Ambient office = 70 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 111 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 112 nanosieverts per hour

English cucumber from Central Market = 98 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 91 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 77 nanosieverts per hour

Dover Sole from Central = 125 nanosieverts per hour

     Westinghouse has been awarded a grant by the U.K. government to complete a Pre-Front End Engineering Design study for production of tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuels at its Springfields facility in Preston, Lancashire. They will be collaborating with Urenco. The grant came through the U.K. Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Westinghouse will consider a secure and reliable supply of tristructural TRISO fuels to support a ranges of potential high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) technologies under development. They will also receive support on this study from TRISO-X LLC which is a wholly owned subsidiary of X-energy of the U.S. The amount of the grant was not disclosed.
     TRISO fuel is able to withstand very high temperatures. It is used for high temperature reactors which typically operate at fourteen hundred to seventeen hundred degrees Fahrenheit. TRISO fuel particles are each less than one millimeter in diameter. They contain a center of enriched oxycarbide surrounded by layers of carbon and silicon carbide. This provides containment for fission products which is stable to over twenty-nine hundred degrees Fahrenheit. It has been called the most robust nuclear fuel in the world.
    Patrick Fragman is the President and CEO of Westinghouse. He said, “This award is an important step in creating commercial-scale advanced fuel production in the UK at our Springfields facility for the reactors of tomorrow. We look forward to partnering with Urenco for their global leadership in enrichment, in support of UK energy security and net-zero carbon goals. We also welcome the support of TRISO-X and their valuable experience in the fabrication of advanced TRISO fuels.”
     Boris Schucht is the CEO of Urenco. He said, “Security of energy supply and realizing crucial climate change goals requires the evolution of the nuclear fuel cycle. This includes a focus on producing the next generation of fuels. Urenco is committed to this development and is pleased to be collaborating with the UK nuclear industry and government to achieve an enhanced service for global utilities and wider benefits for society.”
     Pete Pappano is the CEO of TRISO-X. He said, “The deployment of next generation TRISO fuel manufacturing in Springfields is an important step toward the UK’s decarbonization and energy independence goals. TRISO-X is pleased to bring our state-of-the-art process knowledge to support this grant.”
     Earlier this month, TRISO-X broke ground for North America’s first commercial-scale advanced nuclear fuel facility in Oak Ridge, TN. The new TRISO-X Fuel Fabrication Facility (TF3) will be commissioned and operational by 2025. At first, it will produce eight tons of fuel each year to support about sixteen advanced reactors. Production will increase to sixteen tons per year by the early 2030s.
     On September 2nd of this year, the U.K. government announced a three million eight hundred thousand dollar grant to support the development of advanced nuclear technology. The grant came through the Advanced Modular Reactor Research, Development and Demonstration program which is part of the four hundred and fifty million dollars Advanced Nuclear Fund. This money will support the development of innovative nuclear technology in the U.K. such as HTGRs. They hope to demonstrate HTGR technology by the early 2030s.
      Under this funding, Springfields Fuel Ltd is receiving two hundred and eighty thousand dollars to determine the most effective route for the secure and reliable supply of coated fuel particles to support the ranges of potential HTGR technologies which may develop in the U.K. Their study will focus on UCO-kernel TRISO as the standard CPF fuel type for contemporary HTGR designs but will design the facility for maximum flexibility to manufacture a wide range of variations on this fuel.

Poland picks U.S. offer for its first nuclear power plant reuters.com

Cracks found in all four OL3 feedwater pumps world-nuclear-news.org

Poland looks to South Korea to build 2nd nuclear power plant spectrumlocalnews.com

‘Swarm’ of drones spotted flying above UK nuclear plant metro.co.uk

Ambient office = 67 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 109 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 112 nanosieverts per hour

Avocado from Central Market = 121 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 97 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 81 nanosieverts per hour

     General Atomics (GA) has just revealed a steady-state, compact advanced tokamak Fusion Pilot Plant (FPP) concept. GA says that the FPP design capitalizes on its innovations and advancements in fusion technology.
     The GA fusion system creates a plasma with powerful magnets and microwave heating. In steady-state operation, the fusion plasma is maintained for long periods of time. This is done to maximize efficiency, reduce maintenance costs and increase the lifetime of the facility.
     GA said that the facility would utilize its proprietary Fusion Synthesis Engine (FUSE). This will enable engineers, physicists, and operators to rapidly perform a broad range of studies and continuously optimize the power plant for maximum efficiency.
     GA has also developed an advanced modular concept referred to as GAMBL for the breeding blanket which is a critical component of the fusion power cycle that breeds tritium which is a fusion energy fuel source. This will make the fusion fuel cycle self-sufficient.
     According to GA, the FPP will provide baseload energy without any harmful emissions or long-lived waste. GA said that the plant will be “Capable of operating around the clock, commercialized fusion power plants would provide sustainable, carbon-free firm energy for generations.”
     Wayne Solomon is the Vice President of Magnetic Fusion Energy at GA. He said, “Our practical approach to a FPP is the culmination of more than six decades of investments in fusion research and development, the experience we have gained from operating the DIII-D National Fusion Facility on behalf of the US Department of Energy (DOE), and the hard work of countless dedicated individuals. This is a truly exciting step towards realizing fusion energy.”
     Brian Grierson is the Director of the Fusion Pilot Plant Hub at GA. He said, “General Atomics has a long and storied history of being at the forefront of fusion innovations. We are proud to be a world leader in plasma theory and modeling, advanced materials engineering, and other areas necessary for commercializing fusion. We intend to bring the full strength of our institutional expertise to this effort as we advance our vision for fusion energy.”
    DIII-D has been conducting groundbreaking fusion research since the mid-1980 with support for the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and substantial international collaboration. There are over one hundred participating institutions and a research team of more than six hundred scientists collaborating at DIII-D,
     In March of last year, scientists at DIII-D released a new concept for a compact fusion reactor design they said could help define the technology required for commercial fusion power. The Compact Advanced Tokamak (CAT) concept enables a higher-performance, self-sustaining configuration that holds energy more efficiently. This will allow it to be built at a reduced scale and cost. The CAT concept was developed from simulations of a first-of-a-kind reactor. The physics-based approach combines theory developed at the DIII-D facility with computing by Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists using the Cori supercomputer at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. It is based on development and testing of the underlying physics concept on DIII-D.
     In July of this year, GA announced that it was collaborating with the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to address a critical challenge to the economic fusion energy as part of a public-private partnership funded by the DoE. The partnership will combine GA’s experience in fusion energy research with SRNL’s expertise in processing and storing tritium. Tritium is one of the fuel gases used in fusion.
     Anantha Krishnan is Senior Vice President of the General Atomics Energy Group. He said, “Excitement for fusion energy is at an all-time high, with historic interest from private industry and government. We look forward to working with our partners to make our vision for economic fusion energy a reality. Now is the time for fusion, and General Atomics plans to lead the way.”

