Greetings Patrick!

In this week’s issue, we discuss the recent agreements between tech companies and nuclear power developers, while also analyzing the licensing and financial obstacles facing these projects’ deployment. We spotlight an editorial article from the American Nuclear Society that examines how green bonds can be utilized to finance the expansion of nuclear energy and the obstacles facing the global investments in nuclear energy projects going forward. 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 Fellow, Emily Day.

There’s been an eruption of agreements between tech companies and nuclear power providers and developers driven by the growing need for zero-carbon, continuous energy for data centers and AI computing needs. This has turned the spotlight to how these projects will actually get deployed and where the money for them is going to come from.

The 20-year power purchase agreement between Microsoft and Constellation Energy will result in the restart of Three Mile Island Unit 1. This plant was retired in 2019 for economic competitiveness reasons and has a generating capacity of 837 MW. While this power will flow through the grid, Microsoft will be able to count all of it as clean energy for its operations. The goal is to reopen the plant by 2028.

Constellation will invest $1.6 billion to refurbish the TMI plant and is seeking a U.S. government loan guarantee for that amount. That is under evaluation, but the Department of Energy has already finalized a $1.52 billion loan guarantee to Holtec for the restart of the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan.

Advanced reactor company X-energy recently announced an agreement with Amazon to deploy up to 5 GW of nuclear power by 2039. The X-energy Xe-100 is a small modular High-Temperature Gas Reactor that uses TRISO particle fuel and has an output of 80 MW.

Part of this deal is the unprecedented agreement by Amazon to invest $500 million in X-energy to support the completion of its reactor design, licensing process, and TRISO fuel fabrication plant in Tennessee. The initial goal is for 320 MW produced by four plants in central Washington state near Hanford. That could increase to twelve plants and 960 MW.

X-energy previously entered into a joint development agreement with Dow to provide four reactors to power the Seadrift Site in Texas. They will provide process heat and energy to the site. Under the JDA, Dow has invested $25 million for engineering work. Operation of the reactor at Seadrift is expected by 2030.



Kairos Power and Google also have entered into a partnership for the deployment of a fleet of advanced reactors that can provide 500 MW by 2035. Under the Power Purchase Agreement, Kairos will provide clean energy to Google’s data centers beginning in 2030.

The Kairos Power FHR is a TRISO-fueled pebble bed reactor with molten salt as the coolant. It has an output of 150 Mwe. Kairos has broken ground on the Hermes demonstration reactor at Oak Ridge national laboratory which will be the test bed for the commercial reactor.

In addition, TerraPower began non-nuclear construction work at the Kemmerer, Wyoming site where the first Natrium reactor will be located. This reactor is a 345 MW sodium-cooled fast reactor that is paired with a molten salt energy storage system. TerraPower’s founder, Bill Gates has invested over $1 billion in the technology and is prepared to provide billions more.

Outside the U.S., the Rolls Royce SMR, Holtec SMR 300, BWRX-300, and Westinghouse AP-300 are in the running for support from the British government as it seeks to deploy small modular reactors.

In Canada, the ARC-100 reactor has been proposed for construction at New Brunswick’s Point Lepreau nuclear power station and the Moltex Stable Salt Reactor has received government financial support.

In Romania and other Eastern European nations, as well as in Ghana in Africa, the NuScale SMR is under consideration for deployment and training centers have been established.

Much of this activity has been further boosted by the commitment by major banks at NY Climate Week to support the goal of tripling global nuclear power by 2050. Although the commitment to specific projects was absent from that pledge. This raises the question of how to build on these positive developments and achieve the sustained scale of financing that is required to build more nuclear reactors.

One challenge is that just in the list of deals to date there are five different molten salt reactor designs and multiple units of each in private deals and five different LEU-fueled SMRs that are under consideration for various deployments. This is in addition to the larger Westinghouse AP-1000s designated for Poland and perhaps other nations.

This kind of diversity of projects can create challenges in the licensing process and could create concern in the financing community about the ability to overcome front-end risk and the ability to build fleets of reactors in a way that would reduce costs and assure timelines.

The recent U.S. DoE Nuclear Energy Liftoff report offered cautions about this technology diversity and some suggestion for how these challenges can be tackled. One creative solution is green bonds.

Also, both the U.S. EXIM bank and the Development Finance Corporation are in line for reauthorization next year which could be an opportunity to provide more funds to support nuclear exports.

