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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

Global Major SMR Project Progress Review

As of now, global SMR competition has already formed several different tiers: Linglong One is advancing pre-operational testing, Darlington and Russia's land-based projects have entered the construction phase, Clinch River has just crossed the threshold for a U.S. commercial SMR construction permit, Long Mott is still under licensing review, and representative projects in the UK and South Korea are mainly advancing design and regulatory approval. In subsequent comparisons of these projects, the most valuable indicators will be first fuel load, first criticality, first grid connection, commercial operation, and whether construction can be replicated after the first-of-a-kind unit. Project progress: China's Linglong One is one of the more advanced projects among land-based SMR commercial demonstration projects. In December 2025, the project completed non-nuclear steam testing, verifying the functions of conventional island-related systems; public information in early 2026 shows that the project is still conducting pre-operational testing. The project adopts a 125 MWe pressurized water reactor design, mainly targeting applications such as power generation, heating, industrial steam, and seawater desalination.

2026-10-09

When the Water Runs Dry, the Reactors Stop: Behind Romania Losing One-Fifth of Its Electricity, Heavy-Industry Reactor Designs Are Suffering a Fatal "Cold Source Asphyxiation" — Examining the Physical Interrogation of High-Water-Consumption Baseload Plants by Extreme Drought Through the Prolonged Paralysis of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant

For a long time, nuclear power has been regarded as the unwavering backbone of round-the-clock baseload electricity, immune to weather conditions, cloud cover, or lulls in wind. However, the nearly two-month total shutdown of Romania's Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant is breaking this industry paradigm in an extreme and brutal manner. Because the Danube River has experienced a historically rare drought exceeding warning thresholds and a cliff-edge collapse in water levels, the country's only nuclear power plant—which safeguards one-fifth of its electricity supply—has been paralyzed by the loss of cooling water assurance, with no prospect of near-term restart. This extreme case not only tears open a massive gap in winter energy security for Romania and even Southeastern Europe, but also sounds an alarm for the global energy community: in the face of increasingly...

2026-10-08

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

Laser Fusion Startup Xcimer Receives Up to $30.5 Million in Milestone-Based Funding from U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. excimer laser inertial confinement fusion company Xcimer Energy recently announced that it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to receive up to $30.5 million in funding support through the DOE's Milestone-based Fusion Development Program. The funds will be disbursed in installments based on the progress achieved toward predetermined R&D milestones. Previously, in June 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy formally approved the preliminary conceptual design and technology development roadmap milestones for Xcimer's fusion power plant architecture, Athena. The Athena architecture is specifically designed for continuous operation, industrial-scale capacity, and a self-sustaining fuel cycle...

2026-10-08

German Research Team Completes First Phase Analysis of Chernobyl "Hot Particles": Nuclear Fuel Crystal Structure Still Exhibits Unexpectedly High Chemical Stability After 40 Years

Nearly 40 years after the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, a research team from Leibniz University Hannover and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) in Germany has completed the world's first synchrotron radiation X-ray-based precision crystal phase analysis of 6 micron-sized highly radioactive fragments (commonly known in the industry as Hot Particles) ejected from the destroyed reactor. The related breakthrough research findings have been officially published in the top-tier journal in environmental and radioecology, the Journal of Hazardous Materials.

2026-10-07

The Qualitative Leap from "Able to Build" to "Adept at Building": An In-Depth Analysis of the Technological Breakthrough and Industrial Restructuring of the "Hualong One Version 2.0"

In September 2026, with the convening of the high-quality commencement mobilization meeting for the first batch of demonstration projects—the Phase II project of Zhejiang Jinqimen Nuclear Power Plant—and the full-scale launch of site leveling and excavation work, Hualong One Version 2.0 officially sounded the clarion call for its march from technological R&D to engineering practice. As a third-generation pressurized water reactor nuclear power model with fully independent intellectual property rights, Hualong One has undergone a decade of tempering, with 12 units in commercial operation and 35 units approved for construction, bringing the total number of units to the top of the world's third-generation nuclear power rankings and making it a globally shining national calling card. However, as nuclear power powers in Europe and America find themselves mired in supply chain degradation, runaway construction schedules, and investment black holes, and as the global small modular reactor (SMR) concept remains stuck in the tug-of-war between PowerPoint presentations and early-stage demonstrations...

2026-09-27

"Major National Heavy Equipment · Industrial Answer Sheet" In-Depth Analysis of Independent Supporting of Core Parts of China's Hualong One

According to reports, on October 3, the News Center of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council of China and the Finance Channel of China Central Radio and Television Station jointly launched "Major National Heavy Equipment · Industrial Answer Sheet," with the first episode focusing on China's nuclear industry. Zhang Tao, General Manager of China National Nuclear Corporation, explained the key components of the Hualong One. The program disclosed that the steam generator support buffer block is the size of an eraser and weighs less than 80 grams, yet it can withstand an impact force of 45 tons, equivalent to the crushing weight of 10 adult elephants. This detail brings China's nuclear power independence from the narrative of complete units back to the component level. The following analyzes the significance of this breakthrough from several aspects. Why a small part is the key to the safety chain. This component needs to achieve large-deformation energy absorption under extreme conditions such as earthquakes and pipe rupture...