USA, Japan partner with Ghana on SMR deployment world-nuclear-news.org

Russia’s Putin: ‘No need’ to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine tribdem.com

Iran Is an Ever More ‘Relevant’ Problem usnews.com

Putin watches first Russian nuclear drill since invasion of Ukraine bbc.com

Ambient office = 69 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 121 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 118 nanosieverts per hour

Roma tomato from Central Market = 106 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 97 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 83 nanosieverts per hour

     Fortum is a Finnish utility company. They have just launched a two-year feasibility study to review the prerequisites for constructing new commercial nuclear reactors in Finland and Sweden. Both small modular reactors (SMRs) and conventional big reactors will be included in the study. Fortum will examine commercial, technological, and societal, including political, legal and regulatory, conditions for the construction of new reactors.
     The Fortum feasibility study will also consider the new build process. This includes progress of planning, siting and licensing. Fortum said that the intention of the working group is to engage the essential external stakeholders in active dialogue. The stakeholders include political decision makers, civil servants, and nuclear authorities in Finland and Sweden.
     Fortum issued a statement that said, “With the current uncertainty in the energy market, ventures in the nuclear industry will most likely involve partnership constellations. Partnerships may be formed e.g. between nuclear generating and district heating companies, industrial off-takers of power and heat for whom competitive energy supply is of increasing strategic importance, and nuclear utilities, or start-up companies and established utilities with nuclear competence. Thus, the feasibility study will also explore the potential for service business offerings for new projects in Europe and hydrogen for industrial applications.”
     Simon-Eric Ollus is the Executive Vice President in the Generation Division at Fortum. He said, “The goals of energy independence, security of supply and carbon neutrality are challenges facing our entire society. We want to find out under which conditions we could meet them with nuclear power generation, which is known to be reliable and CO2-free.”
     Laurent Leveugle is leading the Fortum study. He said, “The challenges related to new nuclear are well-known. Achieving competitive construction times and costs are must-win battles for our industry. In this feasibility study, we aim to explore novel partnerships, new business models and technologies, such as small modular reactors, which are promising in terms of taking nuclear power forward to future generations.”
     Fortum operates the Loviisa plant which contains two VVER-440 type pressurized. That plant was the first nuclear power plant in Finland and currently provides more than ten percent of the country’s electricity. Loviisa Unit 1 began operating in 1977. Unit 2 began operation in 1981. In March of this year, Fortum filed an application to operate both Loviisa’s Units 1 and 2 until the end of 2050. The current operating license for Unit 1 expires in 2027 and the Unit 2 license expires in 2030.
     Fortum holds stakes in Units 1 and 2 of the Olkiluoto plant in Finland. They also hold stakes in Units 1, 2 and 3 at the Forsmark plant as well as Unit 3 of the Oskarshamn in Sweden.
     Matti Kattainen is the Head of Nuclear Futures Agenda for Fortum. He said, “For us at Fortum, nuclear power is a central pillar of carbon-free electricity generation together with hydro and wind power. We just submitted an operating license application to continue production at Loviisa until 2050. Nuclear power’s stabilizing effect also makes it possible to increase weather-dependent, renewable energy production. One of Fortum’s key strategic targets is to strengthen and grow in CO2-free generation. In terms of nuclear power, the share of production of Olkiluoto unit three and the lifetime extension of the Loviisa nuclear power plant are part of our strategy implementation. Fortum is exploring opportunities to also grow in small nuclear power.”

Australia drops nuclear weapon opposition huntervalleynews.net.au

General Electric’s Next Big Nuclear Tech is Going Small news.daily.com

UN nuclear agency to probe Russia claim of `dirty bombs’ federalnewsnetwork.com

Nuclear Sea-Launched Cruise Missile Has ‘Zero Value’ news.usni.org

 

 

Ambient office = 99 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 106 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 106 nanosieverts per hour

Red bell pepper from Central Market = 93 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 98 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 73 nanosieverts per hour