Westinghouse Electric Company and Energoatom, the state-owned nuclear utility of Ukraine, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work on the development and deployment of the AP300tm small modular reactor. The agreement establishes a joint working group to cooperate on areas such as contracting, licensing and the local nuclear supply chain.
     Ukraine is pursuing carbon neutrality of its energy sector by 2050 and has plans to develop modern and safe nuclear power generation based on the latest advanced technologies. German Galushchenko is the Ukrainian Minister of Energy. He emphasized that the technology of small modular reactors is very promising for Ukraine. This is especially the case in terms of implementation of the national Ukrainian Energy Strategy until 2050. He added that “Ukraine has every prospect of becoming one of the leaders in clean energy and increasing nuclear generation capacity both through the construction of new large power units and deployment of small modular reactors with first units expected within the next ten years.”
    Galushchenko also noted that the localization of manufacturing is one of the most important components of these agreements. Ukraine has some of the most experienced nuclear experts in the world. Manufacturing the new small modular reactors in country will add to energy independence and security.
     Petro Kotin is the President of SE NNEGC “Energoatom”. He said, “Energoatom keeps working on new projects of advanced nuclear technologies, on which the energy security of Ukraine depends on in this challenging time. The company is doing its utmost to ensure that our country continues to move towards a carbon-free and clean future with nuclear energy as its integral part.” He went on to say that increasing the total capacity of nuclear power generation is vital for Ukraine as well. That is the reason why the construction of new nuclear power units has become part of the Energy Strategy of Ukraine until 2050.
     Patrick Fragman is the President and CEO of Westinghouse. He said, “Westinghouse is pleased to support the Ukrainian people and Energoatom with clean, reliable and secure energy. From nuclear fuel to plant services to electricity generation, Westinghouse is honored to be a trusted partner for Ukraine today and for decades to come. The AP300 SMR is the only SMR being developed which fully leverages the design, licensing pedigree, supply chain and exceptional record of the AP1000© design already in operation in five plants around the world, and another seven units at different stages of construction and commission.”
     Last May, Westinghouse launched the AP300 small modular reactor, a three hundred megawatt single-loop pressurized water reactor that is the only small modular reactor based on the design of currently operating full-sized nuclear power reactors, the proven and licensed AP1000 technology. Westinghouse is confident that design certification for the AP300 small modular reactor will be received by 2027. Construction of the first AP300 will begin by 2030. The first operating unit is planned to be available in the early 2030s. Energoatom and Westinghouse have already agreed to deploy nine Westinghouse AP1000 units in Ukraine.

     Senators on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations have raised concerns that the U.S. fell short of its nuclear submarine target during a Wednesday morning hearing on a trilateral security partnership.
     In September of 2021, Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. signed the defense deal referred to as AUKUS. They announced an arrangement for Australia to acquire “conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered” submarine capability through the AUKUS partnership in March of 2023. As part of that arrangement, Australia agreed to invest about three billion dollars in the first four years of the agreement into U.S. shipbuilding.
     The AUKUS agreement is intended to help Australia develop nuclear powered submarines while enabling allies to safely share the relevant technology with each other.
      During the Senate hearing, lawmakers questioned whether the U.S. had the capability to sell nuclear submarines to Australia. The U.S. Navy currently has forty-nine fast attack submarines. This puts it seventeen submarines short of the sixty-six vessel goal that the military branch has previously told Congress it required to properly defend the U.S.
     Senator Pete Ricketts (R-Neb) said, “We are grateful that the Australians want to invest $3 billion. What are we gonna have to invest to get to 66 submarines?”
     Mara Karlin is the Assistant Secretary of Defense. She said that the submarine industrial base was downsized after the Cold War. However, the current government’s investments allow for a substantial rebuild. Karlin said, “Post-Cold War, we closed down a whole bunch of the submarine industrial base and consolidated given the post-Cold-War peace dividend. There’s been really important investment by this Congress, by the administration to try to build it up and make sure that we can put it in the right places and then see what fruit grow from that. It is a priority, it will continue to be a priority going forward.”
     Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn) shared a similar concern. He emphasized that the promise to sell submarines to Australia would put the U.S. Navy in a difficult position to reach the sixty-six submarine goal. Hagerty said, “Today, the Navy has 49 attack submarines, that’s roughly 25 percent short of its goal of 66 submarines. The pace of constructing submarines as I’ve read is maybe 1.2 submarines a year. By giving these submarines to Australia, that will put us three-to-four years behind in our production process. With the current production process and the proposed sale of submarines to Australia, the Navy will not be able to reach its goal of sixty-six submarines until 2049.”
     Karlin said that the Navy’s fleet could be strengthened and that the process is underway with Congressional and administrative support. She added that “We are all working through Congress’s really important support and through the administration to build up an industrial base that frankly was not strong as anyone hoped it to be.”
     Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va) had a more positive outlook on the state of the AUKUS partnership. He argued that Australia’s three-billion-dollar investment into the shipbuilding industry would supercharge the U.S. production pace. He said that “If they make that investment, it will help us increase our pace of production. If they don’t make that investment, it will be harder to increase the pace of production. Each side has resources that can help each other. We have to get the timing right.” Kaine argued that Australia “not going to make the investment unless they have surety that there’s gonna be a deliverable for them. We should use this historic opportunity to enhance our ability to meet the production goals that we are talking about.”

