Sheffield Forgemasters, X-energy and Cavendish Nuclear have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperating to explore opportunities around the deployment of fleet of Xe-100 high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) in the U.K.
     X-energy of the U.S. and Cavendish Nuclear, a U.K. subsidiary of the Babcock International group, will have access to Sheffield Forgemasters’ decades of experience in the development of nuclear forging and castings. They have plans to build up to forty Xe-100s across the U.K.
     Dominic Ashmore is the Head of Strategy and Business Development – Clean Energy at Sheffield Forgemasters. He said, “Following the key step forward recently made by Great British Nuclear (GBN) to boost UK nuclear power generation through small modular reactor (SMR) development, GBN is also developing a route to market for other technologies, including advanced nuclear and a consultation will be published this autumn. The UK’s civil nuclear development is part of our business strategy and this MoU is the latest in a line of agreements that we have signed with a number of SMR companies looking to deploy in the UK market.”
     Ashmore added. “Our work with X-Energy and Cavendish Nuclear will provide specialist engineering services, support and components including forgings, to the UK Xe-100 deployment program. Sheffield Forgemasters will undertake a detailed review of the Xe-100 forgings and look to facilitate more definitive cost estimates and production plans.”
     Carol Tansley is a vice president of U.K. Nuclear New Build at X-Energy. She said, “We’re delighted to be collaborating with Sheffield Forgemasters, which is a world-renowned industry leader in its field. Our technology will be the first small modular reactor operational in the US and we want to build on that progress by moving forward quickly with our U.K. program. In delivering that fleet we want to maximize the involvement of the UK supply chain as part of our target to achieve 80% by value UK content, and the MoU with a company with the experience and capabilities of Sheffield Forgemasters is a crucial step in that journey.”
     The Xe-100 is a Generation IV advanced reactor design. X-energy says it is based on decades of HTGR operation, research and development. Designed to operate as a standard three hundred and twenty megawatt four-unit power plant with each unit contributing eighty megawatts. It is engineered to deliver reliable and load-following grid-scale power to electricity systems and to pair seamlessly with renewables. At two hundred thermal megawatts of five hundred sixty-five degrees steam, the Xe-100 is also suitable for other power applications including mining and heavy industry.
     In December of 2021, U.K. energy minister Greg Hands announced that HTGRs have been selected as the preferred advanced reactor technology for the U.K. Advanced Modular Reactor Research, Development & Demonstration Program. The program counts on two hundred and ten million dollars of government funding from a four hundred and seventy million dollar package which is intended to accelerate of highly flexible nuclear technologies.
     In May of 2022, Cavendish Nuclear signed a MoU with X-energy to act as its deployment collaborator for HTGRs in the U.K. The two companies have applied to the U.K.’s Future Nuclear Enabling Fund to support a Generic Design Assessment of the Xe-100 SMR. It also calls for supply chain development for the first proposed project.

     An agreement between Orano and Erdenes Mongol LLC sets out the framework for an investment agreement that will lay the foundation for a long-term relationship for the development and industrial operations of the Zuuvch-Ovoo uranium project in south-western Mongolia. The investment agreement is expected to be signed by the end of the year. Erdenes Mongol LLC is a Mongolian state-owned investment company.
     The protocol was signed on the 12th of October at the Elysée Palace in Paris by Orano Chairman Claude Imauven and Erdenes Mongol CEO Sanjaagiin Narantsogt. President Emmanuel Macron of France and President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh of Mongolia were present.
    Pilot operations over 2021-2022 have already confirmed the economic, environmental, and societal feasibility of operating the Zuuvch-Ovoo site, according to Orano. The project has been developed by Badrakh Energy which is a joint venture between Orano Mining and the Mongolian state-owned company MonAtom.
     The joint Franco-Mongolian project will be based on international standards and best practices in terms of safety, security, and the environment according to Orano. Orano said that it is “committed over the long term, alongside communities for responsible mining with a development and cooperation program in favor of local populations”.
     Imauven said that the signature of the protocol “marks a decisive step” in a relationship with Mongolia that has been in existence for over twenty-five years. He added that “This cooperation will enable us to develop the uranium sector in Mongolia while furthering the Group’s strategy of diversifying its mining activities.”
     Agnès Pannier-Runacher is France’s Minister for Energy Transition. She said on X that the agreement contributes to the diversification of French sources of Supply. She added that “This is good news for our nuclear industry and our energy sovereignty.”
