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Even oil-rich companies of Middle East are eying reactors, as more nations announce plans for SMRs Russian troops occupied the Zaporizhzhia nuclear station, which was damaged by shelling. File photo courtesy IAEA. 2022 was a year of mega milestones for nuclear energy.

Countries around the world turned to nuclear as a reliable low-carbon energy source as they looked for ways to wean themselves off Russian imports and lower carbon emissions.

New plants began operating, deals for small modular reactors were signed and countries announced ambitious plans for new-build.

On the political front, US president Joe Biden signed into law new legislation that will help to finance struggling nuclear reactors and could save dozens from being shut down early. In Europe, the nuclear industry celebrated when members of the European parliament decided to “follow the science” and support legislation which includes nuclear in the bloc’s sustainable finance taxonomy for green investment.

Date: Tuesday, 10 January 2023
Original article: nucnet.org/news/five-major-developments-that-are-setting-the-stage-for-2023-and-beyond-1-1-2023

Midwest can be ‘powerhouse for low-carbon fuel production’ The aim is to produce clean hydrogen from the Davis-Besse nuclear power station. Courtesy Wikipedia. Energy Harbor has joined forces with the University of Toledo and several industrial companies and US Department of Energy national laboratories to launch the Great Lakes Clean Hydrogen coalition, which aims to produce clean hydrogen using nuclear power from the Davis-Besse nuclear power station in Ohio.

The coalition envisions transforming the Midwest into a powerhouse for low-carbon fuel production. It said it will use nuclear power generated by Energy Harbor’s Davis-Besse nuclear station to produce carbon-free hydrogen through electrolysis.

The coalition said the focus on clean hydrogen production through electrolysis avoids the challenge of capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide. Nuclear reactors can produce clean hydrogen by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. Methods are being explored to use nuclear energy to produce hydrogen from water by electrolysis, thermochemical, and hybrid processes.

In October 2021, Energy Harbor and the DOE agreed to develop a hydrogen production demonstration project at Davis-Besse in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Xcel Energy, and Arizona Public Service. The plant was chosen due to its proximity to key hydrogen consumers in the manufacturing and transportation sectors of the market.

Date: Friday, 16 September 2022
Original article: nucnet.org/news/us-initiative-aims-for-productions-with-nuclear-energy-from-davis-besse-9-4-2022

All realistic options that might contribute to global net-zero must be considered, the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) has said in an open letter to COP26 President Alok Sharma. Nuclear systems and advanced reactors - such as Generation IV systems - can contribute to a net-zero society alongside renewable energies, it says.

Date: Saturday, 30 October 2021
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/GIF-calls-for-nuclear-s-inclusion-in-COP26-discuss

Nuclear energy, as an asset class, has the potential to report well against a wide range of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data collection and accounting metrics, according to a new report from the Generation IV International Forum (GIF). This should allow nuclear energy to be considered as an investable asset class, thereby allowing nuclear companies and projects to access climate finance.

Date: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/GIF-highlights-nuclear-s-ESG-attributes

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has informed the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that it intends to construct an Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) Micro Modular Reactor on its campus. The university said the submission of the Letter of Intent is the first step in the NRC's two-step process to license the new research and test reactor facility.

Date: Wednesday, 30 June 2021
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/US-university-announces-plans-to-build-microreacto

The goals of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) - and the six reactor types that are its focus - remain as important today as they have always been, speakers at an international panel discussion held to mark the organisation's 20th anniversary agreed. Looking to the future, demonstration should become a focus to drive forwards to deployment of the technology.

Date: Wednesday, 05 May 2021
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Generation-IV-Forum-marks-anniversary

The US-led Leaders’ Summit on Climate, held on 22 and 23 April as a video conference, attracted 40 world leaders (presidents and prime ministers) including Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Also taking part were some 24 other speakers at ministerial level (environment, defence, economy) in addition to Pope Francis and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, as well as almost 40 heads of environmental organisations, indigenous communities and leading businessmen, including Bill Gates. The event coincided with Earth Day, an annual event first held in 1970.

Date: Tuesday, 27 April 2021
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsleaders-summit-on-climate-attracts-world-leaders-businessmen-and-environmentalists-8699323

Jennifer Granholm was sworn in on 25 February as the 16th US Secretary of Energy by Vice President Kamala Harris, following a broad bipartisan confirmation vote of 64-35 in the US Senate. Secretary Granholm is only the second woman to lead the Department of Energy (DOE). “DOE is powered by brilliant scientists, engineers, and energy policy experts who are the very best for the job we’ve been tasked with: to develop and deploy new clean energy technologies that will achieve the Administration’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and secure our nation’s future,” she said. “I am so ready to work alongside them as we kickstart America’s clean energy revolution, create millions of good-paying union jobs, and deliver benefits to American workers and communities across the nation.”

Date: Wednesday, 03 March 2021
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsgranholm-sworn-in-as-us-energy-secretary-8561329

The DOE is hoping the new unit will be completed as early as 2026  GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and the Bill Gates-backed nuclear developer TerraPower have announced plans to establish a partnership to design and build the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) for the US Department of Energy.

The two companies recently submitted a joint response to an expression of interest issued by the Battelle Energy Alliance on behalf of the DOE which seeks stakeholders interested in forming a partnership for a cost sharing arrangement to design and construct the VTR.

The VTR, which uses sodium fast reactor technology, will use high energy neutrons to test and develop advanced reactor fuels and materials. The DOE has said it could be completed as early as 2026 at the site of one of the country’s national laboratories.

US energy secretary Dan Brouillette said in March that there is a growing interest in advanced nuclear energy and private companies have already invested more than $1bn in new reactor designs that will be smaller, more affordable, highly flexible and extremely safe.

Date: Wednesday, 22 January 2020
Original article: nucnet.org/news/geh-and-terrapower-announce-design-and-build-partnership-for-vtr-1-2-2020

Innovation has always been at the heart of the nuclear power industry and its future depends on this commitment to technological advancement in both large and small reactor designs. This was the message of the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation (IFNEC) General Ministerial Conference held in Washington DC last week.

Date: Tuesday, 19 November 2019
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Conference-Advancing-the-rebirth-of-nuclear-power