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US-based Valar Atomics Plans to Deploy 456 Gas-Cooled Nuclear Reactors in Utah: Building a Dedicated 9.6 GW Power Supply System for a Supercomputing Data Center

US energy startup Valar Atomics has officially submitted a proposal for the construction of an ultra-large-scale industrial park named Project Beehive. The project is planned to be sited on federal and state land near Price, Utah, covering an area of approximately 9,000 acres. The entire project plans to deploy 456 small gas-cooled nuclear reactors in a clustered configuration, with an expected total installed generating capacity reaching an astonishing 9.6 gigawatts (GW). This scale is more than twice Utah's current average grid-wide generation load of 4 GW and approaches its summer peak demand of nearly 10 GW. This ultra-dense...

2026-10-03

Experts from 18 Countries Discuss Research Planning for Russia's MBIR Fast Reactor International Research Center: Focusing on Closed Fuel Cycle and Mega-Science Engineering Synergy

At the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan (INP AS RUz), the third meeting of the Advisory Council of the International Research Center (IRC MBIR), established on the basis of the Multi-purpose Fast Neutron Research Reactor (MBIR), was officially convened. The meeting attracted more than 150...

2026-10-03

Deployable Energy 1MW Microreactor UNB Achieves Initial Criticality: Scheduled to Enter INL DOME Test Bed in 2027 for Full-Power Testing

Houston-based nuclear energy startup Deployable Energy recently announced that its independently developed Microreactor, the Unity Nuclear Battery (UNB), has successfully completed its Initial Criticality Test. According to the established deployment plan, the system will officially arrive at the Demonstration and Operation of Microreactor Experiments (DOME), the dedicated microreactor test bed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), in 2027 to conduct full-power comprehensive performance testing. Although branded as a Nuclear...

2026-10-02

China Institute of Atomic Energy Holds Advanced Scientific and Technological Achievements Transformation Conference: Releases Small Reactor 9-Type Product Matrix, Signs Agreements on Curie-Level Terbium-161 Preparation and SMR Overall Scheme Design

On September 29, the China Institute of Atomic Energy (abbreviated as CIAE) held in Beijing an Advanced Scientific and Technological Achievements Transformation Conference themed "Innovation · Nuclear Fusion of New Quality." The conference showcased CIAE's practical breakthroughs in deepening scientific and technological system reform, advancing the pilot program for empowering scientific and technological achievements from job-related inventions, and integrated institute-enterprise operations, and officially released multiple major scientific research achievements covering advanced reactors, nuclear medical equipment, and isotope preparation, vigorously promoting the acceleration of nuclear technology from the laboratory to the production line. In the report on reform experience and benchmark incubation platforms, the conference systematically summarized three landmark reform achievements: SASAC Pilot Reform for Empowering Scientific and Technological Achievements from Job-Related Inventions: CIAE used...

2026-09-30

Argonne National Laboratory Achieves Latest Research Progress in Advanced Reactor Passive Safety, Revealing Flow Characteristics of Reactor Cavity Cooling System Using NSTF Facility

A research team at Argonne National Laboratory, under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has achieved the latest research progress on passive shutdown decay heat removal mechanisms for next-generation advanced nuclear reactors. Under unplanned reactor shutdown or sudden emergency accident conditions, nuclear fuel continues to release decay heat. Ensuring continuous and reliable heat removal under complete power loss and without manual intervention is a core issue in the inherent safety design of Generation IV advanced reactors. The Argonne research team recently focused on the transient thermal-hydraulic response characteristics of key passive heat removal systems under realistic dynamic decay heat curves. This...

2026-09-30

Innovating the Safety Review Pathway to Strengthen the Safety Foundation of High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors — National Nuclear Safety Administration Approves Safety Design Criteria for High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors

Recently, the National Nuclear Safety Administration approved the Safety Design Criteria for the High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor of the Jiangsu Xuwei Nuclear Heating and Power Plant (hereinafter referred to as the Safety Design Criteria). This document further refines the specific safety requirements for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, provides a foundational basis for the safety design of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, and serves as an important basis for subsequent safety review. This is China's first approved safety design criteria for small nuclear power reactors (hereinafter referred to as small nuclear power reactors), marking that the safety review of small nuclear power reactors has explored a new pathway led by safety design criteria. I. Relevant Background: The Rapid Development of Small Nuclear Power Reactors Calls for Innovation in Review Methods. In recent years, global advanced nuclear energy technologies have been accelerating their evolution...

2026-09-30

Saskatchewan, Canada Releases Long-Term Nuclear Energy Strategy: Plans to Build 2,600 MW of Nuclear Power by 2050

Scott Moe, Premier of Saskatchewan, Canada, officially announced the province's long-term nuclear energy development plan in Saskatoon on September 29, establishing a strategic goal of building at least 2,600 megawatts (MW) of nuclear power capacity by 2050. Moe emphasized that nuclear energy is not only a zero-carbon clean baseload power source, but also a "nation-building opportunity" that empowers economic growth for generations, will create high-end jobs across the province, attract multinational capital, and ensure long-term electricity stability for households and industry. According to the plan, four core pillars have been established: 1. Build a highly resilient power foundation supporting long-term economic growth: Rely on non-intermittent zero-carbon nuclear energy to address the electricity load gap brought about by society-wide electrification...