     Badrakh Energy’s on-site pilot at Zuuvch-Ovoo in the Gobi Desert took place from July 2021 to December 2022. The pilot tested uranium extraction by in-situ leach methods. The pilot produced ten tons of natural uranium concentrate. Orano has previously stated that over a forecast thirty year mine life, the Zuuvch-Ovoo project has the potential to earn Mongolia around one billion six hundred million dollars of direct investment over the life of the project as well as one billion dollars in tax income nationally and locally. The report Uranium 2022: Resources, Production and Demand is a joint publication of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and International Atomic Energy Agency, also known as the Red Book, said that the deposit has ninety-three thousand two hundred and ninety on tons of uranium resources at a grade of 0.022% uranium.
     Mongolia has substantial known uranium resources. However, no uranium has been mined there since the closure in 1995 of an open-pit mine at the Dornod deposit in the north-east of the country. The Dornod mine was operated by Russian interest. It produced five hundred thirty-five tons of uranium over six years of production. Uranium ore from the mine was transported by rail to the Riargunsky facility in Frasnokamensk, Russia, for processing.
     The price of uranium ore on the international market has been soft but is currently rising to the point where more dormant mines are being brought online.

Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     The commission’s new report goes on to say that “As a result, the Navy must consider schedule tradeoffs between the two classes of submarines. The [Office of Management and Budget] as well as the Commission are skeptical that the current infrastructure can simultaneously support conventional and nuclear sustainment, modernization, and construction as scheduled. The AUKUS agreement may place further stress on this capacity.”
     The Congressional commission report’s release comes as the Senate Armed Services Committee pushes for supplemental funding in the Fiscal Year 2024 defense policy bill.
     While marking up the National Defense Authorization Act, the committee called on President Joe Biden “to send emergency supplemental funding requests to address those concerns, to include continued support for Ukraine, additional munitions production, and additional naval vessels and combat vehicles.”
     Under an agreement between Biden and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over the debt ceiling limit, lawmakers had to adhere to the administration’s FY 2024 $886 billion request for national defense. Wicker has argued that any supplemental funding request must also include additional support for AUKUS to strengthen the U.S. defense nuclear industry.
     Wicker said in an August statement, “If we hope to realize the full potential of the AUKUS deal, it is imperative that the president articulate an achievable plan of action to increase American submarine production that meets both American and Australian needs. The enhanced security of the United States and our partners depends on our mutual collaboration and cooperation.”
     The Pentagon’s Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation has laid out a roadmap for long-term investment to pursue AUKUS. However, lawmakers have yet to see the report.
     In his statement accompanying the release of the commission’s new report, Wicker repeated the lawmakers’ push for the defense supplemental request. He said, “It is essential that Congress move forward quickly with a plan to provide our military with the resources necessary to restore our nuclear deterrent and rebuild the capacity to find and win two wars if necessary. Passing a defense supplemental in the near-term and guaranteeing real growth in the annual defense budget will help us meet this moment. Failing to make these investments now will leave the United States weaker and invite costly new threats from our adversaries.”
     The report argues that the U.S.’s current posture is not ready to deter nor compete with Russia and China. “Decisions need to be made now in order for the nation to be prepared to address the threats from these two nuclear-armed adversaries arising during the 2027-2035 timeframe. Moreover, these threats are such that the United States and its Allies and partners must be ready to deter and defeat both adversaries simultaneously.”
     There is new activity at U.S., Russian, Chinese, and North Korean nuclear sites. It appears that the U.S. is confronted with a new nuclear arms race as Russia announces intention to pull out of the nuclear arms treaty limiting nuclear weapon construction and deployment. The problem with nuclear weapons is that a global nuclear war would destroy human civilization.

Part 1 of 2 Parts
     A congressional commission issued a new report recently that called for a third shipyard that can build nuclear powered ships so that the U.S. Navy can keep up with Russian and Chinese modernization.
     A third private shipyard would expand the nuclear industry’s capacity to construct nuclear-powered submarines in order to expand U.S. strategic forces. The call for the third shipyard came from the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the U.S.
     The commission suggests that the Pentagon “increase shipbuilding capacity, by working with industry to establish or renovate a third shipyard dedicated to production of nuclear-powered vessels, with particular emphasis on nuclear-powered submarines.”
