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Startorus Fusion Completes 20 K Cryogenic Rapid Discharge Test of Central Solenoid Model Magnet (CSMC) for Spherical Tokamak Device

Startorus Fusion (HTS) recently announced that its independently developed central solenoid (CS) model magnet for a spherical tokamak device (tokamak) successfully completed a 6350 A cryogenic current-carrying and rapid discharge test under harsh cryogenic conditions. Test results showed that the magnet achieved a maximum magnetic field of 10 T and a magnetic field change rate of up to 63 T/s, setting a new record for the magnetic field change rate of known fusion superconducting magnets. This test was conducted at 20 K (-253 °C). The magnet not only successfully reached a maximum magnetic field strength of 10 T, with a central magnetic field of 7.6 T, but also smoothly completed the rapid discharge test required for tokamak ohmic discharge. As a...

2026-10-09

"Power-Hungry Beast" Reshapes the Logic of Power Asset Revaluation: Can Tech Giants' 20-Year Long-Term Agreements Fundamentally Resolve the Nuclear Power Economics Dilemma?

On October 6, 2026, Constellation Energy (Nasdaq ticker CEG, the largest commercial nuclear reactor operator in the United States) and Google announced the signing of a 20-year strategic clean energy cooperation agreement. Following the announcement, Constellation Energy's stock price rose approximately 12% that day. The capital market's excitement is understandable. But an easily overlooked detail is that the true structure of this deal differs considerably from the "1 billion dollars" in media headlines. Bloomberg's initial report of "at least 1 billion dollars" was the figure at the time the deal first came to light, while the officially announced agreement amount is 4.3 billion dollars. The essence of the 4.3 billion dollars is Constellation Energy's capital investment to upgrade its 11 nuclear power units, with Google providing revenue certainty for this investment through a 20-year power purchase agreement.

2026-10-09

China Becomes First to Achieve Operation of a Thorium-229 Nuclear Optical Clock, Bringing Quantum Precision Measurement into the Atomic Nucleus Scale

Recently, the team of Ding Shiqian, associate professor in the Department of Physics at Tsinghua University, published important results online in the international academic journal Nature, announcing the successful development of a thorium-229 nuclear optical clock and the achievement of its stable operation. This work was completed independently in the same period as that of a European team, making China the first internationally to achieve operation of a thorium-229 nuclear optical clock, marking the successful extension of the time measurement standard from electronic transitions to nuclear transitions. It is understood that a nuclear optical clock uses the internal transition of the thorium-229 atomic nucleus as a time-frequency reference. Ding Shiqian, one of the corresponding authors of the paper, introduced that the pendulum of an old-fashioned wall clock swings about once per second, whereas a nuclear optical clock uses the beat of the atomic nucleus as its "pendulum," with a beat frequency of up to about 2 quadrillion times per second. Because the size of the atomic nucleus is only a few tens of thousandths of the electron cloud outside the nucleus...

2026-10-08

CNNC Southern Geological Exploration Center Holds the 2026 Quality Experience Feedback Exchange Meeting

In order to further implement the Group's key work deployments, strengthen the quality awareness of all staff, and improve quality management standards, the CNNC Southern Geological Exploration Center recently held the 2026 Quality Experience Feedback Exchange Meeting. Various departments shared excellent quality work practices based on their actual work, and conducted exchange discussions on typical quality issues, transformation of experience and achievements, and other topics. The meeting pointed out that quality management is a systematic task that concerns the long-term development of the Southern Center and the vital interests of employees. All employees must firmly establish quality awareness, adhere to the principles of "quality first" and zero tolerance for quality issues, improve the management system, strengthen process control, prevent various quality risks from the source, and promote the common development of the Center and its employees through high-quality results...

