France's Framatome has created a branch in Italy - with offices in Milan and Turin - to support the development of nuclear energy in Europe.

The company said Italian employees will "support the existing fleet and contribute to the development of nuclear energy in Europe from their home country".

"The creation of this branch marks a new step in our long-standing cooperation with Italy," said Framatome CEO Bernard Fontana. "Framatome has been hiring talented Italian engineers in France for over 40 years. This branch offers engineers the possibility of working in Italy, while contributing to the development of low-carbon energy."

The creation of an Italian branch follows on from the cooperation agreement for scientific and technological research and training in the field of nuclear energy, signed last July by Framatome, Edison and Politecnico di Milano.

Under that agreement, the partners will pool their respective technical knowledge and expertise in order to jointly develop research, development and innovation activities for the nuclear sector. In particular, the cooperation agreement provided for joint projects through internships, master's degree and doctoral dissertations, seminars, workshops and other similar initiatives on technical topics of mutual interest. With the aim of improving the exchange of knowledge and know-how, the agreement will also provide for the organisation of meetings and training courses as well as visits for students and their respective employees to Framatome's production sites and plants and the Politecnico di Milano's and Edison's research laboratories.

"To support current and future projects, Framatome is hiring 2500 people a year around the world," said Elisabeth Terrail, senior executive vice president of human resources at Framatome. "Prestigious Italian schools such as Politecnico di Milano, Politecnico di Torino and CIRTEN universities offer excellent courses in nuclear engineering, for both training and research, and their graduates constitute an important talent pipeline to develop long-term skills for the nuclear industry."

Italy operated a total of four nuclear power plants starting in the early 1960s but decided to phase out nuclear power in a referendum that followed the 1986 Chernobyl accident. It closed its last two operating plants, Caorso and Trino Vercellese, in 1990.

In late March 2011, following the Fukushima Daiichi accident, the Italian government approved a moratorium of at least one year on construction of nuclear power plants in the country, which had been looking to restart its long-abandoned nuclear programme.

The public mood has changed since then, and in May 2023, the Italian Parliament approved a motion to urge the government to consider incorporating nuclear power into the country's energy mix. In September last year, the first meeting was held of the National Platform for a Sustainable Nuclear, set up by the government to define a time frame for the possible resumption of nuclear energy in Italy and identify opportunities for the country's industrial chain already operating in the sector.

Italy's government included potential nuclear capacity - up to 16 GW/20-22% of capacity by 2050 - in its National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan, which was submitted to the European Commission on 1 July this year.

Poland's Ministry of Industry and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry have signed a memorandum to promote Polish-Japanese cooperation in the nuclear sector. Meanwhile, the Polish and Dutch nuclear regulators have agreed to cooperate.

A memorandum of understanding on cooperation on nuclear energy was signed by Marzena Czarnecka, Poland's Minister of Industry, and Shinji Takeuchi, Japan's Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in Warsaw on 7 November.

"The signed memorandum confirms the interest in bilateral cooperation between both countries for the development of nuclear energy as a technology that allows achieving the goals of energy transformation and has a positive impact on energy security," the Polish ministry said. "The signed agreement also encourages cooperation at the level of economic entities and industrial technologies. Leading companies in the Japanese nuclear sector show interest in developing cooperation with European companies."

It noted the agreement includes cooperation with the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum International Cooperation Centre (JICC), which operates under Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). JICC carries out activities supporting the development of competencies of countries implementing nuclear energy through the exchange of information, expert missions and the organisation of workshops, conferences and seminars in areas such as: human resources development, social communication, nuclear safety and preparation of the necessary infrastructure for nuclear projects.

"This cooperation allows Poland to build nuclear skills and competencies, which is crucial for the implementation of the Polish Nuclear Power Programme," the Polish ministry said.

Polish, Dutch regulators to cooperate

On the same day, a cooperation agreement was signed between Poland's National Atomic Energy Agency (PAA) and the Dutch Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ANVS).

The agreement - signed by PAA President Andrzej Głowacki and ANVS Chairperson Annemiek van Bolhuis - opens up the possibility of exchanging information on best practices in the field of supervision of the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes between the regulators.

It assumes joint activities in the organisation of technical meetings, training and exchange of documentation necessary to prepare the nuclear regulator for activities related to the licensing process of new nuclear technologies.

"In Poland and the Netherlands, interest in the use of new nuclear technologies is growing, causing increased challenges for national institutions supervising their safe use," PAA said.

