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Large-Scale Nuclear Emergency Exercise Held at Russia's Beloyarsk NPP: Simulating Response to Concurrent Dual-Reactor Accident

The Beloyarsk NPP in Russia's Sverdlovsk Region launched a two-day comprehensive nuclear emergency exercise on October 6, 2026. The exercise is based on a hypothetical scenario of a natural disaster compounded by a reactor safety system failure, with a focus on emergency response and cross-departmental coordinated handling capabilities when two nuclear reactors experience severe accidents simultaneously. The exercise is being conducted simultaneously at the Beloyarsk NPP site and the neighboring city of Zarechny, and is the largest annual comprehensive nuclear emergency drill in the Russian nuclear industry system and the Ural Federal District. Beloy...

2026-10-08

Hinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station Formally Handed Over to Nuclear Restoration Services: Becomes England's First Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor Transferred by EDF for Decommissioning

On 1 October 2026, the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) formally approved the transfer of the nuclear site licence, and Hinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station was officially handed over from Électricité de France (EDF) to Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS), a subsidiary of the UK government. This marks Hinkley Point B as the first Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor (AGR) nuclear power station in England to formally enter the national specialist decommissioning sequence, and the second AGR unit in the UK to complete such a transfer, following Hunterston B Nuclear Power Station in Scotland earlier this year. Hinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station is located in Somerset and was built between 196...

2026-10-08

South Korea's HD Hyundai Deepens Marine SMR Layout: Joint Industry-University-Research Initiative Establishes Demonstration Center to Accelerate Commercialization Validation of Marine SMRs

South Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai is comprehensively accelerating the commercialization process of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). The company recently joined hands with South Korea's nuclear energy industry, academia, and authoritative classification societies to sign a multi-party cooperation agreement, announcing the formal establishment of the SMR Marine Technology Demonstration Center, aimed at deeply integrating the construction capabilities of shipbuilding engineering with the cutting-edge research strengths of the nuclear industry and universities, creating a core catalyst for the commercial deployment of marine nuclear power. The demonstration center brings together a total of 12 industry-university-research units, including the Korean Register (KR), key nuclear energy institutions, and multiple major South Korean universities....

2026-10-08

Rosatom Completes Installation of Two Moisture Separator Reheaters for the Conventional Island of the BREST-OD-300 Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor

Rosatom announced on October 7, 2026 that at the construction site of the innovative BREST-OD-300 nuclear power unit in Seversk, Tomsk Oblast, a key milestone breakthrough has been achieved in the installation of core main equipment in the conventional island (turbine island) building, with two large moisture separator reheaters (MSR) successfully hoisted into their design-basis positions. The two moisture separator reheaters installed this time are core large heat exchange equipment of the conventional island of a dual-loop nuclear power plant, each with a height of 16 meters and a net weight of 95 tons. The core function of this equipment is to...

2026-10-08

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

US-based Valar Atomics Plans to Deploy 456 Gas-Cooled Nuclear Reactors in Utah: Building a Dedicated 9.6 GW Power Supply System for a Supercomputing Data Center

US energy startup Valar Atomics has officially submitted a proposal for the construction of an ultra-large-scale industrial park named Project Beehive. The project is planned to be sited on federal and state land near Price, Utah, covering an area of approximately 9,000 acres. The entire project plans to deploy 456 small gas-cooled nuclear reactors in a clustered configuration, with an expected total installed generating capacity reaching an astonishing 9.6 gigawatts (GW). This scale is more than twice Utah's current average grid-wide generation load of 4 GW and approaches its summer peak demand of nearly 10 GW. This ultra-dense...

2026-10-03

Experts from 18 Countries Discuss Research Planning for Russia's MBIR Fast Reactor International Research Center: Focusing on Closed Fuel Cycle and Mega-Science Engineering Synergy

At the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan (INP AS RUz), the third meeting of the Advisory Council of the International Research Center (IRC MBIR), established on the basis of the Multi-purpose Fast Neutron Research Reactor (MBIR), was officially convened. The meeting attracted more than 150...

2026-10-03

Deployable Energy 1MW Microreactor UNB Achieves Initial Criticality: Scheduled to Enter INL DOME Test Bed in 2027 for Full-Power Testing

Houston-based nuclear energy startup Deployable Energy recently announced that its independently developed Microreactor, the Unity Nuclear Battery (UNB), has successfully completed its Initial Criticality Test. According to the established deployment plan, the system will officially arrive at the Demonstration and Operation of Microreactor Experiments (DOME), the dedicated microreactor test bed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), in 2027 to conduct full-power comprehensive performance testing. Although branded as a Nuclear...

