Part 1 of 2 Parts
     The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly referred to as COP27, was the 27th United Nations Climate Change conference, was held from 6 November until 20 November 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.  More than 92 heads of state and an estimated 35,000 representatives, or delegates, of 190 countries attending. It was the first climate summit held in Africa since 2016. The world is obviously very concerned about emissions of carbon dioxide related to fossil fuel use.
      Electricity generation accounts for about thirty percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions and carbon emitting fossil fuels like coal and natural gas account for about sixty one percent of power generation. If the world is going to meet its goal of net-zero emissions in the face of rising demands for power, something is going to have to change.
      There are limits to variable energy sources like wind and solar power. By 2030, they could be the lowest-cost generation in most markets as their costs continue to fall. However, they are non-dispatchable because they only produce electricity when the wind blows or the sun shines. There is a serious need for base load power sources that can match supply and demand in real time.
     Ultimately, improved energy storage could solve this problem but currently it is small-scale and expensive. Other forms of dispatchable zero-carbon energy, such as geothermal or tidal power, are expensive with limited sites. They are also less technologically mature. What is really needed is an affordable, scalable, safe and dispatchable zero-carbon generation technology.
     Nuclear-fusion energy could be a part of the answer if it can be perfected. Fusion works by the combination of light atoms such as hydrogen into heavier atoms such as helium. When this reaction occurs, enormous amounts of energy are released. Nuclear fusion reactors under development would capture this released energy and convert it into electricity. Fusion creates no carbon emissions and, unlike nuclear fission, it creates no long-lived nuclear waste from spent nuclear fuel. Because the fusion fuel is slowly fed into the reactor, there can be no meltdowns or runaway events such as those possible with nuclear fission reactors.
     The potential of fusion as an energy source has been recognized since the 1950s. Fusion skeptics like to joke that practical fusion energy has been “twenty years away for the paste fifty years. However, fusion power generation has begun to catch up to the hype.
      3-D printing has allowed the complex geometrical shapes of parts required for the walls of fusion reactors to be produced at low cost. This has also allowed designs to be revised and tested quickly. The rapidly increasing computer capacity has made it possible for simulation programs to represent fusion reactions in much greater detail than previous simulations. Predictions about performance can be made without the high cost of building large experiments. Rapid digital controls are improving the suppression of plasma fluctuations. These fluctuations cause energy to leak out of the core fusion reaction. These and other technological advances have create the right conditions in which fusion can develop more rapidly.
Please read Part 2 next

Polar crane installed at Kursk II unit 2 world-nuclear-news.org

ARC SMR proposed for green energy hub at Canadian port world-nuclear-news.org

Bilbao y León reflects on nuclear’s presence at COP27  world-nuclear-news.org

Russia rejects claims it plans to leave Zaporizhzhia nuclearstreet.com

 

Ambient office = 77 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 125 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 125 nanosieverts per hour

Tomato from Central Market = 66 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     Almost ninety percent of the world’s new reactors in the past five years have been constructed on Chinese or Russian designs, according to the International Energy Agency. Those two countries also control more than sixty percent of the planet’s converted uranium required for nuclear power production.
     There have been lingering effects of the pandemic and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Sung-Mi Kim is an international security researcher. He wrote in a recent analysis for Chatham House that “domestic economic slowdowns and international sanctions will be a stress test for the export potential of Russia and China.”
     The U.S. is still the only country in the world that has more operational power plants than France. The U.S. could speed up research and development on rival technology, and potentially yield room for cooperation.
      However, it could also imply more intense competition between Western allies. The U.S. Energy Secretary announced the selection of Westinghouse to build the Polish nuclear plant last month. She said that it was “a clear message to Russia.” The Polish project will sustain or create more than one hundred thousand jobs for U.S. workers.
     France earned its reputation as a leading nuclear energy nation amid the oil crisis in the 1970s. The oil crisis prompted a wave of new reactor construction according to Alexandre Danthine who is a senior associate with Aurora Energy Research.
     However, as the existing nuclear power plants kept producing sufficient amounts of cheap electricity, interest in constructing new nuclear power reactors faded. Technological expertise disappeared as nuclear workers retired or moved abroad. The Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan raised questions over whether any new nuclear plants would ever be built in France.
     The French nuclear industry steady decline has only been reversed over the past few years. Macron began pushing nuclear power as a way for Europe to achieve energy independence without having to increase carbon emissions.
     Macron has acknowledged that the French industry has “fallen behind.” However, he has defended its ability to recover. He has been striking deals on nuclear energy cooperation in recent months with countries including India and Britain.
     Macron is scheduled to attends a nuclear energy session on Wednesday. He will be accompanied by four French cabinet members and several executives from the country’s major nuclear energy firms and its public regulator.
     A French official said Monday that one area where France anticipates possible mutual interests is the development of small modular reactors (SMRs). SMRs produce less energy than traditional nuclear power plants but are advertised as cheaper, safer and quicker to produce at large scale.
     That could help counter some of the key criticism of nuclear energy. The construction of large nuclear power plants is expensive and can take decades while other renewable energy sources such as wind and solar can be operational in months or years and are increasingly cheap.
     Critics often criticize France’s large pressurized water reactors or EPRs which are touted as offering advances in safety and efficiency over conventional reactors while producing less waste. Unfortunate, the first such plant under construction in France has repeatedly been delayed since construction began in 2007.
     France is still betting on EPRs. It intends to build at least six more by 2050. However, the SMRs appear to be the most promising field of international growth.
     Countries around the world are still racing to develop designs. Russia’s floating Akademik Lomonosov nuclear power plant already began operation in 2020.
     A Franco-U.S. cooperation would not be without precedent. France’s nuclear expansion was largely possible because France struck a deal to utilize U.S. technology.

