Greetings!

In this week’s issue, we examine the significant impact that the Iran war is having on the global nuclear regime. We spotlight the second annual Nuclear Energy Innovation Summit of Africa, the primary areas of nuclear development covered, and how the summit demonstrates Africa’s growing interest in nuclear power. Finally, we highlight key nuclear technology, security, and geopolitical developments, reports, and analyses.

This issue of Nuclear News and Views was produced by PGS Program Director, Patrick Kendall, and Della Ratta Energy and Global Security Fellows, Mackenzie Hansen, Gabriela Zanko, and Cate Donovan.

A longer version of this article has been published by The Center for the National Interest and can be found here.

The Iran war has delivered another hammer blow to an already crumbling global nuclear regime. The rapid and destabilizing technological and geopolitical changes of recent years have severely undermined the international order and sent shock waves that are reshaping nuclear energy, security, and weapons policy.

Iran’s Nuclear Challenge

The Iran war has set a precedent for the forcible dismantlement of a sovereign nation’s active nuclear program. Military strikes on nuclear infrastructure are unusual in the history of containing nuclear proliferation and the United States and Israel launched air strikes that incapacitated much of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

This has led to the loss of control of Iran’s fissile material. Iran has produced 400 kilograms of weapon-grade uranium that likely is buried under tons of rubble at the Isfahan nuclear complex. There is a historical precedent for uncertain control of weapons-grade material in the wake of the collapse of the USSR. But that original “loose nukes” problem was remedied through cooperation among the United States, Russia, and the former Soviet states.

Such cooperation seems unlikely in Iran, although an acceptable solution could be for a third party to hold the uranium after removal. But, for the foreseeable future, the United States and Israel may be satisfied to allow the uranium to remain buried under the rubble.

Iran’s nuclear behavior has raised questions about how the international system of the future will respond to nations that skirt the fringes of their peaceful nuclear commitments as members of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

There is already significant pressure on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to safeguard existing nuclear facilities, but as nuclear power expands, the number of new nuclear sites requiring oversight will grow. The agency’s mandate, structure, and budget may not be adequate for this task.

If it cannot offer the necessary control and confidence that nuclear programs won’t morph into threats, coalitions of willing and powerful nations may act in concert to limit atomic transgressions and prevent new nuclear states outside of the traditional international diplomatic framework.

The Middle East’s Nuclear Energy Expansion

The Iran war’s impacts are also rippling through the Middle East with the United States and Saudi Arabia on the path to nuclear energy cooperation that would result in the construction of one or more reactors.

The U.S.-Saudi agreement is an important bellwether for how civil nuclear energy cooperation and future nonproliferation conditions will evolve. Saudi Arabia has two red lines—preserving its right to enrich uranium and its unwillingness to accept the Additional Protocol to its IAEA safeguards agreement.

A Trump administration nonproliferation report stated that the United States would address the Additional Protocol by creating a “Bilateral Safeguards Agreement” to supplement the IAEA safeguards system, with the arrangement unspecified. The agreement may also allow Saudi Arabia to preserve the right to enrich uranium, although the framework surrounding that activity has not been revealed.

These provisions have triggered a backlash because loosening these constraints would reverse years of policy practice that sought to limit the expansion of sensitive nuclear activities. Some in congress are insisting on a “Gold Standard” for this and future nuclear cooperation agreements. That requires a nation to forego enrichment and reprocessing if it wants US nuclear technology. But it is not a requirement under the US Atomic Energy Act, which governs bilateral US nuclear agreements.

While it is unlikely that the United States will undermine its commitment to preventing nuclear proliferation, new global energy security and geopolitical realities are intruding on the old nuclear frameworks. This may require creative new partnerships, policies, and nonproliferation techniques, including adaptations that account for the unique features of advanced reactors.

These reactors have lower power levels and flexible deployment options that are appealing to developing economies with growing energy needs. But they require higher (non-weapons grade) fuel enrichment levels and some are designed to use plutonium.

Emerging Nuclear Challenges

These adaptations and tradeoffs will attract sharp criticism, but they may be necessary to claw back international nuclear market share and keep authoritarian nuclear export competitors, such as Russia and China, at bay. The United States lost its lead in nuclear export decades ago, and it is unlikely that it can regain that role using its old playbook.

And it matters which nation dominates the export of nuclear technology in this century because it has a direct impact on international nuclear governance and its evolution. Russia is the world’s current leader in nuclear reactor and fuel exports. But it has repeatedly attacked civil nuclear infrastructure in Ukraine despite IAEA guidance prohibiting this action. This disregard of the rules has heightened concerns about the vulnerability of civil and military nuclear reactors in conflict zones.

