Global Nuclear News archive — page 5
From Coal Plant to SMR Site: Reading Poland's Pątnów Joint Venture Agreement
ZE PAK, PAK SMR and SGE signed a shareholders' agreement for up to six BWRX-300 units (1,800 MW) at Pątnów, with a PLN 300 million land deal, a EUR 100 million put option and a land buyback right; competition approval and PAA licensing come next.
No Violations Found, Yet the NRC Asked for Improvements: Safety Culture at Palisades
NRC's October 13 letter identified a chilled work environment in the supply chain and quality assurance departments at Palisades, with no violations found; Holtec's independent assessment plan is due November 12.
Tested, Certified, Delivered: How Nuclear Fuel Processes and Large Components Are Proven Before They Reach a Plant
Newcleo opened its €10 million FASTER MOX fuel test center with seven test rigs, while MHI delivered three certified replacement steam generators, each about 21 m tall and 330 t, for EDF's Cruas Unit 2.
The Moment a Nuclear Plant First Joins the Grid: Mochovce Unit 4
Slovenské elektrárne connected Mochovce Unit 4 (471 MWe) to the Slovak grid at 20:41 on October 15, 2026, at 20% reactor power; at rated operation it is expected to generate about 3.5 million MWh a year, roughly 13% of Slovakia's consumption.
Running a Liquid-Fuel Reactor for Real: The U.S. Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment
DOE approved ARDP cost-share support for the final phase of the 150 kW Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment at INL, which targets initial criticality as early as 2027.
Robots Install 480 Reactor Tubes: Inside the Bruce Unit 4 Refurbishment
Bruce Power announced on October 13, 2026 that Bruce Unit 4's Major Component Replacement has completed all 480 calandria tubes, 25 days ahead of Unit 3, with a record 20 tubes in 24 hours; Unit 5's MCR is set to begin in November.
Vogtle's Lessons, Written into the Blueprint: AP1000 Standard Design Rev.20
The NRC published a direct final rule on October 14 renewing the AP1000 design certification with DCD Rev.20, which incorporates 190 previously approved licensing actions from Vogtle 3 and 4 and is scheduled to take effect on December 28 with a 40-year referencing period.
3D-Printed Forms for Nuclear Concrete: Kairos Power's Shielding Demonstrations
ORNL's award-winning CF-ABS forms took about two weeks to design, print and deliver versus about six months for a steel mold, reached 1/16 inch precision, and were demonstrated at full scale at Kairos Power's Oak Ridge site.
Prove It Before You Build It: Poland's "Conditional" AP1000 Module Orders
On October 13, 2026, Westinghouse announced conditional purchase orders with Mostostal Kielce, EPG, Mostostal Krakow and FAMAK for CA02, CA03, CA05 and CA20 floor modules for Lubiatowo-Kopalino Unit 1; the full scope follows NQA-1 certification and successful pre-production qualification mock-ups.
Making Cancer-Medicine Ingredients in a Reactor? Oklo's Groves-2 and Lutetium-177
Oklo announced Groves-2 Forge on October 13, 2026, a demonstration facility combining reactor irradiation with hot cell processing to produce Lu-177, building on 2 g of enriched Yb-176 and its Nuclear Energy Launch Pad selection.