World Nuclear News

Professor Tim Tinsley prefers not to use the label of nuclear waste, instead referring to "legacy material". And it's not hard to see why, given the projects currently taking place to extract radionuclides from the material for use in pioneering treatments for cancer. It is also providing a new source of power and heat for spacecraft.
Tinsley, Professor of Space Nuclear Power at the University of Leicester and Account Director for Space and Radioisotopes at the National Nuclear Laboratory in the UK, joins host Alex Hunt to give details on the life-saving and space-exploring projects and explains what value there is hidden within what has long just been seen as a problem.
With the promising early stage clinical trials, and the plans to provide power for a mission to Mars in 2028, the newly discovered value in the legacy material is one of the factors which may be taken into account in plans for the safe longterm disposal of the material. There could yet be future discoveries that more of the material could become valuable in the years ahead, so, suggests Tinsley, being able to dispose of the material in a form that it is retrievable at minimal cost might be a good idea.
Also this month, there is a report on the gathering of leaders and senior government representatives at the first-of-its-kind Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels, including snippets of what the IAEA's Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and co-host Belgian PM Alexander de Croo had to say. Plus Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, French President Emmanuel Macron and COP29 host Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.
Key links to find out more:
World Nuclear News
Leaders commit to 'unlock potential' of nuclear
Nuclear Energy Summit Declaration
National Nuclear Laboratory
University of Leicester
Nuclear Energy Summit

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Episode credit: Presenter Alex Hunt. Co-produced and mixed by Pixelkisser Production

Steady Energy is developing the LDR-50 small modular reactor with the initial goal of decarbonising district heating systems. The CEO of the Finnish company, Tommi Nyman, explains why the decision to focus on heat rather than electricity was taken.
The company was spun out of VTT, Finland's national research lab, and was prompted by its researchers noting that 10% of CO2 emissions come from heating water or steam to 150C and thinking "why not build something simple that would only cover low temperature heat markets". "In the context of the climate crisis, nuclear is a very good option, but the problem has been getting projects economically sound so that nuclear can be utilised without large subsidies. We know that the most economical way to use nuclear is just to generate thermal energy without using the heat to create electricity," he tells host Alex Hunt.
Nyman added that simplicity has been key to their design, "by only producing heat you can reduce the amount of equipment in a nuclear power plant by 50%". The cost of energy they are aiming at is below EUR40 per MWh, depending on how the utility wants to operate it and the aim is to have a first plant delivered in 2030.
Also in this episode World Nuclear News's Claire Maden reports on events in India, South Africa and uranium developments in the USA and Australia.
Key links to find out more:
World Nuclear News
Finnish municipal decision-makers favourable to SMRs
India's NTPC confirms plans for nuclear subsidiary
South Africa pauses nuclear procurement process

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Episode credit: Presenter Alex Hunt. Co-produced and mixed by Pixelkisser Production

Southern Nuclear's Senior Vice President for Vogtle 3 and 4, John Williams, discusses the achievement and "tremendous pride" from everyone involved in completing the first new nuclear units built in the USA for more than 30 years.
He says that both AP1000s have been performing well, with Vogtle 3 operating at 98% capacity since being put into service a year ago. And, as well as the direct jobs - 9000 workers were on site at peak construction - he says that people can see the benefits of carbon-free energy being produced and understand how important it is for the future of energy in the US and further afield.
The project had many well-documented challenges to overcome - the impact of Fukushima, Westinghouse's Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017 and the global pandemic - and Williams says there have been many lessons learned which Southern Company is committed to sharing with utilities in the US and other countries as they embark on their own projects. The first lesson, he says, is the need for resilience, which has been demonstrated by the project partners Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities.
In the World Nuclear News round-up Claire Maden reports on the passing of the ADVANCE Act in the US, Kazakhstan's plans for a referendum later this year on new nuclear, and the latest uranium-mining developments in Niger.
Key links to find out more:
World Nuclear News
Commercial operation marks completion of Vogtle expansion
Kazakhstan's nuclear energy referendum to be held this year
Niger revokes mining permit for Imouraren project
Southern Nuclear: Plant Vogtle

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Episode credit: Presenter Alex Hunt. Co-produced and mixed by Pixelkisser Production

What is the current position with nuclear energy in the continent of Africa and what are the prospects for the future? Lassina Zerbo is the former head of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization and current chairman of the Rwanda Atomic Energy Board - he joins us to discuss the situation at the moment and look ahead to the future.
He talks about the history and considers why there is only one country in the continent with an operating nuclear power plant, and how changes in public opinion and nuclear technology are helping to drive a wide range of planned developments. Director of World Nuclear Association's Harmony programme, King Lee, also outlines some of the many initiatives taking place which could transform the nuclear energy picture in Africa in the years to come.
June has been another busy month for World Nuclear News and Warwick Pipe reports on developments with China's molten salt reactor, while Claire Maden sets out the USA's efforts to tackle the issue of HALEU fuel supplies for the next generation of nuclear reactors.
Key links to find out more:
World Nuclear News
Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries
Nuclear 'gaining traction' as option in many African countries, says IAEA
Viewpoint: Nuclear energy is critical to Africa's agenda for sustainable development

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Episode credit: Presenter Alex Hunt. Co-produced and mixed by Pixelkisser Production

The ambitious aim for NexGen Energy, is to be supplying 25% of the world's mined supply of uranium - and about 50% of the western world's mined supply - when its Rook 1 project in Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada starts production, says its CEO, President and founder, Leigh Curyer.
He joins host Alex Hunt and Claire Maden to outline how he got into the industry and the decision to set up NexGen - and the good news that interrupted a Valentine's Day meal in 2014.
As well as outlining the plans and likely timeline for the Rook 1 project - and further exploration in the area - Leigh also gives his thoughts on the global uranium market, and prospects more broadly for the nuclear energy sector in the coming years, including signs of a change of mood in his native Australia.
The World Nuclear News reports this month are from Claire Maden, on India's growing nuclear energy plans, and Warwick Pipe, who covers the recent International Energy Agency's ministerial meeting communique recognising nuclear as one technology for achieving nergy security and decarbonisation.
Key links to find out more:
World Nuclear News
NexGen Energy
IEA Ministerial Meeting recognises role of nuclear
India to seek nuclear investors as Kakrapar units inaugurated
Ministerial approval for NexGen uranium project

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Episode credit: Presenter Alex Hunt. Co-produced and mixed by Pixelkisser Production