BRIN, Russia forge cooperation to develop nuclear human resources antaranews.com

Excavation of Chinese underground lab begins world-nuclear-news.org

Kremlin denies Russians are about to withdraw from nuclear plant; ‘ugly’ clash erupts between Kyiv officials cnbc.com

India sees SMRs in its clean energy future world-nuclear-news.org

 

 

 

Ambient office = 89 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 105 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 106 nanosieverts per hour

Red bell pepper from Central Market = 106 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 97 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 79 nanosieverts per hour

Part 1 of 2 Parts
     French President Emmanuel Macron tours Washington, DC starting Wednesday for his first state visit to the Biden administration. One of the reasons for his visit is to promote his plans for a French nuclear renaissance. His entourage includes major players from France’s nuclear energy industry. They are looking to Macron to help boost the development and export of their nuclear technology. This includes small modular and advanced reactors. Unfortunately, this is a very awkward time to promote French nuclear expertise.
     While Macron was preparing to travel to Washington, DC, France was getting international assistance to assist them in preventing their nuclear-reliant power grid from collapsing. U.S. and Canadian contractors have been flown into France to help after serious safety concerns forced the closure of half of France’s nuclear power plants. Last week, 23 out of 26 French nuclear power reactors were still offline. Problems include concerns over corrosion cracks and an accumulation of pandemic-related inspection delays.
     2022 could have been a great opportunity for the French nuclear industry to demonstrate the promise Macron has talked about. Last February, Macron announced that France intends to construct as many as fourteen new reactors by 2050. Days later, during the Russian invasion Ukraine, Europe began moving away from Russian fossil fuels. Countries such as Germany that had already chosen to abandon nuclear energy were forced to reconsider the shut down of their existing power reactors.
     France used to be an energy exporter but recently it has had to import electricity from German. Germany was the country that bore the greatest impact by shifting away from Russian fuels. Britain has normally depended on France for energy to survive harsh winters. It is now asking people to keep their dishwashers and ovens off to avoid blackout.
     Other European neighbors of France, including Belgium, Switzerland and Italy might be under even more pressure because of problems that have taken French reactors offline. Clement Bouilloux is the country manager for France at emergency consultancy EnAppSys. He said, “Everyone was relying on the French nuclear power plants.”
     The current situation has tarnished France’s reputation as a nuclear power leader and may have caused France to miss out on key nuclear contracts. A few weeks ago, France’s state-owned energy company EDF lost the first part of a forty billion dollar contract to construct Poland’s first nuclear power plant. U.S. company Westinghouse got that contract.
     The U.S. and France may be aligned in their response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, they are often competitors when it comes to exporting nuclear technology.
     Russia and China have emerged as dominant forces in the international nuclear marketplace. French officials say that transatlantic partnerships would be of benefit to both them and the U.S. A French official speaking anonymously for protocol reasons said, “We have a strong base, and we have the same challenges.
     Energy consultancy Enerdata said in an assessment of the nuclear market last year that while the U.S, “had an historic leadership in the sector, its nuclear energy industry has become sluggish in comparison to Russia and China.
Please read Part 2 next

Ambient office = 105 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 99 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 97 nanosieverts per hour

Seedless grape from Central Market = 111 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 104 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Russia-US nuclear disarmament talks postponed Aljazeera.com

FANR hosts workshop on developing nuclear security systems during major public events wam.ae

Gecko Robotics to Help U.S. Air Force Modernize Nuclear Triad businesswire.com

Uranium-rich Niger struggles despite nuclear resurgence iraqinews.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

China completes core component for ITER neimagazine.com

Reactor bottom prepared for Akkuyu unit 4 neimagazine.com

Orano to support Uzbek uranium expansion plans world-nuclear-news.org

Major nuclear manufacturing operation opens in north Wales wrexham.com