But it will require tens of billions of dollars in private-public partnership to support the expansion of domestic construction and export of American reactors. At the moment, the U.S. government does not have this scale of financing available for deployment at home or abroad. And the banks are not charities.

So, while the power deal announcements are clear and important the financing commitments remain murky and in need of clarity.

Ken Luongo, President, Partnership for Global Security

Spotlight

Three authors wrote an editorial for the American Nuclear Society on the financing of future nuclear power projects through green bonds. In recent years, green bonds have been reliable in the world of clean energy finance and are increasingly being used to power much-needed growth in the civil nuclear sector. Green bonds in the nuclear sector have thus far been focused on the refurbishment and life extension of existing nuclear facilities, although companies such as Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Bruce Power are now seeking to incorporate new nuclear energy reactor builds into green bond frameworks. These developments underscore the trend of nuclear energy being increasingly recognized as a key player in the global transition to clean energy.

Despite this interest, the authors note that all green bond issuers intending to deploy proceeds for nuclear power are well-capitalized companies (either solely or, in the case of Finland’s TVO, in tandem under a Mankala model) that can provide the source of repayment. This detail indicates that green bonds are currently insufficient to fund construction for less capitalized project developers looking to develop nuclear power projects, which can only consider green bonds as a refinancing option once the project is generating revenues after commercial operation commences. Nonetheless, the article maintains its support for green bonds being used to fund both the refurbishment of existing reactors and the construction of new ones in order to shape a more sustainable and resilient energy landscape.

Patrick Kendall, Program Director, Partnership for Global Security

Ukraine has urgently appealed to the European Union for assistance, warning of potential Russian strikes on its nuclear facilities that could lead to "catastrophic consequences”. Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko's letter to EU energy chief Kadri Simson emphasized the threat to Kyiv's remaining operational nuclear plants, which are crucial for the country's power supply. Any successful attacks could critically impair energy production, leading to widespread outages and raising the risk of nuclear incidents. The bloc’s energy ministers are set to discuss Ukraine’s energy security for the winter at a meeting in Luxembourg next week.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued renewed warnings on the safety of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant after it lost a back-up power link for 36 hours recently. The IAEA highlighted ongoing concerns, noting that fighting around the Russian-occupied plant continues to threaten its critical power supply. The plant has faced eight external power losses during the conflict, forcing reliance on diesel generators, and recent shelling at a nearby substation further underscores the fragile situation.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has restored a 150 kV back-up power line, improving its connection to off-site electricity amidst ongoing instability. The line, damaged by shelling last month, was repaired and is now available as a contingency to support reactor cooling and essential functions, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Despite the restoration, the plant's electricity supply remains vulnerable, as conflict-related disruptions continue to impact its main power lines.

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) launched a new safety project focused on restoring safety, security, and infrastructure at the site, with Ukrainian company UTEM-Engineering acting as a consultant. The project, funded by the International Chernobyl Cooperation Account, will assess the current condition of the New Safe Confinement and the sarcophagus to plan the dismantling of unstable structures. This initiative continues decades-long efforts to contain and safely decommission the remains of the reactor following the 1986 nuclear disaster.

Italy is exploring partnerships with U.S. firm Westinghouse and Électricité de France (EDF) to support its plans to build advanced nuclear reactors, signaling a shift from its long-standing nuclear ban. The government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, aims to draft new regulations by the end of the year to allow modern nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors, to help decarbonize key industrial sectors. Despite previous referendums prohibiting nuclear energy, Italy sees nuclear power as a cost-effective solution to reduce emissions by 2050. In July, EDF and Edison signed a memorandum of understanding with Italian state-owned Ansaldo Nucleare and the association of Italian steel makers Federacciai for the use of nuclear power in the sector.

Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Holtec International are partnering to enter Great British Nuclear’s (GBN) ongoing small modular reactor (SMR) technology tender project. Hyundai E&C and Holtec’s consortium will now be competing against GE Hitachi, Westinghouse, and Rolls-Royce SMR for the tender, which GBN plans to announce two finalists for by the end of the year and begin building SMRs shortly afterwards. GBN aims to boost the United Kingdom’s atomic power capacity to 24 gigawatts by 2050 through SMRs.

Slovak power utility Slovenské Elektrárne (SE) has received a $5 million grant from the U.S. government to support site selection for small modular reactors (SMRs) in Slovakia. The funding, part of the Nuclear Expediting the Energy Transition (NEXT) project, will aid in technical consultations, academic partnerships, and strategic planning for SMR deployment. This initiative builds on earlier U.S. support under Project Phoenix, aimed at assessing the feasibility of repurposing former coal plant sites for new nuclear technology.

