# Nuclear News Network

> Independent daily nuclear energy news: new builds, SMRs, fuel, policy and fusion — plus a live tracker of every power reactor under construction worldwide.

This file helps AI search engines and assistants understand and cite Nuclear News Network. A clean Markdown version of any article is available by appending `.md` to its URL.

## Articles

- [South Korea nears $100B deal to build eight US reactors](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/south-korea-nears-100bn-us-reactor-deal): South Korea is finalizing a US energy package worth more than $100 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports: up to eight nuclear reactors — AP1000s first, APR1400s later — plus a Texas gas plant for AI data centers. An announcement could come as early as next week.
- [Centrus signs multi-year HALEU supply deal with Radiant](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/centrus-radiant-haleu-supply-contract): Centrus Energy and Radiant signed a definitive multi-year contract for HALEU to fuel multiple Kaleidos microreactors. Deliveries start before 2030, the fuel is unobligated US-origin material, and Radiant prepayments fund Centrus' domestic enrichment buildout.
- [DOE closes $1.9B loan to restart NextEra's Duane Arnold plant](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/doe-loan-duane-arnold-restart): The US Department of Energy closed a loan of up to $1.9 billion to NextEra Energy to restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa. The 615-MW plant, shuttered in 2020, targets a first-quarter 2029 return under a 25-year Google power purchase agreement, pending NRC approval.
- [South Korea weighs $120B for eight US reactors in tariff pact](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/south-korea-us-eight-reactors-framework): X is debating a reported $120B South Korean commitment to eight US reactors under the tariff deal. Verified by Korean press: Seoul is reviewing a comprehensive framework for eight reactors with a possible 18 September MOU. Unverified: the fleet mix.
- [Zaporizhzhia plant reconnected to grid after IAEA ceasefire repairs](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/zaporizhzhia-reconnected-grid-ferosplavna-1): The IAEA confirmed Zaporizhzhya NPP was reconnected to Ukraine's grid after its seventh brokered ceasefire enabled repairs to the 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 line, ending an almost-three-week outage on diesel generators. Fuel reserves had fallen to about a week.
- [Analysts size Africa's SMR market at $105B, 15 GW by 2035](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/africa-smr-market-105-billion): Nuclear Business Platform sizes Africa's SMR opportunity at up to $105 billion and 15,000 MW by 2035, anchored by South Africa's 5,200 MW IRP 2025 mandate and newcomer programs in Rwanda, Ghana and Kenya. The World Bank's June 2025 financing-ban reversal is the hinge.
- [IAEA ceasefire opens repairs on Zaporizhzhia's sole power line](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/zaporizhzhia-ceasefire-power-line-repairs): A seventh IAEA-brokered ceasefire took effect on 5 September 2026 to repair the 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 line, Zaporizhzhya's only off-site power connection, lost on 20 August. The IAEA warns of a possible station blackout within days.
- [The 8 nuclear stories that mattered this week](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/weekly-roundup-2026-36): This week's eight most consequential NNN stories run from a historic US reactor restart through Kazakhstan's first nuclear EPC, first-of-a-kind fusion licensing in Tennessee and Japan, a tripling of US uranium output and a hard look at drone security.
- [NRC finds two Green radiation-safety lapses during Palisades restart](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nrc-palisades-restart-radiation-safety-findings): The NRC cited Holtec's Palisades plant for two Green, non-cited violations after airborne radioactivity in a work pit hit 469 times the derived air concentration and 29 worker air samples went unevaluated. No worker exceeded dose limits.
- [Unity microreactor goes viral in Australia's nuclear ban debate](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/unity-microreactor-australia-ban-debate): A viral X thread on Deployable Energy's Unity microreactor, framed as 'banned in Australia,' drove a nuclear advocacy surge — about 4K likes and ~98K views within hours. The verified core: Unity hit zero-power criticality at INL on 30 June 2026, ~150 days from kickoff.
- [Rosatom signs EPC contract for Kazakhstan's first nuclear plant](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/rosatom-signs-epc-contract-kazakhstan-balkhash-plant): Rosatom and Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants signed the EPC contract on 3 September 2026 for the two-unit, ~2.4 GW Balkhash plant, Kazakhstan's first nuclear power plant. The deal covers two VVER-1200s, with a site license targeted for 2027 and first power in 2034.