Polish nuclear plans

Poland currently has large-scale plans to develop nuclear energy capacity. In September 2021, it was announced that six large pressurised water reactors with a combined installed capacity of 6-9 GWe could be built by 2040 as part of the country's plan to reduce its reliance on coal. According to the adopted schedule, the construction of the first nuclear power plant will start in 2026, with the first reactor - with a capacity of 1.0-1.6 GWe - being commissioned in 2033. Subsequent units will be implemented every 2-3 years. The coastal towns of Lubiatowo and Kopalino in Poland's Choczewo municipality in the province of Pomerania were named as the preferred location for the country's first large nuclear power plant.

In November 2022, the Polish government announced the first plant, with a capacity of 3750 MWe, will be built in Pomerania using AP1000 technology from the US company Westinghouse. An agreement setting a plan for the delivery of the plant was signed in May last year by Westinghouse, Bechtel and Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe.

In November last year, Poland's Ministry of Climate and Environment issued a decision-in-principle for the country's second large nuclear power plant. Two South Korean-supplied APR1400 reactors are planned in the Patnów-Konin region.

The completion of the environmental compliance process means Oklo Inc can now begin site characterisation for its first commercial advanced fission power plant in Idaho.

Completion by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) of the process addressing DOE requirements for the site and the resulting Environmental Compliance Permit, following on from the recent finalisation of a Memorandum of Agreement with the DOE, initiates site characterisation activities, Oklo said.

"These approvals represent pivotal steps forward as we advance toward deploying the first commercial advanced fission plant," Oklo CEO and co-founder Jacob DeWitte said. "With this process complete, we can begin site characterisation."

California-based Oklo received a site use permit from the DOE in 2019 to build and operate a prototype of its Aurora reactor - which will be a commercial power plant selling power to customers - at INL: according to company information, it intends to deploy its first commercial unit before the end of the decade. It also intends to build a facility to fabricate fuel for the liquid metal-cooled fast reactor plant at the same site. The DOE approved the Conceptual Safety Design Report for the Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility in September.

The memorandum of agreement finalised with DOE's Idaho Operations Office in September grants Oklo access to conduct site investigations at its preferred site, focusing on geotechnical assessments, environmental surveys and infrastructure planning.

The Aurora powerhouse is a fast neutron reactor that uses heat pipes to transport heat from the reactor core to a supercritical carbon dioxide power conversion system to generate electricity. It uses metallic fuel to produce about 15 MWe as well as producing usable heat, and can operate on fuel made from fresh HALEU or used nuclear fuel.

Workers have completed the welding of the main circulation pipeline for the Tianwan-7 nuclear power plant under construction in Jiangsu province, eastern China, Russia’s state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom said.

Tianwan-7 is a Russia-supplied 1,200-MW Generation III+ pressurised water reactor (PWR) unit, construction of which began in May 2021.

The main pipeline connects the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) with the steam generators and the reactor coolant pumps and is an integral part of a pressurised water reactor system.

Rosatom said welding of the pipeline paves the way for the flushing of reactor systems and preparations for the loading of dummy fuel assemblies for further testing.

According to previous reports, the RPV for Tianwan-7 was installed in Oct 2023.

There are two Russian VVER-1200 PWR units being built at Tianwan. Construction of the identical Tianwan-8 started in February 2022.

The Tianwan station has another six PWR units in commercial operation. Units 1 to 4 were built by Russia using its VVER-1000 PWR technology. Units 5 and 6 are China’s indigenous CNP-1000 PWR design.

Bruce Power has set out its plans to expand production of medical radioisotopes in its Candu reactors. As well as increasing long-term lutetium-177 production capacity, the company also wants to explore the production of other isotopes using its proprietary system.

Following on from the completion of two years' commercial production of lutetium-177 (Lu-177) using the Isotope Production System (IPS) at Bruce 7, the company set out its intentions in a 31 October letter to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). The system has proven its safety and reliability, the company said, with no missed shipments since launch. A second production line on Bruce 7's IPS is now in service, doubling production capacity. Lu-177 is used to treat certain tumours and prostate cancer.

Bruce Power said it now plans to add an additional Isotope Production System on unit 6 in 2027 to increase long-term capacity and also maintain production when Bruce 7 is taken offline for its Major Component Replacement (MCR) outage which is scheduled for 2028-2031. The company will also evaluate the feasibility of a third Isotope Production System (IPS) at the Bruce A plant (Bruce units 1-4), to be installed in 2029.