2026-10-04

China's Linglong One global first-of-a-kind unit hot test steadily advances, moving toward the goal of fuel loading within the year

Recently, the Linglong One global first-of-a-kind unit at Changjiang, Hainan, China, is currently advancing hot functional testing in an orderly manner, steadily moving toward the goal of fuel loading within the year. It is understood that modular small reactors feature flexible deployment and outstanding inherent safety, and can be adapted to diverse application scenarios such as island power supply and industrial steam supply. Linglong One is the world's first onshore commercial modular small nuclear reactor to pass the safety review of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). At present, all civil construction of the project has been completed, and the installation of core equipment is basically complete. The hot functional test currently being carried out is a key comprehensive commissioning stage before unit fuel loading, used to verify the performance of the reactor primary loop and supporting systems under high-temperature conditions. If fuel loading is achieved within the year, it will mark the transition of the world's first onshore commercial modular small reactor from the construction stage to the operation preparation stage.

2026-10-05

First Backup Emergency Diesel Generator of Hualong One Officially Available at Sanao Nuclear Power Unit 2

On October 2, the first backup emergency diesel generator (9LHW) of Hualong One completed the replacement grid connection test at Sanao Nuclear Power Unit 2 and was officially put into service. The equipment can replace any one of the original 12 emergency diesel generators (EDGs) in Phase I and Phase II projects, significantly improving the redundancy, reliability, and maintenance flexibility of the plant's emergency power supply. Sanao Nuclear Power Phase I and Phase II each have 3 emergency busbars, with one EDG configured for each busbar. However, due to the absence of cross-power supply for loads, the preventive maintenance windows of the original units were concentrated, affecting the overhaul schedule. Since 2021, Cangnan Nuclear Power has promoted the project of adding backup diesel generators, improving from the design source, building a new backup emergency diesel generator building (BDD), and constructing corridors and cables connected to each unit...

2026-10-03

China's "Artificial Sun" BEST Campus Delivered and Commissioned, Controlled Nuclear Fusion Accelerates Toward Engineering Demonstration

On October 1, the campus of the national major project Compact Fusion Energy Experimental Device (Burning plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak, BEST) was officially delivered and commissioned, and the main machine simultaneously entered the core assembly stage of the "four-ring set." The device is located in Hefei, Anhui, led in design by the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP), and constructed by Fusion New Energy (Anhui) Co., Ltd. It is China's independently developed new-generation fusion burning experimental device. BEST aims to simulate solar nuclear fusion and fill the gap between experimental reactors and demonstration reactors...

2026-10-01

"Linglong One" Global First-of-a-Kind Unit Enters Hot Functional Testing Sprint Toward Fuel Loading: Hainan Nuclear Power Details Fully Passive Safety and Multi-Layer Defense Logic

At the Hainan Changjiang Nuclear Power Base, the highly anticipated Linglong One multi-purpose modular small pressurized water reactor global first-of-a-kind demonstration project is in the hot functional testing phase, making an all-out sprint toward the goals of first core nuclear fuel loading and grid-connected power generation within the year. As the world's first onshore commercial modular small reactor to pass the International Atomic Energy Agency's generic safety review, its safety margins and engineering design logic have drawn widespread industry attention. Currently, the civil engineering works of the Linglong One unit have been fully completed, and the installation and commissioning of core main equipment are essentially ready. Following the completion of cold functional testing in October 2025, the ongoing hot functional testing is raising the primary loop system temperature and pressure to near actual rated operating conditions...

2026-10-02

Indonesia Plans to Finalize the Site of Its First Nuclear Power Plant by 2027 at the Latest: Technologies from the United States, South Korea, Japan, and Russia Shortlisted for Cooperation Consideration

Elen Setiadi, Deputy Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Coordination at Indonesia's Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, stated on September 30 in Jakarta that the Indonesian government is comprehensively advancing the construction project of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and plans to officially finalize the construction site in 2026, or by 2027 at the latest. Indonesia aims to fully integrate advanced nuclear power into its national medium- and long-term energy supply strategy, using stable and abundant baseload electricity to support sustained domestic economic growth and industrialization transformation. At the World Resources Institute Indonesia (W...

2026-10-02

Inner Dome Concrete Pouring of Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Unit 3 Completed

On September 30, as the last batch of concrete was successfully poured into the formwork, China Nuclear Industry 24 Construction Co., Ltd. successfully completed the concrete pouring of the inner dome of the reactor building of the Hualong One Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Unit 3. The achievement of this key milestone marks the full completion of the civil construction of the inner containment for this unit, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent prestressing construction of the containment and the installation of core nuclear equipment. As an important safety barrier of the Hualong One independent third-generation nuclear power technology, the inner dome is located at the top of the nuclear island, and its core function is to ensure the integrity and absolute leak-tightness of the reactor building and prevent the leakage of radioactive substances. Faced with nuclear construction technical challenges such as the complex curved surface structure of the dome and the high difficulty of high-altitude operations, the Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Project Department...

2026-10-02

Chest CT Can Measure Bone Density and Warn of Brain Aging Risk: Latest Research Reveals Link Between Skeletal and Cognitive Decline

Chest computed tomography (CT), routinely used to screen for lung lesions, may hold important clues for assessing brain health. A research team from Johns Hopkins University in the United States explored approaches to using existing chest imaging to assess bone health and link it to brain aging, with the related findings published in September 2026 in the authoritative journal Radiology. The study showed that subjects with lower thoracic vertebral bone density experienced faster cognitive decline during subsequent follow-up, and specific white matter microstructural changes also showed associated degeneration. Chest CT is widely used in lung cancer screening and pulmonary nodule follow-up...

2026-09-30