Small reactors can be transported to military forward deployment zones, disaster relief areas, or used to power a variety of civil and military installations. Many of these reactors can be located in remote areas away from traditional security systems. This creates a new dimension in the nuclear security threat environment for which there is not yet a good policy or technology response.

The Iran war has shaken the traditional nuclear regime. It has underscored the inevitability that evolution will be necessary to navigate new nuclear opportunities and challenges. How this evolving nuclear environment is developed, and by who, will determine the safety and security of the global nuclear energy expansion.

Ken Luongo, President, Partnership for Global Security

Spotlight

African leaders, international financial bodies, and global nuclear energy experts convened at the second edition of the Nuclear Energy Innovation Summit for Africa in Rwanda. The Ministerial Roundtables brought together key regional and global leaders to outline concrete pathways for financing and implementing nuclear infrastructure across African newcomer countries. The Director of Technology for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Rober Lisinge, stated that building physical infrastructure and building local talent are equally important for developing nuclear power across the continent.

Nuclear power has been increasingly considered by African countries to expand their power sectors and adopt low-emissions power sources. Currently, only South Africa has operational nuclear power reactors. Additionally, four nuclear reactors are under construction at the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant in Egypt. Countries such as Ghana, Rwanda, and Kenya have recently expressed their interest in building nuclear power plants and have made progress in establishing the groundwork for nuclear energy adoption. On the sidelines of the event, the U.S. and Rwanda signed an MOU on Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation and Holtec International and the Rwanda Atomic Energy Board signed a Development Agreement regarding Holtec’s SMR-300.

Patrick Kendall, Program Director, Partnership for Global Security

Issues of Special Interest

Global AI and Data Center Energy

NextEra Energy is buying Dominion Energy in an all-stock deal worth about $67 billion, creating the largest regulated electric utility in the world. The deal is tied to NextEra’s ongoing goal of becoming a leading player in supplying power for the energy-intensive data center sector. Both utilities have been involved in recent transactions related to data centers, including NextEra’s agreement with Google that will supply the company with power from the restart of the Duane Arnold power plant in Iowa. Meanwhile, Dominion Energy currently operates four nuclear power plants in the United States.

Following the gathering of nuclear energy leaders at the Texas Nuclear Symposium, experts have raised the alarm regarding Texas’ shortage of nuclear personnel. According to the experts, the state will need more than 10,000 people for advanced nuclear jobs in the next three to five years in order to meet the energy demand from more than 70 data centers that are either operating or planned between Temple and San Antonio. Texas is currently home to two active nuclear power sites, and the state government created the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group to build a plan on how the state can build its nuclear industry.

French nuclear utility Électricité de France (EDF) has joined a group of companies in the AION consortium which is seeking to establish a European AI Gigafactory in France. According to the consortium, France would be a strategic choice to host a European AI facility due to its abundant low-carbon electricity sources from a mix of nuclear and hydroelectric power. AION was launched in 2025 by European AI provider Scaleway as a means of deploying AI infrastructure for Europe and securing European autonomy in the AI value chain.

The Impact of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine on International Nuclear Affairs

The IAEA reported that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has depended on a single backup power line for more than seven weeks after its main external power connection was disconnected in March, increasing concerns about the plant’s vulnerability. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the agency is working with both Ukraine and Russia to arrange a localized ceasefire so repairs to damaged power infrastructure can be carried out safely. The agency also warned that military activity around Ukrainian nuclear facilities has intensified, with more than 160 drones recently observed near several nuclear sites, although no direct nuclear safety impacts were reported.​

Russia

Construction has begun on the turbine and generator foundation for the BREST-OD-300, a lead-cooled fast neutron reactor being developed as part of Russia’s advanced nuclear energy program. The concrete pouring process will occur in three stages and use more than 620 cubic meters of concrete, while embedded monitoring components will track any movement in the structure once the reactor is operational. The BREST-OD-300 reactor is a central part of Rosatom’s “Breakthrough” project, which aims to demonstrate a closed nuclear fuel cycle that includes fuel fabrication, reprocessing, and reactor operation at a single site.

Construction workers have completed the concrete pouring for the foundation slab of reactor unit 3 at the Kursk II nuclear power plant in western Russia. The foundation required more than 9,000 cubic meters of concrete and involved continuous work over several days to ensure the structural integrity of the reactor building. The Kursk II project is intended to replace the aging reactors at the existing Kursk nuclear power plant and expand the region’s long-term electricity generation capacity.