2026-10-09

Germany Launches Fusion Milestone Program: Plans to Invest €2.5 Billion to Support Fusion Companies Toward Commercialization

On October 7, 2026, the German Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation (SPRIND), on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), officially launched the Fusion Milestone Program. The program is an important component of Germany's High-Tech Agenda (HTAD), aiming to promote fusion startups and young companies from technology R&D toward demonstration power plant construction through funding support linked to technological progress and commercialization outcomes, further shortening the distance from laboratory research to commercial application of nuclear fusion. According to the program arrangements, the German government will provide funding support through the Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality (SVIK), with plans to invest...

2026-10-09

Zhuanghe Nuclear Power convenes the fourth meeting of the Safety Committee in 2026 and the work safety situation analysis meeting

Recently, Zhuanghe Nuclear Power convened the fourth meeting of the Work Safety Committee in 2026 and the work safety situation analysis meeting. Wang Shuang, Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the company, and Director of the Safety Committee, presided over the meeting. Members of the company's leadership team and heads of relevant departments or authorized persons attended the meeting. The meeting thoroughly studied Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions and directives on work safety, conveyed the spirit of meetings and documents from higher-level units, analyzed and assessed the work safety situation in the fourth quarter, and made work arrangements. The meeting emphasized that all cadres and employees must adhere to the working principles of "strengthen precise control, advance with high standards, and implement in a down-to-earth manner," strictly implement the "ten prohibitions" for on-site operations, tighten and consolidate responsibilities...

2026-10-09

Construction Management Practice of Unbonded Prestressed Tendons in the Containment of the Reactor Building

As a landmark project of China-Russia nuclear energy cooperation, Units 7 and 8 of Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant were the first in China to apply unbonded prestressing technology to the inner containment of the reactor building. There was no domestic construction experience with unbonded prestressing in containments to draw upon, and the installation of large-diameter prestressing ducts, as well as the strand threading, grouting, and tensioning of greased and sheathed strands, presented considerable difficulty, exposing construction to significant risks and challenges. As a "first-of-a-kind new process," to complete this pioneering project to high quality and high standards, China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd., as the general contractor, worked in close coordination and collaboration with all participating units to carry out innovative work, guided by strategy, driven by technology...

2026-10-09

Preparations Underway for First Nuclear Fuel Loading at San'ao Nuclear Power Project Unit 2

On October 7, it was learned from CGN Cangnan Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. that San'ao Nuclear Power Project Unit 2 is carrying out preparatory work before its first nuclear fuel loading. Once fuel loading is completed, the unit will enter the stage of nuclear commissioning of the primary system with nuclear fuel. During the National Day holiday, personnel at key positions of the San'ao Nuclear Power Project stayed at the front line to fully advance the pre-loading preparations. A relevant person in charge of the Fuel Management Section of the Technical Support Department of CGN Cangnan Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. stated that in order to ensure the high-quality completion of Unit 2's first fuel loading and core photography operations, the project working group strictly implemented relevant regulations and management requirements for nuclear material control, and coordinated the advancement of various pre-loading tasks including the submission of first loading information and the approval request for fuel assembly transfer.

2026-10-08

U.S. Department of Energy Plans to Provide Vistra with $4.2 Billion Conditional Loan to Support Power Uprates and Life Extensions at Operating Nuclear Plants: Safeguarding Nearly 4 GW of Baseload Power to Meet Surging Electricity Demand from AI Data Centers

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a conditional loan commitment of up to $4.2 billion to Vistra Corp., an independent power producer headquartered in Irving, Texas. The funds will be dedicated to financing power uprates and equipment modernization projects at three of Vistra's nuclear power plants located in Pennsylvania and Ohio——Beaver Valley, Davis-Besse, and Perry——to meet the explosive growth in electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence and data centers. According to the project plan, this technical upgrade project is expected to add a cumulative 433 megawatts (MW) of nuclear generating capacity, and...