U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric Company and Canada's Seaspan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on manufacturing components for nuclear reactors, including the AP1000 and AP300, to support projects in Canada and worldwide. Seaspan's expertise in complex fabrication and large-scale projects aligns with Westinghouse's requirements for advanced reactors. This partnership strengthens Westinghouse's Canadian supply network and reflects ongoing efforts to expand nuclear capabilities with new reactor technologies.

The Philippines and South Korea have agreed to conduct a feasibility study on the possible rehabilitation of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. The Philippines’ Department of Energy and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the feasibility study that will start in January 2025 and assess the facility’s condition before evaluating if it can be refurbished and restarted. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has sought to both restart the Bataan facility and expand the country’s nuclear energy sector, aiming to have its first power plants operational by 2032.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) and the United Kingdom’s National Nuclear User Facility (NNUF) successfully fabricated test capsules made of advanced metal alloys and graphite for use in future advanced reactors. The capsules will now undergo irradiation testing later this year at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in the United States. The project is a joint effort between the two organizations to foster nuclear energy resource sharing between the two countries and advance civilian nuclear energy technologies.

Meralco and Samsung C&T signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on nuclear energy development in the Philippines, marking a strategic partnership during the Philippines-Korea Business Forum. The agreement aims to enhance Meralco's understanding of nuclear technology, regulatory frameworks, and infrastructure requirements, potentially including a pilot project. This collaboration aligns with the Philippine government's broader efforts to integrate nuclear energy, highlighted by a separate feasibility study on reviving the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.

The European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors (SMR) has identified nine SMR projects it will support as its first batch of project working groups (PWG). This effort marks a significant step toward the alliance’s goal of deploying SMR technologies across Europe by the early 2030s. Among the companies working on these projects include Électricité de France (EDF), Rolls-Royce SMR, Ansaldo Nucleare, and NuScale. Under the PWGs, they will have the opportunity to foster collaboration among various stakeholders ensuring that technical, regulatory, and logistical challenges are efficiently addressed.

The IAEA conducted its first-ever Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission on its own internal radiation safety regulatory framework. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi requested the mission last year in order to set a better example for international radiation safety standards, and the mission was made up of IAEA staff, as well as senior regulatory experts from 10 different countries. The review team concluded that the IAEA’s regulatory program for radiation, transport, and waste safety was well-established and demonstrated the agency’s strong commitment to upholding international safety standards.

Orano’s Director of Customer and Strategy Jacques Peythieu stated that the European Union’s lack of clarity regarding Russian nuclear fuel imports is holding back investment in new uranium enrichment plants. Peythieu added that while the United States is aiming for zero Russian imports starting in 2028, Europe has been more timid on the subject and has not laid out a clear policy on the matter. Russian nuclear agency Rosatom currently accounts for 43% of installed uranium enrichment capacity globally, and the long-term prices for enriched uranium in Europe has risen from $60 per separation work unit (SWU) before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to $166 per SWU today.

Kazakhstan’s citizens voted in the country’s recent referendum on the construction of a new nuclear power plant, with preliminary results showing that 71.12% of the votes are in favor of a nuclear plant. Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, announced last year that a referendum would be held on the issue, stating that nuclear power could help meet the country’s rapidly growing energy needs but that any decision on nuclear power must be taken with the support of the people. Kazakhstan is currently the world’s leading producer of uranium but has not operated a nuclear power plant since the Aktau power plant closed in 1999.

Protestors in Kenya rallied against the government’s proposal to build the country’s first nuclear power plant in Kilifi County, which is one of Kenya’s top coastal tourist hubs. Residents worry that a nuclear plant in Kilifi would impact the region’s tourism economy, as well as potentially affect the health of both its residents and the environment. Kenya is planning to build a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant worth $3.8 billion starting in 2027, with the goal of becoming operational by 2034.

Australia will invest billions of dollars over the next two decades to expand its shipyard near Perth that will become the maintenance hub for its nuclear-powered AUKUS submarine fleet. The government will make an initial investment of $85 million over three years to upgrade facilities at the Henderson shipyard near Perth, with the overall deal expected to cost Australia around $245.8 billion. The AUKUS defense pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States will see Australia buy up to five nuclear-powered submarines from the United States before jointly building and operating a new-class submarine.

