirms our view that Velvet-Wood was well-suited for an accelerated review, given that it is a past-producing uranium and vanadium mine with a small environmental footprint. The Company will now pivot to advancing the project through construction and, ultimately, to production."
Anfield is also working to advance its Shootaring Canyon mill to production-ready status concurrently with Velvet-Wood. The mill is one of only three licensed and permitted conventional uranium mills in the USA and has been on standby since 1982.
Article researched and written by WNN's Claire Maden
MoU paves way for further collaboration on BWRX-300 deployment
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
The Emirates Nuclear Energy Company and GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly evaluate the deployment of BWRX-300 small modular reactor technology internationally.
Mavà Zingoni and Mohamed Al Hammadi exchanged the
The agreement, signed during a private ceremony on the sidelines of the World Utilities Congress in Abu Dhabi, UAE, builds on a memorandum of understanding signed during the COP28 conference in 2023 to evaluate the technology as part of ENEC’s ADVANCE programme. The two companies have committed to explore opportunities for international deployment by collaborating on a development roadmap to include site identification, licensing pathways, investment and commercialisation strategies, and supply chain development.
"As we continue to power the UAE with clean, baseload electricity around the clock, we are glad to move to the next level of cooperation with GE Vernova Hitachi to accelerate the deployment of new advanced nuclear reactor technologies in the UAE and internationally," ENEC Managing Director and CEO Mohamed Al Hammadi said. "This MoU will bring together our complementary expertise to identify a clear roadmap for deployment, which is essential to ensure safe, efficient and quality-led nuclear delivery, as we have experienced here in the UAE. As global power demand continues to grow at pace, we look forward to advancing new solutions to meet this growth in a sustainable manner."
Mavà Zingoni, CEO of GE Vernova's Power Businesses, said the company was pleased to advance its collaboration with ENEC as the UAE seeks to be an early mover for nuclear innovation. "With projects moving forward in Canada and in the United States, collaborating with ENEC further strengthens our ties with the UAE and ability to deliver this technology and achieve a more sustainable energy future," she said.
Teams from ENEC and GE Vernova Hitachi (GVH) will now work together to evaluate and develop a comprehensive roadmap for deployment of the BWRX-300.
ENEC brings significant expertise following the successful deployment of civil nuclear energy to the UAE's grid as the developer and operator of the four-unit Barakah nuclear power plant, having brought each unit of the plant onto the grid in a "highly efficient" 7.9 years. GE Vernova's Nuclear Power business, through its global alliance with Hitachi, is a provider of nuclear fuel bundles, services, and advanced nuclear reactor designs, and describes the BWRX-300 as "one of the simplest, yet most innovative boiling water reactor designs".
The BWRX-300 design is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation small modular reactor (SMR) with passive safety systems that leverages the design and licensing basis of the ESBWR boiling water reactor developed by GE Hitachi. GVH says it will be the first SMR to be built in the western world: this month, the Canadian province of Ontario approved the construction of the first BWRX-300 at Ontario Power Generation's Darlington site, while the Tennessee Valley Authority submitted an application for construction of a BWRX-300 at Clinch River, near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to US regulators.
First carbon-14 dispatched from Chinese plant
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
China's first batch of the carbon-14 isotope produced at a commercial reactor was officially dispatched on 16 May from the Qinshan nuclear power plant in Zhejiang province.
(Image: CNNC)
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said the milestone "marks the first mass production achievement under He Fu No.1, China's first isotope production technology brand, and signifies the establishment of China's fully integrated industrial chain for carbon-14 isotope development, from independent R&D and production to commercial supply."
The company noted that "only a handful of countries in the world" are currently able to produce carbon-14 on a commercial scale. "Under the support of the China Atomic Energy Authority, Qinshan Nuclear Power, relying on China's commercial heavy water reactor, began independent R&D in 2019 through joint efforts with China Isotope & Radiation Corporation and other partners, and successfully overcame technical barriers to produce carbon-14 through commercial reactor irradiation."
(Image: CNNC)
The first irradiated carbon-14 target was successfully extracted from the Qinshan plant's heavy water reactor unit on 20 April last year. After purification and processing, the first batch of carbon-14 products meeting quality standards have now passed final testing and been dispatched.
Carbon-14 is used in medical and scientific research and in fields including agriculture and chemistry as well as in medicine and biology. According to CNNC, the expected annual output at Qinshan will be sufficient to meet domestic market demand.
"This marks a new stage in China's isotope supply system - shifting toward greater self-reliance and innovation," CNNC said. "Looking ahead, CNNC will continue to leverage its resources and technological advantages to accelerate the localisation and scaled production of more medical isotopes, contributing to the Healthy China initiative."
Currently, cobalt-60 produced at the Qinshan plant is used in a wide range of fields, including food preservation, meeting most of the domestic market demand and even starting export. "Looking ahead, He Fu No.1 will take on the task of scaling up production of various short half-life medical isotopes, such as lutetium-177, with production capacity expected to meet domestic needs," CNNC said.
Qinshan is China's largest nuclear power plant, comprising seven reactors. Construction of Phase I of the plant - a 300 MWe pressurised water reactor (PWR) which was the first indigenously-designed Chinese nuclear power station to be built - began in 1985, with the unit entering commercial operation in 1994. Qinshan Phase II is home to four operating CNP-600 PWRs, built with a high degree of localisation. Units 1 and 2, comprising the first stage of Phase II, began operating in 2002 and 2004, respectively. Units 3 and 4 entered commercial operation in October 2010 and April 2021. Phase III consists of two 750 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors supplied by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd and commissioned in 2002 and 2003.
A cat sleeps in an apartment window beside an air conditioner in Burnaby, B.C. on August 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
_34897.jpg)
_71753.jpg)
_91449.jpg)
_72999.jpg)
_36584.jpg)
_80279.jpg)