2026-10-08

International Researchers Successfully Develop the First Autonomous Thorium-229 "Nuclear Clock": Featuring Ultra-Strong Interference Resistance and a Fully Autonomous Closed-Loop Stable Operation Mechanism

Recently, the press office of TU Wien (Vienna University of Technology) announced that a team of scientists from Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic has successfully developed the world's first nuclear clock based on the thorium-229 (chemical symbol ²²⁹Th) atomic nucleus. This nuclear clock possesses extremely high interference resistance and is capable of operating in a fully autonomous mode without external stabilization. The research team stated that, compared with traditional atomic clocks that operate using entire atoms, timekeeping using atomic nuclei can theoretically achieve higher measurement precision. Two years ago, they successfully controlled the transition process of the thorium-229 atomic nucleus for the first time, but to achieve extremely high-precision timekeeping, it was still necessary to solve the nuclear clock...

2026-10-08

Armenia and Rosatom Coordinate the Second Life Extension of Metsamor NPP Unit 2: Reviewing Phase Results and Locking In Key Tasks for 2027–2030

On October 7, 2026, the fifth working meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee of the Republic of Armenia and Rosatom was held in Yerevan, comprehensively reviewing the phased implementation results of the major project for the second life extension (LTO-2) of Unit 2 of the Armenian NPP (ANPP, located in Metsamor), and formally countersigned the execution agreement for advancing engineering tasks from 2027 to 2030. Kirill Komarov, First Deputy Director General and Director for International Business Development of Rosatom, led the Russian delegation, while Narek Apitonyan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia, led the Armenian delegation.

2026-10-08

Russian Scholars Analyze the Technical Secrets Behind the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics: How IceCube Uses Photomultiplier Tubes to Capture Neutrino Tracks

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for a major scientific discovery in the field of astrophysical high-energy neutrino detection. The key engineering foundation that made this historic breakthrough possible is a giant scientific facility located near the South Pole——the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The facility uses nearly 1 cubic kilometer of highly transparent deep Antarctic ice as a natural detection medium, and densely arrays thousands of digital optical modules deep within the ice. Genrikh Scheibler, senior researcher and Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at the Institute of Semiconductor Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISP SB RAS), has...

2026-10-08

The North China Regional Office of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment organized the 2026 North China Regional Radiation Safety Regulatory Experience Exchange Activity

In October 2026, the North China Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision Station of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (hereinafter referred to as the North China Supervision Station) officially organized the 2026 North China Regional Radiation Safety Regulatory Experience Exchange Activity in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, aiming to further deepen the cross-regional collaborative regulatory mechanism for nuclear and radiation safety. Relevant officials from the Nuclear Facility Safety Regulation Department and the Radiation Source Safety Regulation Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment made special trips to the site to provide guidance, conducted in-depth exchanges with frontline regulatory representatives from North China and surrounding key provinces, and put forward clear guidance on current and future regulatory directions. During the exchange activity, representatives from Beijing Municipality, Tianjin Municipality, Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shandong...

2026-10-08

US-based Geenex Power Unveils SMR Nuclear Plan for Amherst County, Virginia: Up to 650 MW Capacity, Construction Targeted for 2030

Charlotte, North Carolina-based clean energy developer Geenex Power officially announced on October 6, 2026, that it plans to build an advanced small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear project with a capacity of up to 650 megawatts — Beck Creek Energy — in Amherst County, Virginia. During the routine public inquiry session held by the Amherst County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Geenex Project Development Manager Delany Bolton and Director of External Affairs Chris Hallameyer...

2026-10-07

U.S. Department of Energy Commits $4.2 Billion Loan to Support Vistra Nuclear Plant Expansion and Upgrade

On October 5, 2026, the Office of Energy Dominance Financing of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a commitment to provide a conditional loan of up to $4.2 billion to fund the expansion and modernization of nuclear power plants owned by Vistra Corp. in Pennsylvania and Ohio. It is understood that this investment aims to implement U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order on revitalizing the nuclear industrial base. U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright stated that by increasing the power generation of existing nuclear power plants, affordable...

2026-10-06