The Canadian government announced funding of $13.6 million from Canada’s Enabling Small Modular Reactors program for nine research projects that are intended to promote the commercial development of SMRs. Some of the projects include one led by Chemetics to support the research and development of SMR fabrication, a Prodigy Clean Energy project to support research and development to enable transportable nuclear power plants, and one led by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) to enhance the compatibility of its Adaptive Phase Management program with Canada’s upcoming deployment of SMRs. Canada is targeting a net-zero electricity grid by 2035 and has been financially supportive of deploying new nuclear power.

Japanese regional utility Chugoku Electric Power stated that its Shimane 2 nuclear reactor will restart in early December of this year, connecting to the grid by the end of the year before entering commercial operations in January 2025. The Shimane 2 reactor was shut down in 2012 following the Fukushima disaster a year prior, and it was scheduled to resume this August before its operator pushed back the restart due to required safety upgrade work. Japan’s government has been trying to restart more nuclear plants, but strict regulations and some local opposition has limited these restarts.

A spokesperson for the World Nuclear Association, Henry Preston, expressed his support for Italy’s decision to draft nuclear energy legislation by early 2025 and reverse its existing ban on nuclear power. Preston added that reversing the ban on nuclear energy would be pivotal for its energy transition and carbon neutrality ambitions and that there are no cases of countries without access to vast resources of geothermal and hydropower energy to significantly reduce fossil fuels without deploying nuclear power. Italy’s current government is seeking to reverse the ongoing ban on nuclear energy that has been in place since 1987.

Calgary-based company Energy Alberta is working on a new proposal for a nuclear power plant project in northern Alberta. The President and CEO of Energy Alberta, Scott Henuset, told CBC News that the project details are still being finalized, but the company’s plan is to build a nuclear power plant with as many as five Candu reactors with a lifespan of 60-70 years and a maximum output of 4,800 megawatts for the entire plant. A specific site has yet to be chosen, but the company is evaluating multiple locations north of the town of Peace River in Alberta.

A team of IAEA scientists arrived in Fukushima, Japan, as part of its annual monitoring and sampling mission to ensure the safety of treated radioactive water being discharged into the sea. The IAEA team will take samples from the plant, coastal waters, and a fish market in a nearby city, as well as visit a national laboratory to meet with Japanese officials. Japan began discharging wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in August 2023, although its plans have caused tensions with surrounding countries such as South Korea and China.

An IAEA team of experts completed its Safety Aspects of Long-Term Operation (SALTO) peer review mission at Sweden’s Oskarshamn Nuclear Power Plant. The review took place following a pre-SALTO review in 2022 and was requested by the plant’s operator, Oskarshamn Kraftgrupp AB (OKG AB). The team found that the plant’s preparations for safe long-term operation were sufficient while also providing recommendations for further improvement, such as establishing a comprehensive program to identify aging management activities.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has approved Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) request to continue operating Pickering units 5 through 8 until the end of 2026, ensuring the units can continue operating until they are taken offline for refurbishment. Plans to refurbish the four units were formalized at the start of this year when the Ontario provincial government announced its support for the project, and OPG plans for the refurbished reactors to be back in service by the mid-2030s. The Pickering Nuclear Station comprises two reactor facilities with a total of 8 Candu reactors.

The first canister with test elements simulating nuclear fuel has been packed successfully in the ongoing trial run of final disposal at the Onkalo used fuel repository. Finnish utility Posiva announced the start of the trial run of the operation of the final disposal facility in late August, and the trial run is expected to take several months. Posiva has applied for an operating license for the repository for a period between 2024 until the end of 2070, and the government will make a final decision on Posiva’s application sometime in the future.

Amazon has signed three deals to help bring small modular reactors (SMR) to Virginia and Washington state. The company announced a deal to support the construction of four advanced reactors in Washington in collaboration with Energy Northwest and several public utilities, with Amazon paying for the initial feasibility phase of the project. The second deal involves Amazon leading a $500 million financing round for X-energy’s nuclear technology, which includes manufacturing capacity to develop the SMR equipment to support more than 5 gigawatts of new nuclear energy projects. The final agreement is a memorandum of understanding with Dominion Energy for the development of a 300-megawatt SMR at Dominion’s North Anna nuclear plant site in Virginia.

