In this update, we round up the past week’s news in the world of Nuclear.
Rolls-Royce on track for 2030 delivery of UK SMR, by World Nuclear News: “Rolls-Royce has almost completed the feasibility stage in the development of its UK small modular reactor (SMR) and in May will focus on securing investment, its chief technology officer, Paul Stein, said yesterday. The technology will undergo the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process with UK regulators in 2024 and will be ready for grid use five years later, he said.”
‘Trailblazing’: Lancaster hoping to be home to planet’s first ever nuclear fusion plant, by the Lancashire Post: “As part of their ambitious and forward-thinking STEP programme, the Government’s UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) is currently searching for a location for the first ever nuclear fusion power plant, which they hope to design, build, and make operational a commercial-scale facility by 2040.”
‘Reprocess To Reuse’ Nuclear Waste Is The Way Forward, by Business World: “A handful of countries including India and Russia have adopted the method of ‘reprocess to reuse’ of spent fuel in ‘closed fuel cycle’ based on innovative fuel refabrication and ‘fast’ reactors.”
Is Nuclear Power Poised for a Resurgence?, by Power Magazine: “Currently, the only new nuclear project in the U.S. is Southern Company’s Plant Vogtle expansion, which is expected to add two new reactors to the grid by the end of next year. Still, there are 50 reactors under construction around the world—12 of them in China—and several countries are considering adding more.”
Cumbria pins fusion nuclear hopes on Moorside, by Place North West: “The UK Government in 2019 announced an initial £220m of funding for interested parties to produce a concept fusion reactor design known as the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production by 2024. The selection process led by the UKAEA invites parties to bid to be the host location for the facility, which is expected to create 300 direct jobs and more in the wider UK fusion supply chain.”