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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

U.S. NRC Expedites Review of License Amendment for Palisades Nuclear Plant Fuel Loading Tilt Incident: Advancing Vanguard SMR Construction Permit Review in Parallel

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is reviewing an emergency operating license amendment request (LAR) submitted by Holtec International. The request was triggered by a nuclear fuel loading tilt incident at the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant (Palisades NPP) in Covert, Michigan, during its restart process, which has resulted in the temporary suspension of some on-site restart recovery operations. According to the application documents publicly available in the NRC's public records system, fuel assembly number DD41 tilted after being released by the fuel handling machine. The lower nozzle of the assembly remains in the core grid position H-1, but the upper portion forms an approximately 30-degree tilt angle with the core plate...

2026-10-09

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

Controversy Over U.S. Nuclear Waste Repository Siting Draws Renewed Attention: Historical Decision Alleged to Have Relied Excessively on Cost Estimates

The issue of siting a U.S. nuclear waste repository has once again drawn attention. A reanalysis of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) 1986 candidate site evaluation report points out that the key factor determining the priority siting of a nuclear waste repository at that time was not fully verified differences in long-term safety performance among the sites, but mainly estimates of repository construction and operating costs and spent fuel transportation costs. This analysis argues that the relevant cost data had considerable uncertainty, yet played a decisive role in the final ranking, causing the technical evaluation to present a clearer ordering of advantages and disadvantages than the actual evidence supported. The debate over U.S. nuclear waste repository siting has lasted for decades. The 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy...

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

Amentum Establishes Global Nuclear Headquarters in Oak Ridge, Simultaneously Launches Nuclear Scholars Program

Recently, Amentum, a leading U.S. provider of engineering, project management, and innovative technology solutions, opened its global nuclear headquarters in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and established a Nuclear Center of Excellence, making it the centralized hub for the company's international nuclear business operations. The center is located at 151 Lafayette Drive in Oak Ridge and houses more than 150 experts across various fields, dedicated to delivering innovative engineering, technology solutions, and advanced energy capabilities. Amentum is already a major partner of the Oak Ridge Unified Cleanup Organization (UCOR), the primary environmental management contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) at the Oak Ridge Reservation....

2026-10-09

NASA and U.S. Department of Energy Sign Memorandum of Understanding: Opening a New Era in Space Nuclear Energy Exploration

According to reports, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on October 8, 2026, at the Golden Age Summit held at the Donald J. Trump Institute for Peace in Washington, D.C., to advance new nuclear technologies for space exploration. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and Energy Secretary Chris Wright attended the signing ceremony. It is understood that the memorandum aims to strengthen the two agencies' cooperation in nuclear technology development...

2026-10-09

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

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

US PPPL Reconstructs 70-Year-Old Lawson Criterion, Proposes New Fusion Ignition Pathway of "Heat First, Fuel Later"

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), released its latest findings on October 5. Laboratory physicists have reconstructed the classic Lawson criterion that has been in use for over 70 years and published the results in Physical Review Letters. The research team integrated four real-world physics effects that were previously treated separately into a unified model, mapping out an entirely new fusion ignition topography. The study shows that adopting a pathway of first heating the plasma and then increasing fuel density can achieve the ignition conditions for self-sustaining burn with far less energy consumption than traditional pathways. For over 70 years, the nuclear fusion field has relied on...

2026-10-07

Blue Energy becomes the first small nuclear power developer to apply for grid connection in Texas, aiming to provide baseload power for AI data centers

According to local U.S. media reports, nuclear energy startup Blue Energy Global Inc. has formally submitted a grid connection application to the Texas grid operator, becoming the first developer in the United States to apply to connect next-generation small modular reactor (SMR) power to the Texas main grid (ERCOT). The move is aimed at addressing the explosive growth in baseload electricity demand in Texas driven by the construction of artificial intelligence (AI) and supercomputing data centers. According to the relevant project plans submitted by Blue Energy, the company is advancing the development of a large energy complex in partnership with data center operator Crusoe Inc. The hybrid energy base is initially planned to first rely on natural gas units for rapid commissioning and power generation to address the urgent short-term power shortage of computing clusters; subsequently, small nuclear reactors will be gradually added and deployed to comprehensively build a long-term stable energy supply architecture featuring "gas-nuclear synergy and carbon-free transition."

2026-10-07

Missouri Releases New Energy Plan, Pushing Nuclear Power as Priority

According to local U.S. media reports, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, in its latest statewide comprehensive energy plan, has formally placed the development of new nuclear power plants, enhancement of grid resilience, and advancement of energy autonomy at the strategic priority level. Official data show that Missouri currently consumes energy at a scale 8 times its in-state production, relying heavily on cross-regional transmission from external grids, and the plan aims to fundamentally reverse this trend of dependence on out-of-state power. Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe noted in the report that in recent years Missouri's exposure risk to interstate imported electricity has increased significantly, and the new energy plan...

2026-10-07

Indiana Launches "Nuclear Ready Communities Program" Applications: Promoting Clean Nuclear Energy Investment to Empower High-Tech Industry Development

Indiana Governor Mike Braun officially announced on Tuesday local time the opening of the application channel for the state's Nuclear Ready Communities Program. The policy aims to guide and assist local municipalities across the Hoosier State in establishing readiness mechanisms to accept advanced clean energy investment, attracting large nuclear power developers to locate there through upfront assessment and certification. Indiana officials position civilian nuclear energy as a core engine for driving future high-tech industry investment, building a resilient power grid, and providing local communities with low-cost, highly reliable electricity. As data centers...

2026-10-07

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