The Biden Administration awarded contracts to six companies in order to spur the buildout of a U.S. nuclear fuel supply chain for advanced reactors. These contracts will allow the selected companies to bid on work for deconversion services, with the contracts lasting up to 10 years and awarded up to $800 million for these services. The companies selected for these contracts are BWX Technologies (BWXT), Centrus, Framatome, GE Vernova, Orano, and Westinghouse Electric. The Department of Energy’s statement added that these contracts underscore the U.S. government’s commitment to strengthening energy and national security by eliminating America’s reliance on Russian uranium and nuclear fuel.

Kairos Power and Google have signed a Master Plant Development Agreement to facilitate the development of a 500-megawatt fleet of molten salt nuclear reactors by 2035 to power Google’s data centers. The agreement will see Kairos selling the energy from its fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactors to Google under power purchase agreements (PPA). While Kairos declined to reveal specifics about how many reactors it plans to deploy under the agreement, the first reactor is expected to be operational by 2030. Google is currently seeking to catalyze new nuclear development in order to bolster its net-zero energy goals.

The Department of Energy approved the conceptual design for Oklo Inc.’s Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility. The new facility will be located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and will help turn used material recovered from the DoE’s EBR-II reactor into usable fuel for its advanced nuclear power plants. Oklo will continue to work with INL to complete the facility design and obtain DoE approval before the start of construction, with Oklo anticipating the first Aurora powerhouse to be deployed in 2027.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is seeking comments through December 18 on an updated proposal to streamline its environmental review process for new reactors. The proposed rule would codify the findings of the NRC’s Generic Environmental Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors (NR GEIS), which is a technology-neutral framework that seeks to identify potential environmental impacts common to the construction, operation, and decommissioning of new reactors. NRC staff expects that the rule could reduce the cost of an advanced nuclear reactor review by 20 to 45%.

The Department of Energy has opened applications for up to $900 million in funding to support the initial domestic deployment of Generation III+ small modular reactors (SMR) technologies. The DoE anticipates offering funding in two tiers: Tier 1 will provide up to $800 million for milestone-based awards to support up to two first mover teams committed to deploying a first SMR plant, while Tier 2 will provide up to $100 million to spur additional Gen III+ SMR deployments by addressing key gaps that have hindered the domestic nuclear industry. The DoE plans to use this funding to spur the deployment of advanced reactor technologies across the country.

White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi said the Biden administration is working on plans to bring additional decommissioned nuclear power reactors back online to help meet soaring demand for emissions-free electricity. Zaidi declined to identify which power plants he was referring to but stated that repowering dormant power plants was part of the administration’s three-pronged strategy to expand nuclear power production. The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant recommissioning project has already received funding from the U.S. government, and Constellation Energy recently announced plans to potentially resurrect the Three Mile Island Power Plant.

Urenco has installed the first new centrifuges of an expansion project at its enrichment site in New Mexico, which is on track to be delivering additional capacity next year. The project will provide an approximately 15% increase in enrichment capacity at the site, providing an additional 700,000 separative work units (SWU) per year, with Urenco saying it is on schedule to begin producing enriched uranium from the newly installed centrifuges in 2025. Urenco’s site in New Mexico is the only commercial enrichment facility in the United States, with an annual production of 4.4 million SWU in 2023.

The Supreme Court has agreed to review a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) exceeded its authority under federal law in granting a license to a private company to store nuclear fuel at sites in Texas and New Mexico. The NRC contends that the site forfeited to object to the licensing decisions because they declined to join the commission’s proceedings, while the Supreme Court has to consider as to whether federal law allows the commission to license temporary storage sites. The push for temporary storage sites has become more contentious as there are roughly 100,000 tons of spent fuel already piled up and growing by more than 2,000 tons per year.

The Department of Energy announced a total of $49 million in funding for 19 projects in the Foundational Fusion Materials, Nuclear Science, and Technology programs. These projects span functional and structural materials research and development for heating technology, magnet technology, blankets, fuel cycle, and first wall research. All of the funding is heading to national laboratories in an effort to reorient lab-based foundational research programs to better align with the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences’ (FES) new vision for commercial fusion energy.

Dominion Energy Virginia filed its 2024 Integrated Resource Plan setting out its long-term plans for energy generation over the next 15 years with the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the North Carolina Utilities Commission. The report calls for more offshore wind and solar energy development, as well as small modular reactors (SMR) starting in the mid-2030s. Dominion Energy has been making plans to further invest in nuclear energy recently, with Dominion issuing requests for proposals in July of this year to potentially develop an SMR from nuclear technology companies.