Units 5-8 - known as the Bruce B reactors - also produce cobalt-60 which is used for sterilisation and the treatment of brain tumours and breast cancer. The MCR and outage programme at Bruce B "is both securing the supply of cobalt-60 through 2064, and installed modifications have increased production", the company told the CNSC.

Bruce Power said it is "committed to exploring additional isotope production using our system and plans to propose an amendment to its operating licence to add multiple new isotopes in a bounding approach for the IPS". It intends to submit a licence amendment for multiple new isotopes in 2025.

Investing locally

Bruce Power partnered with Isogen (a jointly owned company of Kinectrics Inc and Framatome Canada) to install the Isotope Production System on Bruce 7. Lu-177 produced at Bruce 7 is transported to ITM Isotope Technologies Munich SE (ITM)'s facilities in Germany for processing. Its Gamzook'aamin aakoziwin partnership with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON), was set up in 2019 to jointly market new medical isotopes while creating new economic opportunities within the SON territory by establishing new isotope infrastructure.

In collaboration with the Southwestern Ontario Isotope Coalition, IsoGen and SON, the company said it was committed to advocating for processing facilities to be built locally to enhance the supply chain of isotopes in Ontario and improve the logistical impacts of handling short-lived medical isotopes. "In 2025, we will be investing CAD3 million (USD2.2 million) into greater localisation and will be proposing to the CNSC changes to existing licensed facilities to safely accommodate this important work," it said.

"Southwestern Ontario, the rest of the province and the country have become global superpowers in the production of medical isotopes through innovation, partnerships, investment and stakeholder support," said Bruce Power Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice-President James Scongack, adding that maximising isotope production and exploring the production of other medical isotopes "is the socially responsible thing to do for patients around the world."

The ceremonial launch of the 173-metre long Chukotka nuclear-powered icebreaker has taken place at the Baltic Shipyard. The first three of Russia's Project 22220 vessels are already operating on the Northern Sea Route.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking by video-link at the ceremony, said the construction of the nuclear icebreakers showed the country's capabilities, adding: "Our entire domestic economy should be built on our own technologies and groundbreaking scientific solutions. I want to stress again: our plans to develop the Arctic and increase cargo traffic on the Northern Sea Route depend directly on strengthening our icebreaker fleet. As you know, we have big ambitions there, and there’s a lot of work to be done."

According to the official Tass news agency, he said: "We need to significantly enhance the safety and reliability of navigation in this region. To this end, we will continue to improve the quality of satellite navigation, communications, and ice situation monitoring; [we] will upgrade the Arctic ports' infrastructure and lay the required rail lines to them."

The Chukotka is 173 metres long, 34 metres wide and with a height from the waterline to the mainmast of 57 metres. The height of its side is 15.2 metres and it is designed to break through ice up to three metres thick and has a speed of 22 knots in clear water. The Project 22220 icebreaker will be powered by two RITM-200 reactors which each have a thermal capacity of 175 MW. It already has the reactors and most of its main equipment on board.

After the launching the vessel is being moored at the Baltic Shipyard as its construction continues, with a target completion date of 2026. Three of the icebreakers are already operating - the Artika, Sibir and Ural - with the Yakutia the fourth of the series, followed by the Chukotka and Leningrad all under construction. A contract has been signed for a further icebreaker, the Stalingrad.

More than 12,000 people attended the launch ceremony and the Director General of the Baltic Shipyard Alexander Konovalov thanked the 6000 people who work there, and noted that work was already under way for the Stalingrad.

Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev, speaking about the development of the Northern Sea Route, said: "In the past 10 years, cargo traffic along the route has grown nearly tenfold and continues to set new records every year. This year, we’re seeing the same upward trend, with cargo traffic exceeding last year’s figures for the same period. Transit traffic is also increasing due to cargo redirection from west to east. So far this year, over 3 million tons of cargo has been transited, which is a 40% increase from last year."

The traditional smashing of a bottle of Champagne at the ceremonial launch was carried out by Elena Shmeleva, who said that as well as their important role in the Northern Sea Route the icebreakers "are also essential for scientists, including those from Sirius, to explore the Arctic. For instance, our university’s team has just returned from a 45-day Arctic expedition, where they researched the impact of permafrost on changes in carbon levels in the seas. They have also brought a large number of soil and water samples for further analysis. I would like to see the icebreaker’s research function develop further. This is crucial for Russia’s scientific and technological development strategy, which prioritises Arctic exploration".

