Search Results

Two U.S. National Laboratories Collaborate to Advance Arc-Based 3D Printing of Nuclear Pressure Vessels

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL), both under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), announced a collaboration focused on advancing wire-arc 3D printing technology for industrial pressure vessels and qualification capabilities for critical nuclear components, aiming to expand the U.S. domestic supply chain. The two laboratories unveiled the collaboration during the Materials and Manufacturing Innovation Day event hosted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on August 19. The event focused on topics such as advanced manufacturing, nuclear infrastructure, energy security, and domestic supply chains, and featured demonstrations and tours of the DOE Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF). This facility is a large-scale research platform open to industry, primarily...

2026-08-22

Progress in Tritium Containment and Radiation Protection Materials Research at the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Recently, Associate Researcher Huo Zhipeng of the Fusion Reactor Blanket and Safety Research Center at the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with his supervised master's students Zhang Jie and Chen Zuoyang, developed a class of flexible PbWO4-B4C reinforced silicone rubber composites with dual functions of tritium safety containment and nuclear radiation protection. The related research results were published in Journal of Materials Research and Technology. Future fusion facilities require comprehensive performance from radiation protection materials in tritium safety containment systems, including airtight sealing, flexibility for easy assembly and disassembly, and radiation shielding capability, for penetration hole sealing, post-maintenance, and high-flux neutron and γ-ray radiation protection. The research...

2026-08-21

German SIBAF Project Receives €9.7 Million to Support Fusion Materials Research

On August 20, 2026, with funding from the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), the SIBAF project will launch the construction of an accelerator infrastructure for fusion materials research. The project, whose full name is Superconducting Ion Accelerator as a Foundational Technology for Fusion Research, will receive €9.7 million over three years, of which €8.1 million is allocated to the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research (GSI) and its Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR), currently under construction. Goethe University Frankfurt will also participate in the project. SIBAF is part of the funding program "Fusion Foundational Technologies — Toward the Fusion Power Plant." Project objectives...

2026-08-21

Indonesia Incorporates Nuclear Energy into Decarbonization and Power Planning

The National Energy Council (DEN) of Indonesia recently stated that nuclear energy is expected to become an important option for driving the country's energy transition and achieving its net-zero emission targets. DEN member Sripeni Inten Cahyani said at a national energy policy promotion event held at Mataram University that the positioning of nuclear energy in Indonesia's energy planning is changing, and it is no longer just a last resort. Sripeni Inten Cahyani (right), a member of the National Energy Council (DEN), accompanied by fellow member Surono (left), gave an exclusive interview to reporters after a national energy policy outreach activity at Mataram University in West Nusa Tenggara Province on Thursday, August 20, 2026...

2026-08-21

Kyoto University and NEDO to Build Dedicated Beamline for Hydrogen Energy Research at SPring-8-II

Kyoto University announced on August 20 that it will collaborate with the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) to construct dedicated research equipment for the hydrogen energy field at the large synchrotron radiation facility SPring-8-II, located in Sayo Town, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. SPring-8-II is scheduled to begin operation in fiscal year 2029. On the 20th, Hajime Kitagawa, Executive Director of Kyoto University (2nd from right), attended a press conference held by Kyoto City government officials. According to the plan, the two parties will install a dedicated beamline at the facility, focusing on hydrogen energy-related research such as fuel cells and hydrogen production via water electrolysis. The beamline will be used to analyze key materials including catalysts and electrolyte membranes in fuel cells and water electrolyzers, leveraging synchrotron radiation to observe material reaction processes and help researchers identify the main factors affecting performance and cost.

2026-08-21

IAEA Launches New Project to Enhance Nuclear Fuel and Materials Testing Capabilities in Research Reactors

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently launched a four-year coordinated research project aimed at optimizing the experimental design of nuclear fuel and structural materials testing in research reactors, enhancing the safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of irradiation experiments. Top view showing a materials testing reactor core loaded with two in-core materials testing devices. (Photo: Y. Ostrovsky/MIT) With the continued advancement of new nuclear reactor technologies, growing interest in small modular reactors, and existing nuclear power plants seeking long-term operation, the demand for reliable testing of new nuclear fuels and structural materials is increasing. Before being put into use in nuclear reactors, these fuels and materials must be tested and qualified under harsh conditions such as radiation and high temperatures...

2026-08-21

Korean Research Team Reveals Mechanism Behind Neutron Irradiation-Induced Reliability Degradation in Ferroelectric AI Semiconductors

Jeonbuk National University announced on the 20th that a research team led by Professor Bae Hak-yeol from the Department of Electronic Engineering at its College of Engineering, in collaboration with Professor Kim Tae-wan's team at Seoul National University and Q-Beam Solution, a startup affiliated with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, conducted a joint study analyzing the causes of performance degradation in next-generation ferroelectric memory and neuromorphic semiconductor devices under neutron irradiation. The findings have been published in the latest issue of ACS Applied Electronic Materials. Ferroelectric semiconductors, which can maintain their polarization state even after power is disconnected, are considered a key candidate for next-generation non-volatile memory and neuromorphic computing devices. Neuromorphic computing aims to simultaneously implement both memory and computation within a single device...