China

China and Russia signed three bilateral memoranda of understanding (MoU) relating to nuclear energy during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping. One deal will see the two countries cooperate on developing human resources and exchanging best practices in training personnel for their nuclear industries. A separate MoU will strengthen collaboration in nuclear fusion and accelerator technology. China and Russia have previously collaborated on nuclear power projects such as the construction of reactors at the Tianwan and Xudabao power plant sites in China.

Construction is underway at Taipingling unit 4, the fourth of six planned HPR1000 (Hualong One) units at the nuclear power plant in the southern Guangdong province. The site’s unit 1 was connected to the grid this past February and entered commercial operation in April. Fuel loading at unit 2 was completed in early May. Construction was approved for units 3 and 4 in December 2023, and construction on unit 3 began in June 2024.

Europe

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her government is preparing to launch a new framework in the coming months that aims to reintroduce nuclear power in Italy’s energy mix. Meloni added that the enabling law for adopting nuclear power will be approved by the summer of this year as well as implementing decrees to create the legal framework for the resumption of nuclear power. In October of last year, Italy’s Council of Ministers approved a bill delegating responsibility to the government for the reintroduction of nuclear power in Italy. Italy closed its last operating plants back in 1990.

The President of Poland’s National Atomic Energy Agency (PAA), Andrzej Głowacki, has determined that the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site is a suitable location for Poland’s first nuclear power plant. The preliminary site assessment covered several areas such as the geological conditions of the site, external events resulting from human activity in the area, and the ability to implement emergency plans in the event of a radiation incident. The Polish government announced the towns of Lubiatowo and Kopalino as the preferred location for the country’s first nuclear power plant in 2021.

The first phase of concrete pouring has been completed for the reactor building refurbishment project at Unit 1 of Romania’s Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant. The work is part of a long-term modernization effort intended to extend the reactor’s operating life by another 30 years. Romanian nuclear company Nuclearelectrica said the project remains on schedule, with preparatory and infrastructure activities continuing ahead of the unit’s planned outage for full refurbishment work.

The United Kingdom National Audit Office warned the financing and delivery model for the Sizewell C nuclear project places substantial financial risks on taxpayers and electricity consumers. The watchdog said the project’s benefits could be significant, but uncertainty remains over whether it will stay on budget and avoid delays, particularly given the history of cost overruns at similar nuclear projects. The NAO recommended close government oversight, greater transparency, and careful monitoring to ensure the project delivers value for money and avoids excessive public financial exposure.

Swedish company Blykalla applied to begin construction of an experimental small modular reactor facility in Sweden. The proposed plant, called SEALER-One, would use lead-cooled reactor technology and is intended to demonstrate the company’s advanced SMR design. According to the article, the application was submitted to Sweden’s Radiation Safety Authority and marks a significant regulatory step toward commercial deployment of the technology. Blykalla said the project is aimed at supporting future fossil-free energy production and strengthening long-term energy security in Sweden.

The Netherlands and Belgium have signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen their cooperation on nuclear energy. The MoU stipulates that the two countries will work on a broader and development base and intensify knowledge exchange between both governments and companies in the nuclear energy sector. Belgium and the Netherlands both have nuclear power facilities, with the current Dutch government placing nuclear power at the heart of its climate energy policy and Belgium recently extending operations of its last reactors.

Switzerland’s Federal Council adopted a report which concluded that operating the Gösgen and Leibstadt Nuclear Power Plants for 80 years would be technically feasible and even financially profitable under various scenarios. The report examines the regulatory, financial, and energy policy conditions necessary to enable the safe long-term operation of the two plants beyond 60 years. Switzerland currently has three nuclear power plants: Beznau, Gösgen, and Leibstadt.

Switzerland’s Paul Scherrer Institute is carrying out experiments to improve simulations of passive cooling systems for small modular reactors (SMRs). The research is part of the EU-SMR-LFR project, which supports development of lead-cooled fast reactor technology in Europe. Scientists are collecting thermal-hydraulic data to validate computer models that predict how reactors would remove heat during emergency conditions without active cooling systems. The findings are expected to strengthen the reliability of safety assessments and support future licensing and deployment of advanced SMR designs.

Framatome has signed a technical cooperation agreement with the Czech Republic’s Research Centre Řež to facilitate the operation of the Centre’s research reactors with different nuclear fuel types. The new agreement will set up a joint working group to carry out preparatory work and establish the basis for cooperation in the management of research reactor fuel. The partnership is aimed at supporting the safe and sustainable operation of the Czech Republic’s LVR-15 and LR-0 reactors in Prague.