The World Economic Forum has released a framework to help align stakeholders on key actions and strategies to accelerate deployment of small modular reactors and other advanced nuclear technologies.

"Small modular reactors (SMRs) and other advanced nuclear technologies represent clean energy solutions that, when built at scale, could deliver cost-effective carbon-free energy. These technologies are well suited to meet many clean power, heat and clean fuel production use cases for heavy industry, data centres and transport," the report says. "However, the commercial viability of these technologies needs to be improved.

"The ecosystem for new nuclear comprises a range of stakeholders including technology developers, financial institutions, utilities, large energy consumers and governments. Reaching commercial viability of advanced nuclear and SMRs is dependent on de-risking and improving the economics of projects through purposeful, coordinated action between these stakeholders – beyond anything seen before."

The World Economic Forum (WEF), in collaboration with Accenture, has partnered with stakeholders across the nuclear ecosystem - including experts from large energy-consuming industries, financiers, reactor vendors, supply chain businesses, utilities, government organisations, non-profits/NGOs and academia - to develop a Collaborative Framework for Accelerating Advanced Nuclear and Small Modular Reactor Deployment. It is intended to be a coordination tool for stakeholders to align on actions and strategies to accelerate advanced nuclear and SMR deployment.

The report highlights nine priority areas and actions for accelerating the deployment of these technologies.

Regarding the emergence of the advanced nuclear and SMR market, WEF says ecosystem collaboration must facilitate stronger demand signals to stimulate confidence among public and private investors by sharing risks and costs. Deployment depends on energy policies that address specific challenges, such as improving supply chain stability and creating vehicles for strategic partnerships across ecosystem stakeholders. In addition, regulation needs to be modernised by aligning regulatory bodies to streamline licensing of standard design across countries.

In order to deliver advanced nuclear and SMRs at scale, project deployment must be transformed to enhance rapid delivery of cost-competitive projects through innovative deployment models, modular construction and design for manufacture and assembly, the report says. Where possible, existing infrastructure should be repurposed and new reactors co-located with current energy systems. The maturity and scalability of advanced nuclear and SMR technologies should be increased by collaborating with regulators and energy off-takers, as well as by standardising design. The nuclear supply chain should also be prepared for large-scale deployment by boosting investment, developing nuclear fuel sources and standardising components. Meanwhile, the workforce should be developed by identifying skills gaps, retraining workers from other energy industries, facilitating skills pools and partnerships between industry and educational institutions.

WEF says the financing of advanced nuclear and SMRs needs to be addressed by developing innovative financing mechanisms, leveraging public-private partnerships, reaching target cost levels to attract mainstream investments, and including nuclear in clean investment taxonomies.

"The Framework provides a basis for locally led implementation, as priorities will vary across geographies at various stages of nuclear development," the report says. "It could also apply to other advanced clean energy technologies that require a systemic approach to unlock progress, such as geothermal and long-duration energy storage."

Microreactor technology company NANO Nuclear Energy Inc is joining privately owned laser enrichment company LIS Technologies Inc in a collaboration it says will reinvigorate the USA's domestic uranium enrichment and fuel fabrication capabilities and provide NANO Nuclear with uranium hexafluoride to fuel its reactors.

NANO Nuclear said it invested USD2 million into the recently closed LIS Technologies (LIST) USD11.88 million seed round financing.

A strategic agreement between the two companies will see NANO Nuclear and LIST collaborate on advancing LIST's enrichment technology as it continues its development and moves towards the regulatory licensing process, NANO Nuclear said. "LIST will ultimately provide NANO Nuclear with quantities of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) fuel for use in NANO Nuclear's advanced portable microreactors in development and for future sale by NANO Nuclear and LIST to third parties," it said, added that it believes the technology has the potential to be fully developed, licensed and capable of producing commercial quantities of low-enriched and high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel within ten years.

As part of the agreement, NANO Nuclear will develop "supportive capabilities", including deconversion and fuel fabrication facilities, to incorporate LIST's enriched UF6 into an integrated fuel manufacturing process. NANO Nuclear will also collaborate with LIST on joint research and development initiatives.