2026-10-02

China Institute of Atomic Energy Holds Advanced Scientific and Technological Achievements Transformation Conference: Releases Small Reactor 9-Type Product Matrix, Signs Agreements on Curie-Level Terbium-161 Preparation and SMR Overall Scheme Design

On September 29, the China Institute of Atomic Energy (abbreviated as CIAE) held in Beijing an Advanced Scientific and Technological Achievements Transformation Conference themed "Innovation · Nuclear Fusion of New Quality." The conference showcased CIAE's practical breakthroughs in deepening scientific and technological system reform, advancing the pilot program for empowering scientific and technological achievements from job-related inventions, and integrated institute-enterprise operations, and officially released multiple major scientific research achievements covering advanced reactors, nuclear medical equipment, and isotope preparation, vigorously promoting the acceleration of nuclear technology from the laboratory to the production line. In the report on reform experience and benchmark incubation platforms, the conference systematically summarized three landmark reform achievements: SASAC Pilot Reform for Empowering Scientific and Technological Achievements from Job-Related Inventions: CIAE used...

2026-09-30

Argonne National Laboratory Achieves Latest Research Progress in Advanced Reactor Passive Safety, Revealing Flow Characteristics of Reactor Cavity Cooling System Using NSTF Facility

A research team at Argonne National Laboratory, under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has achieved the latest research progress on passive shutdown decay heat removal mechanisms for next-generation advanced nuclear reactors. Under unplanned reactor shutdown or sudden emergency accident conditions, nuclear fuel continues to release decay heat. Ensuring continuous and reliable heat removal under complete power loss and without manual intervention is a core issue in the inherent safety design of Generation IV advanced reactors. The Argonne research team recently focused on the transient thermal-hydraulic response characteristics of key passive heat removal systems under realistic dynamic decay heat curves. This...

2026-09-30

Innovating the Safety Review Pathway to Strengthen the Safety Foundation of High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors — National Nuclear Safety Administration Approves Safety Design Criteria for High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors

Recently, the National Nuclear Safety Administration approved the Safety Design Criteria for the High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor of the Jiangsu Xuwei Nuclear Heating and Power Plant (hereinafter referred to as the Safety Design Criteria). This document further refines the specific safety requirements for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, provides a foundational basis for the safety design of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, and serves as an important basis for subsequent safety review. This is China's first approved safety design criteria for small nuclear power reactors (hereinafter referred to as small nuclear power reactors), marking that the safety review of small nuclear power reactors has explored a new pathway led by safety design criteria. I. Relevant Background: The Rapid Development of Small Nuclear Power Reactors Calls for Innovation in Review Methods. In recent years, global advanced nuclear energy technologies have been accelerating their evolution...

2026-09-30

Saskatchewan, Canada Releases Long-Term Nuclear Energy Strategy: Plans to Build 2,600 MW of Nuclear Power by 2050

Scott Moe, Premier of Saskatchewan, Canada, officially announced the province's long-term nuclear energy development plan in Saskatoon on September 29, establishing a strategic goal of building at least 2,600 megawatts (MW) of nuclear power capacity by 2050. Moe emphasized that nuclear energy is not only a zero-carbon clean baseload power source, but also a "nation-building opportunity" that empowers economic growth for generations, will create high-end jobs across the province, attract multinational capital, and ensure long-term electricity stability for households and industry. According to the plan, four core pillars have been established: 1. Build a highly resilient power foundation supporting long-term economic growth: Rely on non-intermittent zero-carbon nuclear energy to address the electricity load gap brought about by society-wide electrification...

2026-09-30

KAERI and IAEA Jointly Hold Research Reactor Ageing Management Training Workshop

On September 28, SPIC's first fully independent full-scope simulator and related independent technologies were released in Beijing, marking that State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) has mastered complete full-scope simulator R&D and supply capabilities. A full-scope simulator is like a mirror of a nuclear power plant; operators performing control actions in the full-scope simulator can obtain realistic feedback in real time. With the help of this digital nuclear power plant that poses no nuclear accident hazard, operators repeatedly hone their daily operation control and accident handling skills, becoming professionals who safeguard the safe and efficient operation of real nuclear power plants. To ensure the training quality of main control room operators at nuclear power plants, the Central Research Institute of SPIC took the lead, together with SNERDI, SNST...

2026-09-28

South Korea Plans to Build a National Collaborative Platform for Offshore Small Modular Reactors

Recently, Professor Seo Jeong of Korea Maritime and Ocean University (KMOU) proposed at the First Offshore Small Modular Reactor Network Conference held at the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency in Busan that the commercialization of offshore Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) cannot rely solely on reactor R&D, and that a national platform linking reactor design, shipbuilding, and offshore testing must be established. The nuclear industry and the shipbuilding industry currently operate in silos, and manufacturers, research institutions, and regulatory bodies should cooperate from an early stage. Seo Jeong stated that shipborne SMRs...

2026-09-29

Unit 7 reactor at China's Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant reaches Minimum Controlled Power Level

According to reports, the reactor of Unit 7 at the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant, built through China-Russia cooperation and using a Russian design, has reached the Minimum Controlled Power Level (MCP). This marks the first time the reactor has entered a self-sustaining controlled chain nuclear reaction state in the core. All technical operations were carried out in accordance with design requirements and the startup plan, under the joint supervision of experts from Russian and Chinese operating, design, and regulatory organizations. Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom, stated that the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant is a model project of Russia-China cooperation. Units 1 and 2, built according to the Russian scheme...

2026-09-29