2026-08-20

IAEA Launches Research Project on Edible Insects and Novel Foods Safety

As global demand for alternative protein sources rises, the International Atomic Energy Agency has recently launched a five-year coordinated research project focusing on assessing safety risks associated with edible insects and other novel foods during production, processing, and consumption. The project will be implemented through the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, utilizing nuclear techniques, isotope techniques, and related detection methods to analyze chemical, biological, and physical hazards in food. Currently, more than 2,000 species of edible insects are known globally, and approximately 2 billion people regularly consume insects. In Africa, Asia, the Pacific region, and Latin America, insects have long been part of the diet in some communities...

2026-08-20

India and Germany's Hesse Explore Clean Energy Cooperation, with Discussions Covering Laser-Based Nuclear Fusion Research

On August 19, India's Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal held talks with Boris Rhein, Minister-President of the German state of Hesse, to discuss strengthening economic and technological cooperation between India and Hesse. Manfred Pentz, Minister for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs and Deregulation, along with a German business delegation, attended the meeting. The talks covered several emerging and high-growth sectors, with energy-related discussions focusing on clean energy and future technologies. The two sides discussed Hesse's initiatives in next-generation energy technologies, including laser-based...

2026-08-20

Malaysian Nuclear Agency Strengthens Scientific Writing Training to Promote Dissemination of Nuclear Technology Research Outcomes

On August 18, the Malaysian Nuclear Agency stated that it will continue to enhance the scientific writing and publishing capabilities of its professionals and technical staff, driving research outcomes out of the laboratory to serve society and national development in a broader manner. Dr. Muhamad Rawi Mohamed Zin, Director General of the Malaysian Nuclear Agency, said at the opening of the 2026 Scientific Writing and Publishing Seminar and Workshop that scientific publications are a key indicator of whether research outcomes can promote knowledge advancement, solve practical problems, and create value for national development. High-quality publishing not only helps demonstrate research impact but also enables scientific outcomes to be shared, understood, and applied by a wider audience. This seminar...

2026-08-19

Indian research team uses supercomputer to track microscopic mechanisms of turbulence in dusty plasmas

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Jammu (IIT Jammu), in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur), used supercomputer simulations to study the origin of chaos in dusty plasmas. By tracking the motion of millions of individual particles, the study revealed how turbulent energy is transferred from large-scale vortices to microscopic thermal motion of particles, providing a new computational perspective for nuclear fusion plasma research and astrophysical process analysis. Plasma is often referred to as the fourth state of matter. Unlike solids, liquids, and gases, atoms in plasma are ionized, forming a system composed of positively charged ions and negatively charged electrons. When tiny solid dust particles enter the plasma, these particles absorb electrons and become negatively charged, subsequently undergoing complex interactions with surrounding particles to form dusty plasma.

2026-08-19

Kazakhstan's Institute of Nuclear Physics Plans to Expand Medical Radioisotope Production and Export

The Institute of Nuclear Physics (INP) of Kazakhstan is progressively expanding the applications of radioisotopes and radiation technologies, with related products already used in cancer diagnosis and treatment, industrial production, and scientific research. Institute Director Sayabek Sakhiyev stated that radioisotope and radiopharmaceutical production is one of the institute's key applied activities, covering the full chain from scientific research and research reactor operation to radiochemical technology development and medical applications. Currently, INP produces three main categories of radiopharmaceuticals: sodium iodide I-131 for thyroid disease treatment, Mo-99/Tc-99m related products for radionuclide diagnostics, and...

2026-08-18

German research team achieves ultra-compact plasma photocathode injection

A research team from institutions including the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf in Germany has demonstrated an ultra-compact plasma photocathode injection scheme integrated into a hybrid plasma wakefield accelerator on the DRACO laser facility. The study utilized a 150 TW-class laser system to drive a laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA), generating high-peak-current electron beams, which in turn drove a subsequent particle beam wakefield accelerator (PWFA), completing the generation and acceleration of witness electron beams within millimeter-scale plasma structures. Plasma wakefield accelerators can produce accelerating fields far exceeding those of conventional radiofrequency linear accelerators, but how to obtain high-quality, high-brightness electron beams in compact devices...

2026-08-18

US FRIB Research Reveals Low-Energy Gamma-Ray Enhancement Originates from Nuclear Magnetic Transitions

An international research team led by the US Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), with participation from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and other institutions, recently published findings in Nature that explain a long-standing question in nuclear physics: why some atomic nuclei emit anomalously high numbers of low-energy gamma rays. Image: FRIB Gamma rays are a type of electromagnetic radiation. Excited atomic nuclei release gamma rays during radioactive decay, gradually returning to lower, more stable energy levels. Over the past few decades, scientists have discovered that certain nuclei exhibit a low-energy enhancement phenomenon, where the number of low-energy gamma rays emitted exceeds expectations. However, this phenomenon is not universal, and its occurrence is theoretically difficult to predict.

2026-08-18

Libya Plans to Restore Tajoura Research Reactor for Medical Isotope Production

The Libyan Atomic Energy Establishment recently proposed a plan to restore and restart the Tajoura nuclear research reactor for the production of medical radioisotopes. The establishment stated that this initiative aims to support the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and tumors, while reducing dependence on imports of relevant isotopes. Radioisotopes are essential materials in nuclear medicine, serving as tracers in medical imaging to help track organ function and detect certain diseases and tumors; some isotopes are also used in radiotherapy targeting specific tissues. According to the Libyan Atomic Energy Establishment, the Tajoura reactor has a rated thermal power of 10 megawatts and holds potential for producing various medical isotopes, including...

2026-08-18