Nuclear News

Here is a recap of recent industry happenings:

ADVANCED REACTOR MARKETPLACE

Supply chain contract signed for Aurora

Oklo, the California-based developer of the Aurora Powerhouse sodium-cooled fast-neutron reactor, has signed a contract with Siemens Energy that is meant to de-risk supply chain and production timeline challenges for Oklo. Under the terms, Siemens will design and deliver the power conversion system for the Powerhouse, which is to be deployed at Idaho National Laboratory.

Many people are familiar with Godzilla as a giant reptilian monster that emerged from the sea off the coast of Japan, the product of radioactive contamination. These days, there is a new Godzilla, but it has a positive—and entirely fact-based—association with nuclear energy. This one has emerged inside the Tokamak Assembly Preparation Building of ITER in southern France.

The end-of-January spot price for uranium was $94.28 per pound, according to uranium fuel provider Cameco. That was the highest spot price posted by the company since the $95.00 per pound it listed at the end of February 2024. Spot prices during 2025 ranged from a low of $64.23 per pound at the end of March to a high of $82.63 per pound at the end of September.

The University of Michigan’s Fastest Path to Zero Initiative has launched Imaginary Energies, an interactive, generative visualization tool meant to encourage members of the public to imagine future designs for fission and fusion energy power plants. Including a waste management facility on site is as easy as checking a box, and the tool also allows users to add wind, solar, hydro, and other clean-energy facilities. The AI tool was inspired by a design workshop that the university held in 2023.

Ontario Power Generation, Canada's leading power generator, has completed construction work on its massive Darlington refurbishment project, the utility announced yesterday. The overall project is forecast to be delivered four months ahead of schedule and C$150 million (about $110 million) under budget, OPG stated, adding that station staff are now completing final testing on the Unit 4 reactor in preparation of its return to full commercial operation.

A recent $3.5 million philanthropic commitment from the Bezos Earth Fund to the Nuclear Scaling Initiative has put a spotlight on the organization. As the NSI enters its third year with a new cash infusion, now is the perfect time to explore its history, mission, and progress so far.

The Department of Energy has announced that it is establishing a categorical exclusion for the application of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures to the authorization, siting, construction, operation, reauthorization, and decommissioning of advanced nuclear reactors.

According to the DOE, this significant change, which goes into effect today, “is based on the experience of DOE and other federal agencies, current technologies, regulatory requirements, and accepted industry practice.”

Sometimes, cops and robbers is more than just a kid’s game. At the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, researchers are channeling their inner saboteurs to discover vulnerabilities in next-generation nuclear reactors, making sure that they’re as safe as possible before they’re even constructed.

Idaho National Laboratory has brought its newest high‑performance supercomputer, named Teton, online and made it available to users through the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Science User Facilities program. The system, now the flagship machine in the lab’s Collaborative Computing Center, quadruples INL’s total computing capacity and enters service as the 85th fastest supercomputer in the world.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems makes no small plans. The company wants to build a 400-MWe magnetic confinement fusion power plant called ARC near Richmond, Va., and begin operating it in the early 2030s. And the plans don’t end there. CFS wants to deploy “thousands” of fusion power plants capable of accelerating a global energy transition.

As the energy sector faces mounting pressure to grow at an unprecedented pace while maintaining reliability and affordability, nuclear technology remains an essential component of the long-­term solution. Southern Company stands out among U.S. utilities for its proactive role in shaping these next-­generation systems—not just as a future customer, but as a hands-­on innovator.

Nuclear is enjoying a bit of a resurgence. The momentum for reliable energy to support economic development around the country—specifically data centers and AI—remains strong, and strongly in favor of nuclear. And as feature coverage on the states in the January 2026 issue of Nuclear News made abundantly clear, many states now see nuclear as necessary to support rising electricity demand while maintaining a reliable grid and reaching decarbonization goals.

Westinghouse Electric Company will collaborate with Tetra Tech Canada to explore the possible development and deployment of Westinghouse’s nuclear power reactors in Ontario, Canada, under a memorandum of understanding signed by the companies on January 28.

In early 1951, Los Alamos scientists Edward Teller and Stanislaw Ulam devised a breakthrough that would lead to the hydrogen bomb [1]. Their design gave the United States an initial advantage in the Cold War, though comparable progress was soon achieved independently in the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom.

This week, the government of Saskatchewan, alongside electric utility SaskPower, announced plans to formally evaluate the deployment of large nuclear technologies. This process will take place in parallel with the Canadian province’s plans to deploy a small modular reactor.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has announced a partnership with Japan’s Kyoto Fusioneering to develop technology for speeding the deployment of commercial fusion energy through the creation of a breeding blanket test facility. The lab said that the partnership will “leverage ORNL’s expertise in supercomputing, advanced manufacturing, materials science, and fusion research, and complement KF’s UNITY test facilities.”

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has agreed to review an early site permit (ESP) renewal application submitted by Entergy last September for its Grand Gulf site in Mississippi, currently home to one 1,433-MWe boiling water reactor. The initial ESP for the site had been issued in 2007, following a 2003 application submittal.

Building Poland’s nuclear program from the ground up is progressing with the country's first nuclear power plant project: three AP1000 reactors at the Choczewo site in the voivodeship of Pomerania.

Polish state-owned utility Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe has announced some recent developments over the past few months, including turbine island procurement and strengthened engagement with domestic financial institutions, in addition to new data from the country’s Energy Ministry showing record‑high public acceptance, which demonstrates growing nuclear momentum in the country.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management announced it had completed the largest demolition project yet at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., when it took down the final wall of a 325,000-square-foot former uranium enrichment facility last week.

French advanced reactor developer Stellaria has formally submitted an application with the French government for authorization to build a prototype of its fast breeder molten salt reactor concept, known as Stellarium.

The company, which spun out of the country’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and Schneider Electric, filed an application for authorization to create (DAC) for the reactor with the government minister in charge of nuclear safety, making it the first French start-up to submit an application with the authorities for a fast-neutron reactor.