     The World Nuclear Symposium 2023 recently held its closing session. One of the speakers pointed out that the current attitude of many policymakers, much of the public and the financial community is favorable. The speaker said that the nuclear industry “needs to have the courage, be brave and believe in what we are doing.”
     Tim Gitzel is the Cameco CEO and President. He said that the need to attack climate change had provided tailwinds for nuclear power in recent years. Energy security is also driving the positive setting for the nuclear industry. He added that “we have a good product, the window is open and we have to deliver … let’s get going”.
     Rumina Velshi is the President and EDO of the Canadian Nuclear Safety commission. She said that continuing collaboration was critical within the nuclear industry and regulators. She added that scale and speed were needed, to match the sense of urgency people have about needing to tackle climate change.
     Sophie MacFarland-Smith is the Head of Customer Engagement for Rolls-Royce SMR. She said that  “drive, not just for Net Zero, but also energy security is massive.” However, she warned there was still a cautiousness in government and so “we need to do what we say … deliver on our promises, not over-promise”. Government, other stakeholders and the public must be convinced that “nuclear power can be trusted to deliver and nuclear power can make a real contribution to the fight against climate change and energy security”.
     Thomas Branche is the Executive Vice President of Assystem. He said that things had progressed from five years ago when the wish would have been for a clear vision from governments. He added that it was time to be “construction oriented.” He also emphasized that there were different issues and attitudes in different countries. However, it was always important to get support from people living in the locality of proposed sites.
     Erick van Egeraat is an architect. He urged the nuclear power industry to not see itself as a special case. He said that he had worked on many large-scale projects, and it was the nature of such projects that they take a long time to deliver. He also noted that the aesthetics of a nuclear power plant could help public acceptance.
     The session was the final one for the two-day gathering of over seven hundred people from the global nuclear sector. The discussions covered issues ranging from financing new nuclear, to how the industry will be able to security and train enough nuclear staff for the proposed expansion of nuclear energy in the future.
    Sama Bilbao y León is the World Nuclear Association Director General. She closed the World Nuclear Symposium 2023with the statement that “we have the recognition of the policymakers, we have the attention of the finance community – now we are ready to get our act together and deliver … and make the most of the huge opportunity that we have”. She also took a moment to praise Rumina Velshi for her championing of a better gender balance in the nuclear industry.

     Swedish nuclear power is an important part of their fossil-free energy mix. Its importance will increase in line with the increased demand from Swedish industry and society. Electricity demand is expected to double in a couple of decades.
     Vattenfall is a Swedish multinational power company owned by the Swedish state. Beyond Sweden, the company generates power in Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The company’s name is Swedish for “waterfall”, and is an abbreviation of its original name, Royal Waterfall Board.
     Since the summer of 2022, Vattenfall has been conducting a study to examine the conditions for constructing at least two new small modular reactors (SMR) next to the Ringhals nuclear power plant. Since 2020, Vattenfall has also taken part in a pilot study together with Fermi Energia on building an SMR in Estonia.
     Anna Borg is the CEO of Vattenfall. During this autumn, she and a delegation from Vattenfall will visit a number of selected countries and companies where new nuclear power is under construction. She said, “Vattenfall wants to invest in new nuclear power as well as other fossil-free power types. We are an player with experience, competence and access to places where nuclear power already currently exists. At the same time, no new nuclear power has been built in Sweden for several decades. The purpose of the trip is therefore to deepen the understanding of how new construction of nuclear power can be done quickly and efficiently, lessons learned, pitfalls, background to technology choices and regulatory conditions. We will look at both SMR and large-scale nuclear power.” 
     In addition to Anna Borg, Vattenfall CFO Kerstin Ahlfont, Torbjörn Wahlborg, Vattenfall’s Senior Vice President of Business Area Generation, Andreas Regnell, Vattenfall’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Development, and others will join the tour.
     The delegation from Vattenfall will meet with power companies, technology suppliers and authorities connected to the countries’ respective nuclear power program. The countries on the itinerary are Canada, France and Great Britian. Representatives from companies in the U.S. and South Korea will also be part of the tour.
     Vattenfall’s feasibility study on the new SMR reactors will end later this year. Within the framework of the pilot study, Vattenfall has begun work on creating an environmental impact statement that is required for an application. They have also carried out supplier inquiries. This is necessary in order to obtain a picture of both costs and other conditions that form the basis of a future investment decision.
     Wahlborg said, “Different types of power sources have different prerequisites to be able to be developed. If a business player is to invest in new nuclear power, Sweden needs to stand behind a nuclear power program. There will be costs that need to be shared between the players. You might need to build several rather than an individual reactor as this provides a positive learning curve and increased cost efficiency. Building new nuclear power is also a national priority and therefore it is reasonable to think in terms of a nuclear power program.”