Concept art for a Hermes plant. (Image: Kairos Power)
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced yesterday that it has directed staff to issue construction permits to Kairos Power for the company's proposed Hermes 2 nonpower test reactor facility to be built at the Heritage Center Industrial Park in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The permits authorize Kairos to build a facility with two 35-MWt test reactors that would use molten salt to cool the reactor cores.
Japanese research scientists Sadao Momota (left) and Minoru Tanigaki conducted surveys at the West Valley Demonstration Project to test their radiation detectors. West Valley’s Main Plant Process Building, which is undergoing deconstruction, is shown in the background. (Photo: DOE)
Two research scientists from Japan’s Kyoto University and Kochi University of Technology visited the West Valley Demonstration Project in western New York state earlier this fall to test their novel radiation detectors, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management announced on November 19.
An agreement was signed by IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi (right) and LinkedIn cofounder Allen Blue. (Photo: D.Calma/ IAEA)
A new program called Practical Arrangement, which has been created through a collaboration of the International Atomic Energy Agency and LinkedIn, aims to bring networking and training opportunities to women in the nuclear field. The partnership will provide essential resources, including training, research, and access to LinkedIn’s global network.
Atomic Alchemy's radioisotope production facility (Image: Hillside Architecture)
Oklo Inc. has that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Atomic Alchemy Inc., a U.S.-based radioisotope production company. The two companies announced a strategic partnership earlier this year.
Bernard Fontana (left) of Framatome and Cosmin Ghiță of Nuclearelectrica. (Photo: Framatome)
Framatome and SN Nuclearelectrica, a partially state-owned Romanian nuclear energy company, have entered into a long-term cooperation agreement to produce the medical isotope lutetium-177 at Cernavoda nuclear power plant in Romania. Lu-177 is a beta-emitting radioisotope used in targeted radionuclide therapy for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors and prostate cancer.
The Orano TN-NUHOMS dry fuel storage system at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The system holds 50 canisters of spent nuclear fuel. (Photo: SONGS)
The Department of Energy has started over on the quest for a place to store used fuel. Its new goal, it says, is to foster a national conversation (although this might better be described as many local conversations) about a national problem that can only be solved at the local level with a “consent-based” approach. And while the department is touting the various milestones it has already reached on the way to an interim repository, the program is structured in a way that means its success will not be measurable for years.
INL team removing and staging irradiated ANEEL fuel rodlets in the ATR canal. (Photo: Clean Core)
November 15, 2024, 7:03AMNuclear NewsErhard W. Koehler and Anne Jennings N.S. Savannah, the first commercial nuclear-powered cargo vessel, en route to the World’s Fair in Seattle in 1962. (Photo: U.S. National Archives)
It’s safe to say that readers of Nuclear News are familiar with decommissioning. It’s even safe to assume that experienced decommissioning practitioners are familiar with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and how it applies to typical projects. What’s different about the N.S. Savannah is that the entire project site is a historic property—and in fact, is a federally owned National Historic Landmark (NHL), a status that confers the highest level of protection under law. Federal owners of NHLs are obligated to minimize harm in both planning and actions. Distilled to its salient point, no federal owner of an NHL should destroy it if there’s a reasonable alternative. That level of preservation is not what we normally associate with nuclear decommissioning. This perfectly summarizes the challenges, and opportunities, that decommissioning Savannah offered. The story of how the Maritime Administration (MARAD) managed these two otherwise contradictory processes showcases how historic preservation and decommissioning can positively intersect, provides a pathway for other historic facilities, and further adds to the already illustrious history of one of our nation’s significant 20th century landmarks.
A view of Oklo’s preferred site at INL. (Photo: Oklo)
Oklo Inc. announced yesterday that it has partnered with “two major data center providers” under letters of intent (LOIs) to deliver up to 750 MW of power from multiple 15 MW or 50 MW Oklo microreactors at data centers in “select” undisclosed U.S. markets.
The ASA Nuclear Technology for Marine Propulsion class of 2024 poses at MIT. (All photos: MIT Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering)
Some 30 nuclear engineering departments at universities across the United States graduate more than 900 students every year. These young men and women are the present and future of the domestic nuclear industry as it seeks to develop and deploy advanced nuclear energy technologies, grow its footprint on the power grid, and penetrate new markets while continuing to run the existing fleet of reactors reliably and economically.
Here is a recap of industry happenings from the recent past:
As the United Nations’ COP29 climate summit kicked off this week, President Biden’s administration laid out plans to add 200 GW of nuclear power in the next 25 years through a combination of new reactor deployment, plant restarts, and upgrades at existing sites.