- [Japan selects Helical Fusion for fusion power demonstration](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/japan-selects-helical-fusion-fusion-demo): Japan's METI has conditionally selected Helical Fusion for a milestone-based grant program backing private fusion developers targeting power demonstrations in the 2030s. The Tokyo stellarator startup is one of four finalists; grant amounts follow after conditions are met.
- [US uranium production more than triples in 2025](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/us-uranium-production-triples-2025): US uranium facilities produced about 2.1 million pounds of U3O8 concentrate in 2025, up from 657,000 pounds in 2024 and the highest annual total since 2017. Drilling, employment and industry spending also increased, but mining remains only the first step in making reactor fuel.
- [Why nuclear power plants can't shoot down drones](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/why-nuclear-plants-cant-shoot-down-drones): A drone over a US nuclear plant can be watched but rarely lawfully stopped: federal law treats drones as aircraft and reserves defeat authority for a few agencies. The NRC requires no drone defenses, 26+ overflights were logged in 2024, and bills to close the gap are pending.
- [Counter-drone defense, explained: how energy sites fight drones](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/counter-uas-explained): Counter-UAS systems detect, track, identify and defeat hostile drones by layering RF sensors, radar and cameras with jammers and interceptors. After drones overflew nuclear plants in Europe and the US, budgets followed: a $1.5B DHS contract, Europe's drone wall, ~$30B by 2031.
- [Tennessee issues first state fusion license to Type One Energy](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/tennessee-first-state-fusion-license-type-one-energy): Tennessee issued the first fusion-specific license granted by any US state on August 31, clearing Type One Energy to break ground at TVA's retired Bull Run coal site. Infinity One prototype targeted for 2029; a ~400 MWe Infinity Two plant is projected to start up by 2034.
- [Palisades begins fuel loading ahead of planned restart](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/palisades-fuel-loading-restart): Holtec International has started loading nuclear fuel into the Palisades reactor vessel in Michigan. The move places the plant in Mode 6, but it is not criticality, grid connection, or commercial operation: inspections, testing, authorization, and startup work remain.
- [India and Uzbekistan advance long-term uranium arrangement](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/india-uzbekistan-uranium-arrangement-progress): India and Uzbekistan said they had advanced a long-term arrangement for uranium supplies during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Uzbekistan. The official readouts confirm progress, but do not disclose a signed contract, volume, price, or delivery schedule.
- [Nature Outlook puts SMRs at center of AI power debate](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nature-outlook-smrs-ai-power-demand): Nature's Aug. 26 Outlook treats small modular reactors as a serious response to rising electricity demand from AI data centers, but its reporting also lays out the unresolved problems: cost, fuel supply, waste disposal and regulatory capacity.
- [The 6 nuclear stories that mattered this week](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/weekly-roundup-2026-35): This week's six most consequential NNN stories show nuclear moving simultaneously through procurement, demonstration, construction and operations, while public acceptance and climate conditions shape what can be built and kept online.
- [Akkuyu 2 completes primary-circuit welding](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/akkuyu-2-primary-circuit-welding-completed): Akkuyu 2 has completed main coolant-pipeline welding after 73 days. The work forms the primary circuit, but testing, fuel loading and electricity production remain ahead.
- [US Army picks five vendors for Janus microreactors](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/army-janus-five-microreactor-vendors): The US Army selected five vendors and five military installations for its Janus microreactor program. The agreements could provide up to $2.2 billion through fiscal 2031, but the projects still face technical, licensing and construction milestones.
- [HALEU, explained: the fuel advanced reactors need](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/haleu-explained): HALEU is uranium enriched above 5% and below 20% U-235. Most advanced reactors need it; today's fleet does not. Centrus has licensed demonstration production in Ohio. Actinide says it produced research-scale HALEU in Dallas.
- [France authorises Gravelines site work for two EPR2 reactors](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/france-gravelines-epr2-site-preparation): France has authorised EDF to begin environmental and civil works needed to prepare the Gravelines site for two EPR2 reactors. The decree moves the project into physical site work, but EDF still needs a separate nuclear creation decree before building the reactor units themselves.