"The parties intend that LIST will provide NANO Nuclear with enriched UF6 at no cost to be fabricated and sold to customers, with LIST to receive compensation as part of a profit-sharing arrangement to be agreed to between the companies in the future," it said. LIST will also act as NANO Nuclear's preferred supplier of enriched UF6 in future fuel purchasing agreements.

LIST's proprietary laser-based enrichment process uses infrared wavelengths to selectively excite the molecules of desired isotopes to separate them from other isotopes, which it says is energy-efficient and can be deployed with relatively favourable capital and operational costs. It purchased CRISLA, Inc - the developer of the patented advanced laser technology - in August 2023 and describes itself as the only USA-origin and patented laser uranium enrichment company.

"This strategic collaboration with LIST is another important milestone for NANO Nuclear as we believe it provides us with a competitive edge over other advanced reactor companies in the US," NANO Nuclear founder and Chairman Jay Yu said. "The technology being developed by LIST has the potential to reshape the United States' uranium enrichment capabilities and pave the way for the next generation of advanced nuclear reactors to be a carbon-neutral and efficient solution to its growing energy demands."

Christo Liebenberg, CEO of LIST, said: "NANO Nuclear's backing in our oversubscribed financing round is allowing us to rapidly advance along a carefully planned growth strategy to potentially becoming the first true, scalable and commercialised laser uranium enrichment company in the world." Liebenberg added that the strategic collaboration "creates a substantial advantage for both companies and the broader US market, positioning us to capitalise on a novel opportunity".

NANO Nuclear and LIST are "related parties" through certain common ownership and with some officers and directors in common, but the transaction "was reviewed and approved by NANO Nuclear's independent directors who have no role with LIST", the company said.

NANO Nuclear, which is developing the ZEUS solid core battery reactor and ODIN low-pressure coolant reactor, listed publicly in May.

The presidents of Kazakhstan and France say they wish to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries and recognised the importance of cooperation in energy, including nuclear, during an official visit by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The visit also included an investment round table and formal meetings between President Tokayev and the heads of Orano and EDF.

The nations have had a bilateral strategic partnership since 2008, and this is the third consecutive year in which Tokayev and French President Emmanual Macron have visited each other: Macron visited Astana in November 2023 and Tokayev visited Paris in 2022.

In a joint declaration, the heads of state said they "welcomed the trust and regular dialogue between the two countries at all levels" and confirmed a "mutual desire to deepen, expand and diversify privileged interstate relations with a view to bringing them to the level of strengthened strategic partnership".

Energy has always been a key sector of cooperation between Kazakhstan and France, Tokayev told French industry leaders at the investment round table, and as a major supplier of oil and uranium to the European Union, Astana is ready to continue to support France's energy sovereignty. Given Kazakhstan's position as the largest producer of uranium in the world, and France's extensive nuclear industry experience, "we could cooperate in the civil nuclear energy", he said.

French company Orano is the 51% owner with Kazakhstan's national atomic company Kazatomprom of the KATCO joint venture, which it describes as the world's largest ISR (in-situ recovery, also known as in-situ leach) mine accounting for about 7% of global uranium production. At a meeting with Orano President and CEO Nicolas Maes, Tokayev stressed the "great potential" for further cooperation between Kazakhstan and Orano and "noted the importance of the partnership that will allow our country to develop high-tech industries while ensuring reliable and safe supply of natural uranium to France".

Tokayev also met with EDF Chairman and CEO Luc Remont to discuss prospects for cooperation in the energy industry. In October, the Kazakh population voted in favour of building a nuclear power plant in a national referendum, and EDF is on the short list of potential nuclear technology suppliers. Tokayev noted that Kazakhstan is considering the possibility of setting up an international consortium as a potential model for the implementation of the project.

Remont confirmed EDF's intention to continue a "mutually beneficial partnership" with Kazatomprom and also made proposals for the implementation of renewable energy projects, according to a report shared by the Kazakh presidency.

Tokayev has invited Macron to pay a state visit to Kazakhstan next year, and also invited French entrepreneurs to take part in the Astana International Forum, which will be held in May.

Seeing nuclear as a flexible energy source - producing electricity, hydrogen and heat with large-scale energy storage - rather than merely as a source of baseload power means it can complement the variability of renewables without the need for back-up natural gas power plants, a new report from the Dalton Nuclear Institute says.

