Search Results

Oklo's Groves Isotope Test Reactor Achieves First Criticality, Fifth Reactor in U.S. Department of Energy Test Reactor Program Successfully Started

The Groves Isotope Test Reactor under Oklo, an advanced nuclear fission company in the United States, has officially achieved first criticality. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) confirmed that the reactor successfully reached criticality at 9:19 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday at the Groves site in Lockhart, Texas, becoming the fifth advanced test reactor to achieve criticality under the DOE's dedicated authorization and regulatory pathway. The Groves Isotope Test Reactor has a thermal power of 15 megawatts (MWt) and adopts an atmospheric-pressure water-cooled pool-type reactor design. It is led by Oklo Isotopes, a subsidiary of Oklo focused on medical and industrial isotope production...

2026-10-11

French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority Approves Exemption of ITER Vacuum Vessel from Fission Pressurized Equipment Regulation

The French Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority (ASNR) has formally issued a regulatory ruling, approving the application by the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Organization to exclude the Vacuum Vessel, a core component of the ITER tokamak device, from the scope of regulation under the French and European Nuclear Pressure Equipment Directive (ESPN). This breakthrough ruling marks the beginning of key fusion reactor components breaking free from the regulatory framework derived from traditional fission reactors. Prior to this decision, the ITER Vacuum Vessel had long been classified as nuclear pressure equipment. This classification originated from the management practices of traditional light-water fission reactors, whose underlying logic presumes internal pressure as the primary engineering load on the structure. However...

2026-10-11

3-meter-wide hole found at bottom of Unit 3 reactor pressure vessel at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station: molten nuclear fuel burned through the base plate, TEPCO advances evaluation of debris removal project

The latest investigation data released by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) shows that an irregular circular hole with a maximum diameter of 3 meters exists at the bottom of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) of Unit 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (Fukushima No. 1 NPP). This is the first time since the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake triggered a tsunami and caused core meltdown that TEPCO has determined the specific shape and dimensions of the damaged bottom of the pressure vessel among the three reactors that experienced meltdown. The conclusion is based on image data obtained by a technical team in March this year using palm-sized micro-drones to conduct 21 flight surveys inside the containment vessel of Unit 3. Based on the multi-angle...

2026-10-11

Harbin Electric Power Equipment Company Nuclear Power MES System Has Been Fully Switched into Operation

Recently, the nuclear power MES system of Harbin Electric Power Equipment Company has been fully switched into operation, achieving that work plan maintenance, tracking, and all other operations are based on MES. This is a key achievement of the company's independent research and development of information systems realizing a zero breakthrough. The full name of the nuclear power MES system is Nuclear Power Manufacturing Execution System. It is the smart brain or neural center in the nuclear power production workshop, specifically responsible for accurately and transparently implementing upper-level production plans into the actions of each process in the workshop. The full switch of the nuclear power MES system is an important measure for building a world-class nuclear main pump research and development base. Harbin Electric Power Equipment Company conducted an in-depth analysis of pain points such as insufficient cross-link plan coordination, constraints from material completeness, and weak refined process control...

2026-10-10

US MARVEL Microreactor Approved for Criticality Testing, Testing Expected to Begin by End of 2026

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho Operations Office has formally approved the final safety analysis report for the MARVEL microreactor at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This key regulatory approval authorizes the reactor to proceed with configuration preparations for dry criticality testing, marking a breakthrough for the project following the approval of the preliminary safety analysis report in March of this year. The MARVEL (Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation) project is a sodium-potassium alloy-cooled microreactor test platform with a design thermal power of 85 to 100 kilowatts and a net electrical power of approximately 20 kilowatts. The facility is designed to help private companies such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and GE Vernova test micro...

2026-10-10

US-based NuCube Launches High-Temperature Testing of 250 kW Pump-Free Microreactor in Utah

Advanced nuclear developer NuCube Energy is conducting a new round of non-nuclear testing in Utah, USA, on its factory-assembled microreactor technology. The company is collaborating with researchers from Brigham Young University to advance the project at the San Rafael Energy Research Laboratory. The partners are using electric heating technology to precisely simulate the operating conditions inside their planned NuSun micro fission system. The core focus of this round of testing is to verify whether small modular nuclear energy can provide clean, decarbonized energy support for high-energy-consumption manufacturing operations. Conventional commercial nuclear power plants typically rely on mechanical pumps and large pools to manage core temperature. Once mechanical components fail or...

2026-10-10

Russia Completes Qualification Tests of ITER First Wall Tungsten Lining, Advancing Development of Key Components for International Thermonuclear Fusion

The Efremov Institute of Electrophysical Apparatus (NIIEFA), a subsidiary of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, recently successfully completed the qualification testing phase of tungsten materials for the first wall lining of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). This testing aimed to verify the feasibility of the selected technical solution. The expert team completed vacuum rapid brazing of the tungsten lining, robotic ultrasonic inspection, and rigorous thermal cycling tests, laying a solid foundation for subsequent mass production of key components. As the physical boundary between the scorching plasma and the main reactor equipment in a tokamak device, the first wall lining must protect the equipment from high-energy particle bombardment while...

2026-10-10

Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Developing New Quality Productive Forces

Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Developing New Quality Productive Forces. Developing new quality productive forces is an intrinsic requirement and an important focus for promoting high-quality development. To accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, the following opinions are hereby put forward. I. General Requirements. We must adhere to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as our guide, thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Party and all its plenary sessions, earnestly implement the arrangements of the Fourth Plenary Session, fully, accurately and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy, uphold innovation as the lead, reform as the key, adaptation to local conditions, and establishing the new before abolishing the old, uphold high technology, high efficiency and high quality, and properly handle the relationships between the government and the market, between qualitative state and business forms, between reform and development, and between self-reliance and opening up,...

