Prodigy Clean Energy and Lloyd’s Register have announced a collaboration to support the deployment of Prodigy’s “transportable nuclear power plants” (TNPPs) in Canada by 2030. Prodigy’s goal is to build marine-based nuclear power plants that are compatible with different end uses and reactor suppliers. What the plants would have in common is offshore siting close to an end user, which could include offshore oil and gas platforms, commercial seaports, mining operations, remote communities, and desalination plants.

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service has finally gained full control over a blaze that started February 14 after a drone struck the protective dome over the destroyed reactor from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant accident.

Idaho National Laboratory recently conducted a safety test on high-burnup fast reactor fuel from historic irradiation testing at the lab’s Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II). According to the Department of Energy, which announced the work March 12, it’s the first such safety test to be performed in over 20 years.

Here is a recap of industry happenings from the recent past:

ADVANCED REACTOR MARKETPLACE

BWRX-300 SMR deployment partnership developed

Several U.S. utility companies and supply chain partners have formed a coalition to accelerate deployment of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300 small modular reactor. The coalition, which has applied for $800 million in funding from the Department of Energy’s Generation III+ SMR program, is led by the Tennessee Valley Authority and includes GEH, Bechtel, BWX Technologies, Duke Energy, Electric Power Research Institute, Indiana Michigan Power, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Sargent & Lundy, Scot Forge, other utilities and advanced nuclear project developers, and the State of Tennessee. TVA previously selected the BWRX-300 SMR for possible deployment at the Clinch River site, near Oak Ridge, Tenn. If the new coalition is awarded the requested DOE funding, TVA intends to accelerate construction of the first SMR at this site by two years, planning for commercial operation by 2033.

Following in the steps of an international push to expand nuclear power capacity, a group of powerhouse corporations signed and announced a pledge today to support the goal of at least tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050.

New commentary on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed 10 CFR Part 53 licensing recommendations for advanced reactors argues that more work is needed to make the framework practical.

As part of a broader series on the future of global energy markets, S&P Global has released a report on examining the growing interest in nuclear power as the solution to many of the problems the energy sector faces.

To read the full details and conclusions of the report, click here.

Applications for the 2025 Nuclear Engineering Student Delegation (NESD) are now open. Student delegates have a unique opportunity to directly engage with policymakers in Washington, D.C., educating them on and advocating for nuclear energy initiatives of critical importance to the United States.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s International Nuclear Information System (INIS) has increased its user friendliness and knowledge expanse by incorporating Invenio, an open-source platform developed by the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is gearing up to tackle an influx of licensing requests and oversight of advanced nuclear reactor technology, especially small modular reactors.

TerraPower has continued to make aggressive progress in several areas for its Natrium Reactor Demonstration Project since the beginning of the year. Natrium is an advanced 345-MWe reactor that has liquid sodium as a coolant, improved fuel utilization, enhanced safety features, and an integrated energy storage system, allowing for a brief power output boost to 500 MWe if needed for grid resiliency. The company broke ground for its first Natrium plant in 2024 near a retiring coal facility in Kemmerer, Wyo.

A new report from the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center follows up on its 2024 workshops with recommendations for deploying advanced nuclear energy in the Appalachian area to spur economic development.

As part of a broader series on the future of the global energy markets, S&P Global has released a new report examining the growing interest in nuclear energy as the solution to many of the problems the energy sector faces.

Seven members of the inaugural Nuclear News 40 Under 40 came together on March 4 to discuss the current state of nuclear energy and what the future might hold for science, industry, and the public in terms of nuclear development.

To hear more insights from this talented group of young professionals, watch the “40 Under 40 Roundtable: Perspectives from Nuclear’s Rising Stars” on the ANS website.

Scientists at Idaho National Laboratory continue to make progress on the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment (MCRE), which entails research and development for the first operational advanced nuclear reactor to use a mixture of molten chloride salt and uranium as fuel and coolant. The experiment is evaluating the safety and physics of the molten chloride fast reactor that Southern Company and TerraPower are planning to build.

Aiming to deploy the nation's first small modular reactor, TerraPower has announced contracts for the final long-lead items needed for its Natrium unit, currently under construction in Wyoming.

Penn State and Westinghouse Electric Company are working together to site a new research reactor on Penn State’s University Park, Pa., campus: Westinghouse’s eVinci, a HALEU TRISO-fueled sodium heat-pipe reactor. Penn State has announced that it submitted a letter of intent to host and operate an eVinci reactor to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on February 28 and plans to engage with the NRC on specific siting decisions. Penn State already boasts the Breazeale reactor, which began operating in 1955 as the first licensed research reactor at a university in the United States. At 70, the Breazeale reactor is still in operation.

The French magnetic confinement fusion tokamak known as WEST maintained a plasma in February for more than 22 minutes—1,337 seconds, to be precise—and “smashed” the previous record plasma duration for a tokamak with a 25 percent improvement, according to the CEA, which operates the machine. The previous 1,006-second record was set by China’s EAST just a few weeks prior. Records are made to be broken, but this rapid progress illustrates a collective, global increase in plasma confinement expertise, aided by tungsten in key components.

A panel on the potential of artificial intelligence to accelerate small modular reactors was held at the World Governments Summit (WGS) in February in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency cohosted the event, which attracted leaders from developers, IT companies, regulators, and other experts.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting a special inspection at Hope Creek nuclear plant in New Jersey to investigate the cause of repeated inoperability of one of the plant’s emergency diesel generators, the agency announced in a February 25 news release.