The report, The road to net zero: renewables and nuclear working together, says that such a change could help the UK to achieve its goal of a net-zero power and energy system by 2050, while creating more jobs and lowering the projected costs by up to GBP14 billion (USD17.9 billion).

Zara Hodgson, Director of the Dalton Nuclear Institute, University of Manchester, says in its foreword: "The UK has been highly successful in driving forward the expansion of renewable energy to displace fossil fuel burning power plants ... yet, wind and solar are inherently variable ... the installation of backup natural gas burning power plants and energy storage technologies has so far been the proposed solution to the UK’s changeable island weather, despite drawbacks of high-cost electricity, wasted energy and continued CO2 emissions.

"So we have asked ourselves if the UK should look again at how nuclear electricity and nuclear heat could accelerate the renewable energy technology led transition to net-zero, and also underpin UK leadership in addressing climate change."

The potential fossil-free energy future scenario "to spark further discussion" is for electrification of more than 840 TWh total supply; three-quarters of which is supplied by variable renewable energy, 10% by nuclear plants and 0% from fossil fuels. That would be roughly doubling the current overall supply and also the current UK nuclear output.

In the report's “Flexible Nuclear” scenario, nuclear energy primarily delivers heat to produce hydrogen and other fuels that are essential to decarbonise the UK, with renewables delivering the bulk of the electricity generation, and when renewable output drops nuclear energy is then diverted to generate electricity for the grid, thus avoiding the need to have new gas-fired power plants designed only to be used to cover times of low renewables output.

The co-authors Juan Matthews, William Bodel and Gregg Butler say that in current official UK modelling, nuclear is seen as a baseload energy source, with gas generation to operate for "only a small percentage of the time" and note that "seemingly cheap sources of electricity become expensive when their capacity factor is reduced" as well as the potential cost of having to curtail energy production at times of maximum generation from renewable sources.

"One method of improving flexibility of nuclear power is to combine it with thermal storage. The higher temperatures produced by some AMRs (advanced modular reactors) make them particularly suited to production of hydrogen and other synthetic fuels, as well as heating for a large range of industrial applications. This potential is further exploited in several AMR conceptual designs that choose to incorporate molten salt thermal storage ... this arrangement of a reactor plus thermal store opens the prospect of broader commercial uptake by end users, through considerable availability of economic, flexible, useful energy output, and should be investigated," the report says.

It explains that the thermal storage concept follows experience with solar thermal power, "where it has been proved effective and economic in countries with abundant sunshine ... molten salts are used to store heat in large, insulated silos, and the molten salts are then run though steam generators or heat exchangers. The cooled molten salt is then stored in separate silos to be used in the next cycle ... alternatively, the heat can be stored in large, insulated masses of cheap solid materials such as sand or gravel which are heated and depleted by molten salts, but this system has a lower thermal efficiency than the two-tank molten salt option ... several AMR conceptual designs include molten salt thermal storage combined with energy conversion plants up to three times the capacity of the reactor system. At times of low electricity demand, energy is directed to the heat store; at times of high demand, this stored heat energy can be converted into electricity along with the reactor’s output. This allows continuous operation of a reactor plant while allowing unrestricted load following, including at very low levels of electricity delivery to the grid".

It recommends that the UK government should prioritise research to enable in-depth investigation of the opportunities to use reactors with thermal storage. It also recommends that government assessments of the impact of new nuclear capacity should recognise and incorporate cogeneration applications and says "government and industry should aim to reduce the need for curtailment of renewable electricity by using cogenerated nuclear heat to power high-temperature electrolysis hydrogen production, in addition to short-term storage", while "planning for future nuclear deployment should envisage an integrated system where nuclear and variable renewables work in harmony through cogeneration and energy storage, while planning around energy (not just electricity) infrastructure delivery should be fully coordinated to best ensure the UK has a functional whole system".

For potential next steps it says "further research and development into thermal energy storage technology is necessary, as the technology’s engineering feasibility is central to achieving the potential economic benefits of the Flexible Nuclear approach".

Zara Hodgson adds: "Our analysis indicates future promise for a flexible, fossil fuel free energy system that integrates the synergistic advantages of renewable energy and cogenerating nuclear energy, as the technologies become deployable in the system from now to 2030, then onto 2040, and finally full implementation by 2050. Capitalising on the flexibility of nuclear energy to contribute more than just low-carbon electricity is a key innovation opportunity for the UK and offers leadership in international net-zero initiatives and enhanced energy security."