The Finnish city of Jyväskylä has become the fourth municipality in the country to explore the use of small modular reactors (SMRs) for district heating. Finnish developer Steady Energy and municipal utility Alva-yhtiöt Oy have launched a year-long study examining the feasibility, regulation, siting, costs, and public acceptance of nuclear-based heating. The project centers on Steady Energy’s LDR-50 reactor design, which is intended specifically for heat production rather than electricity generation.

Asia & The Pacific

According to three officials familiar with the matter, India’s government plans to reduce the size of exclusion zones around nuclear power plants in order to free up land for reactor expansions and attract private investment. India’s atomic energy regulator and the Department of Atomic Energy have reportedly approved an “in principle” plan to reduce these buffers and potentially cut the land needs for large reactors by half and small units by two-thirds. Currently, all nuclear reactors in India have a buffer of about 1 kilometer where no habitation or economic activity is allowed.

Tata Power CEO Praveer Sinha has told company shareholders that it is advancing its plans for small modular reactors (SMR), adding that the company is working with the governments of three Indian states where it has identified land for a potential nuclear project. Tata Power is one of six companies that expressed interest under the Nuclear Power Corporation of India’s (NPCIL) request for proposals to finance and build a proposed fleet of Bharat small reactors. The company is now in the process of preparing detailed project reports in collaboration with NPCIL.

India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) announced it has approved the restart and continued operation of the Tarapur Nuclear Power Plant unit 2 following the completion of refurbishments undertaken by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL). The reactor is now set to operate for an additional 10 years. Elsewhere, NTPC Limited is also ready to submit its first feasibility study to the Department of Atomic Energy for a nuclear project and has received the go-ahead from the Bihar state government to conduct another feasibility study.

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Southern Nuclear Operating Company for cooperation in the field of nuclear engineering. Under the agreement, both companies plan to strengthen their partnership by operating technology exchange programs, holding workshops, and sharing practices to improve operational performance. KHNP operates 26 nuclear power reactors which generate almost one-third of South Korea’s electricity, and Southern Nuclear operates 8 nuclear reactor units in the United States.

South Korea and the United States are set to launch bilateral working groups on nuclear-powered submarines and other nuclear cooperation issues. The moves mark the clearest signs that the two countries are implementing the agreements reached during last year’s summit such as cooperation to acquire nuclear-powered submarines and expand South Korea’s civilian nuclear fuel capabilities. The working groups are also expected to focus on goals such as civilian uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing.

Bangladesh has completed the process of loading 163 nuclear fuel assemblies into the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant after beginning the fuel loading on April 28. The reactor is expected to be brought to its minimum controllable power level in the near future, with tests and checks taking place before the power start-up and further tests before increasing its power levels to full capacity. Russia and Bangladesh originally signed an agreement in 2011 for the construction of two reactors at Rooppur, and the first batch of nuclear fuel was delivered to the site in 2023.

Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev said Russia is ready to offer Indonesia a comprehensive approach to developing the country’s national nuclear program with technology ranging from gigawatt-scale units to small modular reactors (SMR) and floating power plants. His comments came after meeting with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and discussing areas of cooperation in nuclear energy. Indonesia currently operates three research reactors and has been considering developing nuclear power for the past several years.

Africa

Holtec International and the Rwanda Atomic Energy Board signed a development agreement to work together on the deployment of small modular reactors in Rwanda. Through the agreement, the two sides will work to deploy Holtec’s SMR-300 units with a potential total capacity of up to 5 gigawatts. Additionally, Rwanda signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States on civil nuclear cooperation during the Nuclear Energy Innovation Summit for Africa held in Kigali.

South Africa's ‌state power utility Eskom has begun exploratory talks with the World Bank over financing a multibillion-dollar nuclear program. Eskom aims to add up to 5.2 gigawatts of new capacity, 4.8 gigawatts from pressurized water reactors, and 400 megawatts from SMRs. To secure capital for the deployment, Eskom is seeking backing from partners including commercial banks, the African Development Bank and the World Bank, and through public-private partnerships and vendor financing. The World Bank ended its ban on nuclear energy financing in June 2025.

The Middle East

A drone strike sparked a fire on the edge of the United Arab Emirates’ Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in what the Emirati government called an unprovoked terrorist attack. There were no reported injuries or radiological release from the strike. Although the government did not attribute direct blame for the attack, it has recently accused Iran of launching several drone and missile attacks on Emirati targets as part of the ongoing war. The ongoing ceasefire between the United States and Iran has been tenuous as diplomatic efforts have faltered in recent weeks.