2026-09-30

KAERI and IAEA Jointly Hold Research Reactor Ageing Management Training Workshop

On September 28, SPIC's first fully independent full-scope simulator and related independent technologies were released in Beijing, marking that State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) has mastered complete full-scope simulator R&D and supply capabilities. A full-scope simulator is like a mirror of a nuclear power plant; operators performing control actions in the full-scope simulator can obtain realistic feedback in real time. With the help of this digital nuclear power plant that poses no nuclear accident hazard, operators repeatedly hone their daily operation control and accident handling skills, becoming professionals who safeguard the safe and efficient operation of real nuclear power plants. To ensure the training quality of main control room operators at nuclear power plants, the Central Research Institute of SPIC took the lead, together with SNERDI, SNST...

2026-09-28

South Korea Plans to Build a National Collaborative Platform for Offshore Small Modular Reactors

Recently, Professor Seo Jeong of Korea Maritime and Ocean University (KMOU) proposed at the First Offshore Small Modular Reactor Network Conference held at the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency in Busan that the commercialization of offshore Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) cannot rely solely on reactor R&D, and that a national platform linking reactor design, shipbuilding, and offshore testing must be established. The nuclear industry and the shipbuilding industry currently operate in silos, and manufacturers, research institutions, and regulatory bodies should cooperate from an early stage. Seo Jeong stated that shipborne SMRs...

2026-09-29

Unit 7 reactor at China's Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant reaches Minimum Controlled Power Level

According to reports, the reactor of Unit 7 at the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant, built through China-Russia cooperation and using a Russian design, has reached the Minimum Controlled Power Level (MCP). This marks the first time the reactor has entered a self-sustaining controlled chain nuclear reaction state in the core. All technical operations were carried out in accordance with design requirements and the startup plan, under the joint supervision of experts from Russian and Chinese operating, design, and regulatory organizations. Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom, stated that the Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant is a model project of Russia-China cooperation. Units 1 and 2, built according to the Russian scheme...

2026-09-29

US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Poised to Approve TVA's First BWRX-300 Reactor

According to reports, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is expected to approve on Tuesday the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) construction of the first 300-megawatt BWRX-300 reactor at the Clinch River site in Tennessee. TVA is considering deploying up to four units, and this license covers only the first unit. This license is a construction permit and does not yet mean the unit can enter commercial operation. It is understood that the BWRX-300 is a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) that uses Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) technology, with a single-unit electrical output...

2026-09-29

Dongfang Electric Signs Low-Pressure Diaphragm Supply Agreement with Électricité de France, Supporting the Upgrade and Retrofit of European Pressurized Water Reactor Nuclear Power Units

Recently, Dongfang Electric International Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "Dongfang International"), a subsidiary of China Dongfang Electric Group Co., Ltd., and Arabelle, a subsidiary of Électricité de France (EDF), officially signed a nuclear power steam turbine low-pressure diaphragm supply agreement. According to the agreement, Dongfang Electric will serve as a key equipment supplier, providing core steam turbine low-pressure diaphragm components for the life extension and modernization technical retrofit projects of pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power units under Électricité de France. For more than three decades, Dongfang Electric Group and Électricité de France have consistently maintained close strategic collaboration in the field of civil nuclear energy, from...

2026-09-28

Rosatom has developed the first batch of nuclear fuel assemblies for the MBIR multi-purpose fast reactor, successfully passing factory acceptance testing

At the site of the Fuel Technology Division of the State Scientific Center — Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (NIIAR, Dimitrovgrad), under the Scientific Division of Rosatom, the first batch of 3 pilot nuclear fuel assemblies (Fuel assemblies / ТВС) for the multi-purpose sodium-cooled fast neutron research reactor (MBIR) successfully completed comprehensive factory acceptance tests. The professional acceptance committee conducted a thorough review of the maturity and completeness of the fuel production process line for this batch as well as all technical performance parameters of the trial-manufactured assemblies, and completed high-precision geometric dimension and quality re-verification measurements item by item. This acceptance review brought together the expertise of multiple core research and manufacturing institutions in the Russian nuclear industry, including the Dollezhal Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering (NIKIET), the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE), and the Machine-Building Plant Joint Stock Company (MSZ, Elemash).

2026-09-27

International Seminar of Veteran Nuclear Decommissioning Experts Held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: Focusing on Central Asian Nuclear Energy Prospects and Cooperation on Kyrgyzstan's SMR Project

On September 24, 2026, with the joint support of Rosatom and the Council of Energy Veterans of the Kyrgyz Republic (Совет ветеранов энергетики Киргизской Республики), the International Seminar on the Prospects for the Development of Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Technologies in the Kyrgyz Republic, organized by the International Union of Veteran Experts in Nuclear Energy and Industry (МСВАЭП), was held in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Senior experts in the nuclear and electric power industries from Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries...

2026-09-27

Purdue University Completes the First Remote Real-Time Autonomous Power Control Experiment on a Nuclear Reactor in the United States, Building a Cross-State Digital Twin Closed Loop

Purdue University, in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), has for the first time in the United States achieved remote, automatic, and real-time experimental regulation of nuclear reactor power. The demonstration validated a three-site control closed loop spanning Indiana, Idaho, and Virginia, providing a cutting-edge engineering paradigm for future centralized remote monitoring and automated scheduling of advanced reactors from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. The experiment relied on Purdue University's 64-year-old Reactor Number One (Purdue University Reactor Num...

2026-09-24