China has set a target for its nuclear technology application industry to generate annual direct economic output value of CNY400 billion (USD55.7 billion) by 2026.

The target was set in an action plan - titled Three-Year Action Plan for High-Quality Development of Nuclear Technology Application Industry (2024-2026) - which was jointly released on 24 October by the China Nuclear Energy Association (CNEA), the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments.

"Nuclear technology, also known as isotope and radiation technology, and its related industries are characterised by high technology, high efficiency and high quality," the plan says. "The development of nuclear technology application industry is an inevitable trend to adapt to the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, expand the application field of nuclear technology, and promote the high-quality development of the nuclear industry.

"It is an important enabling means to support the transformation and upgrading of various fields of the national economy and improve quality and efficiency."

According to the plan, by 2026, China's independent innovation capability in the nuclear technology application industry "will be significantly improved, and the industry field will be further expanded".

It adds: "Focusing on the application of nuclear technology in key directions or fields such as medical diagnosis and treatment, agricultural breeding, food processing, material modification, security inspection and security, we will break through a number of key technologies, build a number of innovation platforms, and cultivate a number of specialised and new enterprises.

"We will strive to achieve an annual direct economic output value of CNY400 billion in the nuclear technology application industry, injecting strong momentum into the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries."

The plan calls for the supply capacity of key isotopes to be "significantly" increased, with the construction of new reactors and the "optimisation and transformation" of in-service reactors. It says that China should "have the ability to independently supply more than three types of radioactive isotopes, develop more than five types of radioactive isotope production technologies, and basically reverse the situation where the supply of key isotope products is controlled by others".

It notes that CNEA is "responsible for the top-level design and overall layout of the development of the nuclear technology application industry", and will coordinate the implementation of this action plan with other departments.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has granted an operating licence for an off-site interim dry storage facility for used nuclear fuel in Mutsu, Aomori prefecture. It is the first such facility in the country.

The Recyclable Fuel Storage Centre has been constructed by Recyclable-Fuel Storage Company (RFS) - a joint venture of utilities Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) and Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC).

Tepco and JAPC formed RFS in November 2005 and in March 2007 it applied to the Japanese government for a licence to construct the facility. In August 2010, the joint venture announced that it had received approval from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for the design and construction of the Recyclable Fuel Storage Centre (RFSC). A groundbreaking ceremony for the facility was held that same month.

Construction work of the initial storage building was eventually completed in August 2013. However, in December 2013, new safety standards for nuclear fuel cycle facilities based on the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi accident were introduced by Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA). RFS was required to conduct further assessments for the facility's ability to withstand earthquakes, tsunami, volcanoes and tornadoes. The company submitted its initial design and construction programme document to the NRA in March 2016 and the regulator approved its safety plans for the facility on 11 November 2020.

The facility will store the highly radioactive fuel assemblies from the utilities' boiling water and pressurised water reactors in dry storage casks for up to 50 years until they are reprocessed at the Rokkasho plant, under construction about 50 kilometres away. A mix of recovered uranium and plutonium oxides - where the plutonium is never separated - would then be recycled into fresh mixed-oxide nuclear fuel at the J-MOX nuclear fuel manufacturing plant, alongside Rokkasho.

The RFSC was originally expected to begin operating in July 2012 with an initial capacity of 3000 tonnes of used fuel. RFS plans to later increase this capacity to 5000 tonnes.

RFS applied to the NRA for a pre-use confirmation of the Recyclable Fuel Storage Centre on 10 February 2022.

The NRA today said: "It was confirmed that the pre-operation operator inspection was properly conducted, and that the construction was carried out in accordance with the approval of the design and construction plan and conformed to the technical standards." It accordingly issued a pre-use confirmation certificate to RFS enabling operation of the facility to begin.

"We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the people of Aomori Prefecture, including Mutsu City, for their great understanding and cooperation since Mutsu City requested us to conduct a site feasibility study in 2000 and then invited us to host the facility," Tepco said in a statement. "We believe that the interim storage business for spent fuel is important and effective from the perspective of expanding the storage capacity of spent fuel, providing flexibility to the operation of the entire nuclear fuel cycle, and contributing to medium- to long-term energy security."

It added: "We will continue to support RFS so that they can proceed with their interim storage business with safety as their top priority."

On 26 September, Tepco announced that 69 used fuel assemblies from unit 4 of its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture had been transported to the Recyclable Fuel Storage Centre.