2026-10-10

Framatome and EDF Renew Long-Term Operations and Maintenance Service Agreement for Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station, Safeguarding the UK's Only PWR Unit's Life Extension into the 2040s

Framatome of France and Électricité de France (EDF) have recently formally renewed a 15-year Long-Term Service Agreement (LTSA). The agreement will comprehensively cover integrated routine operations and maintenance as well as refueling outage services for Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station (Sizewell B NPP) in Suffolk, UK, to support the unit's ongoing long-term operation and life extension development strategy. Framatome has been continuously responsible for core overhaul and technical maintenance work at Sizewell B since 2008. The renewed long-term service contract extends directly to 2040, and Framatome will mobilize its global technical expertise in the pressurized water reactor (PWR) field and its UK-dedicated...

2026-10-10

North China Regional Office of Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment Conducts Inspections of Key Nuclear Technology Utilization Units

In order to firmly safeguard the nuclear and radiation safety barrier in the capital region, the North China Regional Office of Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (hereinafter referred to as the North China Supervision Office) recently carried out safety inspections of 4 key nuclear technology utilization units in the capital, including source-related units and radioisotope production units. The inspection team went deep into frontline workplaces such as radioisotope production lines and radioactive source storage warehouses, conducted on-site inspections of the operation of radiation safety protection facilities, and carried out key verification of the emergency supplies equipped by each unit and holiday duty arrangements, strictly and practically investigating various types of safety hazards. The North China Supervision Office required all units to further raise their political stance, always keep the string of safety taut, strengthen...

2026-10-10

Unit 1 of Turkey's Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant Completes Primary Circuit Hydrostatic Test: Fully Advancing Toward the Hot Functional Test Stage

Unit 1 of the Akkuyu NPP, Turkey's first nuclear power plant, has successfully completed the hydrostatic test of the primary circuit system and core equipment. The successful completion of this hydrostatic test verified the pressure-bearing integrity and sealing performance of the primary circuit system, clearing engineering obstacles for the unit's subsequent launch of the critical hot functional test. During the test, the pressure-bearing value of the primary circuit system (covering the reactor pressure vessel, main coolant pumps, steam generators, pressurizer, and the main coolant piping connecting all components) was raised to 24.5 MPa, equivalent to approximately 1.5 times the unit's normal operating pressure; the initial temperature of the primary circuit demineralized water reached 135°C. Eng...

2026-10-10

ITER Tokamak Plasma Instability Simulation Tool JOREK Released as Open Source

JOREK, a key simulation software used for simulating large-scale plasma instabilities in nuclear fusion devices, was officially released as open source on October 8, 2026, and its code has been hosted under the official GitHub account of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Organization. This move aims to promote global nuclear fusion research toward a more open and innovative ecosystem, greatly lowering the threshold for researchers in various countries to obtain, use, and further develop this core algorithm code. Nina Schwarz, a researcher at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), pointed out that this open license allows researchers worldwide to contribute code to JOREK and publicly improve the algorithm. A clear open-source license...

2026-10-10

Poland Launches Procurement of Key Equipment for Its First Nuclear Power Plant

Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) announced on October 8, 2026, that it has formally commissioned Westinghouse Electric Company of the United States to initiate the ordering of Long-Lead Items (LLI) for Unit 1 of Poland's first nuclear power plant. The nuclear power project is located at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in Choczewo, Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland, and is planned to house 3 Westinghouse AP1000 pressurized water reactor units. Long-lead critical components typically encompass large heavy forgings and castings required for the reactor pressure vessel, steam turbine and generator, dedicated instrumentation and control software, and high-technical-difficulty structural components...

2026-10-09

Shanghai Electric Holds Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology Frontier Forum

Recently, the Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology Frontier Forum, hosted by the Science and Technology Innovation Department of Shanghai Electric Group, organized by the Nuclear Power Group and Shanghai No.1 Machine Tool Works, and co-organized by the Central Research Institute, Power Station Group, and Power Transmission and Distribution Group, was successfully held at the Shanghai Electric Lingang Nuclear Power Base. Relevant responsible persons from the Central Research Institute, the Science and Technology Production and Development Department of the Nuclear Power Group, and Shanghai No.1 Machine Tool Works, as well as technical lines from the Power Station Group, Steam Turbine Plant, Boiler Plant, Shanghai Electric Nuclear Power Equipment Co., Ltd., Nuclear Pump Company, and Shanghai Heavy Casting and Forging Company, participated in the forum. The forum conducted exchange reports around two major sections: key technologies for advanced pressurized water reactors and key technologies for new nuclear energy. The exchange topics not only represent the forefront of current nuclear energy technology, but also closely align with industry development...

2026-10-09

State Power Investment Corporation and Shanghai Electric Hold a Working Meeting

On September 10, Liu Mingsheng, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Chairman of State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), held a meeting with Wu Lei, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Shanghai Electric, and Zhu Zhaokai, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Shanghai Electric, at SPIC headquarters to exchange views on further deepening strategic cooperation. Jin Xiaolong and Jia Tinggang, Members of the Party Committee and Vice Presidents of Shanghai Electric, and Chen Haibin and Liu Feng, Members of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Presidents of SPIC, attended the meeting. Wu Lei thanked SPIC for its long-term support and introduced Shanghai Electric's industrial development and energy equipment business. Liu Mingsheng expressed gratitude for Shanghai Electric's continued support and introduced SPIC's production and operations, scientific and technological innovation, and other aspects. The two sides focused on serv...

2026-09-11