Blue Energy secured a $45 million Series A fundraiser to make nuclear power more commercially viable and introduced its modular nuclear power plant model for existing naval shipyards. The funding will be used to advance Blue Energy’s core engineering work and site development, as well as to secure additional partners. Blue Energy is aspiring to deploy nuclear power at scale and reduce manufacturing costs and plant construction times for modular naval nuclear reactors.

A Wyoming state legislative panel has advanced a draft measure opening the state to possible nuclear fuel storage. The draft bill specifically seeks to amend past legislation to align existing state statute with updated language regarding commercial nuclear waste storage with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Department of Energy. Proponents say the measure merely provides the opportunity to discuss changing Wyoming statutes to enable temporary storage of high-level radioactive fuel waste from nuclear power plants.

The International Energy Agency released its latest World Energy Outlook, which found that global nuclear generating capacity is expected to increase from 416 GWe in 2023 to 647 GWe in 2050 based on the latest nuclear policies. The report considers three scenarios: one that provides an outlook based on existing energy policies, a second which assumes all national and climate targets made by governments are met in full, and a final that looks at what must be done to limit global warming to 1.5° Celsius. The World Energy Outlook also found that emerging and developing economies are driving nuclear capacity and generation growth, and China is on track to have the largest nuclear power capacity in the world by 2030.

Brussels-based industry group Nucleareurope published a report on nuclear energy deployment in the European Union. The study compares three potential scenarios for nuclear power in Europe with potential capacity of 100, 150, and 200 gigawatts by 2025. The report found that 150 GW of installed nuclear capacity in the European Union will save around 430 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, save €310 billion ($338 billion) in total energy system costs, reduce gas consumption by about 180 billion cubic meters, and reduce dependence on hydrogen imports by up to 33%. Current nuclear capacity in the European Union is estimated at about 110 GW, which is generated by 100 power reactors in 12 of the 27 European Union member states.

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissions (NARUC) and the National Association of State Energy Officials published a new report, Energy and Industrial Use Cases for Advanced Nuclear Reactors. The report offers an overview of potential alternative use cases for advanced nuclear energy, highlighting considerations and questions for state utility regulators and energy offices. The report argues that advanced nuclear energy is gaining momentum as a key component of state energy strategies and the preliminary plans underway by states emphasize the need to understand advanced nuclear applications.

Maritime classification society the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has launched the industry’s first comprehensive rules for floating nuclear power plants. ABS said the Requirements for Nuclear Power Systems for Marine and Offshore Applications report has been developed for classification requirements specific to design, construction, and survey of vessels fitted with nuclear power systems, aiming to allow designers to consider any type of reactor technology and propose a framework for nuclear regulators to collaborate with organizations such as ABS to improve regulatory oversight. The Department of Energy has recently awarded ABS a contract to research barriers to the adoption of advanced nuclear propulsion on commercial vessels.

Why Big Tech Is Turning to Nuclear to Power Its Energy-Intensive AI Ambitions

CNBC, October 16

Nuclear Renaissance Must Still Solve for Spent Fuel

Reuters, October 16

Making Sense of Google’s Nuclear-Powered AI Ambitions

Axios, October 15

Generational Change Underpins US Bipartisan Support for Nuclear

Energy Intelligence, October 15

America’s AI Leadership Depends on Energy

Foreign Policy, October 14

Google Signed a Deal to Power Data Centers with Nuclear Micro-Reactors from Kairos – But the 2030 Timeline is Very Optimistic

Tech Crunch, October 14

Nuclear Power Could Solve US Electricity Needs. But At What Cost?

Floodlight, October 14

Supreme Court Nuclear Waste Case Risks Slowing Industry Revamp

Bloomberg Law, October 11

Kazakhstan’s Referendum on Nuclear Energy Could Benefits Russia

The Economist, October 10

Global Cooperation Key for Nuclear Regulation

Nuclear Engineering International, October 10

Was California Too Quick to Abandon Nuclear Power?

The San Diego Union-Tribune, October 10

The DoE Picks Six HALEU Deconverters. What Have We Learned?

American Nuclear Society, October 9

Unraveling the Nuclear Fusion Confusion

Real Clear Energy, October 9

What China’s Rapid Gains in Nuclear Fusion Mean for the U.S.

The Wall Street Journal, October 7

Nuclear Energy Is the Environmental Choice for New York

Syracuse.com, October 7

Big Tech Has Cozied Up to Nuclear Energy

The Verge, October 5