Russian nuclear company Rosatom is continuing construction work on units 2 and 3 at Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant despite recent regional conflict. Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev said the reactor for unit 2 is more than 60% complete, while the associated steam generators are halfway finished, with shipment of major equipment expected to begin next year. The report added that Bushehr unit 1 remains fully operational, while Iran and Russia continue broader nuclear cooperation efforts that include additional reactor construction and small modular reactor development.

South & Central America

A team from the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) removed all remaining high-enriched uranium (HEU) from a legacy RV-1 research reactor in Venezuela. Working in close cooperation with the IAEA, the NNSA team securely packaged the 30 pounds of uranium enriched beyond 20% in a US-supplied spent fuel case. The cask was transported over 100 miles by road with protection from the Venezuelan military to a port, where it was transferred to a specialized carrier supplied by Nuclear Transport Solutions of the UK.

North America Nuclear Collaborations and Policy

United States

The Department of Energy announced the selection of 8 companies to support the near-term deployment of advanced light-water small modular reactors (SMR) in the United States, with the awardees receiving more than $94 million in federal cost-shared funding. Some of the companies selected for funding are Constellation Energy, the Nebraska Public Power District, BWX Technologies (BWXT), and Scot Forge Company. The Department of Energy previously issued a $900 million solicitation to de-risk the deployment of SMRs as part of the U.S. government’s push to expand the U.S. nuclear sector.

According to a State Department letter sent to Democratic Senator Edward Markey, the proposed U.S. pact with Saudi Arabia on its development of nuclear power lacks the strictest guardrails that Democratic lawmakers have advocated for. The letter indicates the pact will require the two sides to forge a bilateral safeguards agreement that would substitute for the IAEA’s Additional Protocol, which allows for intrusive nuclear inspections. The details of the bilateral arrangement have not been made public. Previously, a dozen Democratic lawmakers wrote to State Secretary Marco Rubio urging him to push for the IAEA’s broad oversight of Saudi Arabia’s nuclear energy activities.

The Department of Energy is reportedly considering a plan to offer utilities billions of dollars in financing to secure components of large nuclear reactors. Since certain items such as reactor vessels and steam generators can take years to create and deliver, this effort could reduce the time it takes to build Westinghouse AP1000 reactors. Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) CEO Maria Korsnick stated that the plan will help several utility companies that are interested in the deployment of AP1000 reactors.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved the key environmental review for X-energy’s first project to build four Xe-100 reactors at Dow’s UCC Seadrift Operations complex in Texas. The NRC conducted an environmental assessment of the proposed project and concluded the plant would have no significant impact on the surrounding environment, and X-energy expects NRC staff to issue recommendations on the safety review in November of this year. The project is expected to be the first grid-scale advanced nuclear reactor dedicated to powering an industrial site in North America.

Constellation Energy stated it is hoping that U.S. regulators will issue a decision as early as next month that will determine when the company’s Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant can restart. Constellation is aiming to revive Three Mile Island unit 1, rebranded as the Crane Clean Energy Center, and the power plant’s restart is being done under a contract to supply Microsoft with electricity. Initial feedback from PJM, the regional electricity transmission organization covering Pennsylvania, indicated that the grid might not be prepared to accept power from the plant until 2031.

HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding subsidiary has been selected as the preferred manufacturer for TerraPower’s Natrium reactor enclosure system components as part of a series of agreements aimed at commercializing and deploying a fleet of Natrium reactors. A separate agreement was signed between TerraPower, HD Hyundai, and Hyundai Engineering and Construction to collaborate on the manufacturing and construction of multiple Natrium units. TerraPower currently plans to deploy up to 8 Natrium reactors by 2035.

The Nuclear Company has launched the NOS Security platform, a next-generation cybersecurity platform designed specifically for the nuclear industry. The platform is meant to modernize the protection of nuclear energy infrastructure, construction sites, and operating facilities across the United States and allied nations. The system combines AI-enabled monitoring, autonomous robotics, advanced sensing systems, and real-time operational intelligence into a single platform.

The Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration agency has launched an initiative to develop small modular reactors (SMR) for use in commercial shipping. As a first step, the Maritime Administration has issued a Request for Information that calls on innovators and industry stakeholders to develop an SMR model that can power the United States’ marine fleet. To support the deployment of maritime SMRs, the agency will collaborate with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Energy, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Deep Fission has announced plans for an initial public offering of shares, which values around $1.66 billion, and is also planning to raise around $156 million in listing on the Nasdaq exchange. The company plans to use the net proceeds for general working capital and corporate purposes including toward the engineering, research and development, licensing and construction of its first pilot nuclear reactor. Deep Fission’s Gravity reactor is a small modular reactor (SMR) designed to be placed underground in an optimized borehole.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has accepted the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s application to construct the KRONOS micro-modular reactor on its campus, thus launching a detailed safety and environmental review of the project. NANO Nuclear said it expects the NRC formal review to be completed in 2027 and allow for the opportunity to begin nuclear construction activities in the second half of that year. NANO Nuclear signed a strategic collaboration with the University of Illinois in 2025 to build the first research KRONOS reactor.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency successfully completed the transfer of 1.7 tons of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) from Japan to the United States. The fuel was originally intended to fuel Japan’s Fast Critical Assembly facility and will now be reconstituted into a usable form at the NNSA’s Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This was hailed by both countries as a pivotal step in enhancing global nuclear security and supporting the U.S. domestic supply chain.

Fermi America’s shares have fallen over 80% from their October 2025 IPO price, casting a shadow of doubt over the company’s prospects after an initial period of optimism. The company also reported a $189 million net loss for the first quarter of, and its market value has shrunk to less than $5 billion. Fermi America has experienced significant internal upheaval, such as the removal of former CEO Tony Neugebauer, and has also failed to secure deals such as the previously proposed data center agreement with Amazon.

Canada

Ontario has directed the Independent Electricity System Operator to enter into a $220 million cost-sharing and recovery agreement to fund pre-development work for Bruce Power’s Bruce C new nuclear project. The pre-development work consists of readiness activities such as technology selection, workforce and commercial planning, estimating the cost of site preparation activities, developing cooling water strategies, and community readiness/Impact Assessment work. The proposed Bruce C new nuclear project would have a capacity of 4.8 gigawatts.

First American Nuclear Company (FANCO) and AtkinsRéalis have agreed to work together to establish a scalable framework for deploying FANCO’s EAGL-1 small modular reactor (SMR) and associated fuel facilities. AtkinsRéalis will serve as the exclusive engineering, procurement, and construction management provider for EAGL-1 projects in North America. AtkinsRéalis has served as the architect-engineer for several other projects such as the Darlington nuclear power plant project in Ontario, Canada.

Mexico

There are no new updates for this region.

New Research

Nuclear Waste Cleanup: DOE Shortages in Mission-Critical Positions Have Continued to Increase

Government Accountability Office, May 19

Improving the Efficiency of NRC Power Reactor Licensing: ACRS Reviews

Center on Global Energy Policy, May 11

Op-Eds & Articles

Meloni’s Push to Revive Nuclear Power Runs into Italy’s Old Ghosts

E&E News, May 21

From Policy to Power: One Year After Trump’s Nuclear Executive Orders

The National Interest, May 20

How Trump’s EO 14300 Is Reshaping NRC Nuclear Licensing and Regulation

POWER Magazine, May 20

Why NASA Wants to Build a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon

Scientific American, May 19

Poland’s Nuclear Program: A Model for Energy Independence Through Strategic Localization

Bechtel, May 18

The Race to Develop American-Made Nuclear Fuel

E&E News, May 18

How Trump’s Nuclear Executive Orders Jump-Started the US Nuclear Revival

The National Interest, May 18

Nuclear Power in Africa: Opportunities for the Future

IAEA, May 15

A Nuclear Power Future Has Bipartisan Backing in Kentucky. But Not Everyone Is Sold

Kentucky Lantern, May 14

Wyoming Uranium Industry Could Boom With Taiwan’s Embrace of Nuclear

Cowboy State Daily, May 12

China’s Nuclear Energy Priorities Under Its 15^th Five-Year Plan

Center for Strategic & International Studies, May 11

A New Regulatory Paradigm for Advanced Nuclear Energy

The National Interest, May 10

Will The Trump Administration’s ‘Nuclear Campus’ Plan Break the US Nuclear Waste Gridlock?

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May 6

The Regulatory Pathway Puzzle in Advanced Nuclear Energy

The National Interest, May 6

News items and summaries compiled by:

Patrick Kendall, Program Director, Partnership for Global Security

Gabriela Zanko, Della Ratta Fellow, Partnership for Global Security

Cate Donovan, Della Ratta Fellow, Partnership for Global Security