     A potential third shipyard would add to the work of the General Dynamics Electric Boat and Hii Newport News Shipbuilding which currently constructs the Navy’s nuclear-powered boats. The recommended third private shipyard would require significant investment from the U.S. government.
     Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) is the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said in a statement that “The report is also a stark reminder of the significant work needed to expand our nuclear submarine industrial base to increase production and reduce repair time. The details of this report should serve as a wakeup call for our armed forces and the national security community as a whole.”
     Electric Boat and Newport News construct the Navy’s nuclear-powered ships while the service’s public shipyards have historically maintained the nuclear-powered submarines. However, with the backlogs at the public yards in recent years, the private yards have taken on some of the submarine maintenance work.
     The new Congressional report includes a wide range of recommendations on nuclear policy, weapons procurement, force posture and infrastructure. The analysis meets a requirement in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act calling for a commission to assess the strategic posture of the U.S.
     The commission’s report makes several references to AUKUS. This is the technology sharing agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the U.S. The agreement includes the U.S. selling Australia several Virginia-class attach boats while Australia develops the ability to construct and maintain nuclear-powered attack boat indigenously.
     However, lawmakers have expressed concerns over the U.S. nuclear industrial base’s capacity to support AUKUS while continuing to construct submarines for the U.S. Navy. Newport News and Electric Boat are currently constructing approximately one Virginia-class boat a year. The overall program is hundreds of months behind schedule. Former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday previously said that the nuclear industry must build more than two boats per year if the U.S. is going to sell attack submarines to the Royal Australian Navy. During the same period, the Navy is also recapitalizing the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad with the Columbia-class submarine program. This is the Navy’s top acquisition priority.
     The commission’s report says that “In the sea leg, the Navy is scheduled to construct one Columbia-class submarine per year and sustain the Ohio-class in parallel relying on the same infrastructure for both (manufacturing facilities, dry docks, etc.). Additionally, this same workforce and industrial base also support Virginia-class submarine production.”
Please read Part 2 next

     The great advantage of nuclear fusion is that a great amount of energy can be generated from just a few grams of fuel. One gram of fuel in a fusion reactor has the potential to generate the equivalent of eight tons of oil.
     Something similar happens with nuclear fission. This is the process that produces energy in operating commercial nuclear power plants. The amount of fuel (uranium or plutonium) is very small when compared to the fuel required by thermal power plants that burn coal, gas, or oil. No matter how great the use of fusion energy in the future, its use will never be so great as to alter the composition of our atmosphere.
     The use of hydrogen isotopes will be required in order for fusion reactors to become widespread. Isotopes are atoms of the same element but with different numbers of neutrons. This feature means the different isotopes of an element have the same chemical properties, but they have different physical properties.
     The fusion reactions that take place at the lowest temperatures are those produced between deuterium and tritium. Deuterium is very abundant in both seawater and fresh water. It can be extracted by hydrolysis. Tritium is rare in nature but can be produced by the fusion reaction itself. Neutron from the fusion reaction impact a regenerating mantle composed of lithium, among other elements. A neutron and a lithium atom produce tritium as a byproduct that will be reused as fuel in plasma. Plasma is an ionized gas with a temperature higher than eleven thousand degrees Fahrenheit.
     Nuclear reactions occur in fusion as well as fission. However, they are different from the processes we know from burning fuel. Burning fossil fuels is a chemical reaction. In order to initiate fusion, nuclei must be brought closer together so than the nuclear forces come into play and attract each other strongly. When these nuclei fuse, the form a new element that weighs less than the sum of the masses of the initial nuclei. This difference in mass can be transformed into energy by Einstein’ equation E=mc2. The fusion process for commercial fusion reactors involves very light elements. Hydrogen isotopes generate the most energy when fused. By joining two hydrogen nuclei through a nuclear fusion reaction, the result is a helium nuclei and a highly energetic neutron.
     In order to understand the amount of fusion fuel needed for a fusion reactor, the density of plasma in a fusion reactor has a density of one million times smaller than the density of air at sea level. The density of plasma is so low, than no matter how many reaction occur with the release of helium, it will never be able to alter the composition of the atmosphere no matter the consumption of hydrogen nor the emissions produced by fusion.
     This fact alone means that converting to fusion fueled reactors will help reduce climate change that is being caused by the burning of fossil fuels today. In addition, the reduction of waste produced by fossil fuels and nuclear fusion power is a very attractive feature of fusion power.