- [Natrium timeline: every milestone from ARDP award to first power](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/natrium-timeline): The dated record of the Natrium project: ARDP selection in 2020, Kemmerer chosen in 2021, the HALEU slip to 2030, the March 2026 NRC construction permit, construction from April 2026, and a pipeline reaching Meta, PacifiCorp, Korea and the UK. Updated as milestones land.
- [NRIC picks 13 projects for Nuclear Energy Launch Pad's second round](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nric-launch-pad-second-round-13-projects): DOE's National Reactor Innovation Center selected 13 projects from 12 developers for the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad on Aug. 24, 2026, the first open round of the privately funded, DOE-authorized build pathway. Eight companies are new to DOE's fast track; six projects go to INL.
- [Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, explained: DOE's private-build fast track](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nuclear-energy-launch-pad-explained): The Nuclear Energy Launch Pad is a DOE initiative run by NRIC at INL that lets privately funded developers build reactors and fuel-cycle facilities under DOE authorization instead of an NRC license, at INL or nationwide. DOE provides land and review; developers pay.
- [Westinghouse eVinci microreactor reaches zero-power criticality](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/westinghouse-evinci-zero-power-criticality): Westinghouse completed zero-power criticality testing of its eVinci microreactor at a US national laboratory. The test validated core models, but did not demonstrate power operation or commercial deployment.
- [Paks returns two reactors to nominal power as Danube rises](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/paks-reactors-return-nominal-power-danube): MVM Paks has returned Units 1 and 3 to nominal power after the Danube rose and a submerged riverbed sill restored operating conditions for cooling-water intake. Two of the plant's four reactors are now at nominal power, while the recovery continues under regulator oversight.
- [Gallup: 71% oppose local AI data centers, vs. 53% for nuclear](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/gallup-local-ai-data-centers-vs-nuclear): Gallup found 71% oppose a local AI data center, compared with 53% for a nuclear plant. Community acceptance may be as difficult as securing power for AI infrastructure.
- [Doosan Enerbility wins TerraPower Natrium component contract](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/doosan-enerbility-natrium-components): Doosan Enerbility signed a manufacturing contract to supply the core barrel, guard vessel and internal supports for TerraPower’s first Natrium reactor in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The order turns a 2024 manufacturability review into production work for the sodium-cooled design.
- [NRC opens hearing window for Orano’s Project Ike](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nrc-orano-project-ike-hearing): The NRC opened a 60-day opportunity to request a contested hearing on Orano’s Project Ike license application. The $5 billion Oak Ridge facility would enrich uranium to a maximum of 8% uranium-235.
- [FANCO tells NRC it plans HALEU fuel facility](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/fanco-haleu-fuel-fabrication-nrc-notice): First American Nuclear Co. filed a regulatory engagement plan with the NRC for a Category II HALEU deconversion and fuel fabrication facility. FANCO says it plans to submit a 10 CFR Part 70 license application in the fourth quarter of 2027.
- [Urenco breaks ground on New Mexico enrichment expansion](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/urenco-usa-enrichment-expansion-groundbreaking): Urenco USA held a groundbreaking for a new enrichment plant at its National Enrichment Facility in Eunice, New Mexico. The project adds 2.1 million SWU through 24 centrifuge cascades, with production beginning in 2032 and installation continuing through 2036.
- [Radiant’s Kaleidos microreactor heads to Idaho](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/radiant-kaleidos-journey-to-idaho): Radiant’s 1 MWe Kaleidos microreactor left California on a trailer for Idaho National Laboratory’s DOME test bed. The five-phase campaign is designed to move from zero-power criticality to full-power operation and a 150-hour autonomous run.
- [Diablo Canyon receives $271 million nuclear credit payment](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/diablo-canyon-civil-nuclear-credit-payment): Pacific Gas and Electric received $271 million from DOE’s Civil Nuclear Credit program to support continued operation of Diablo Canyon Unit 1. The payment is the first disbursement from the program’s only award to date and shows how retention funding reaches an operating plant.
- [Haiyang-3 completes hot functional testing](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/haiyang-3-hot-tests-completed): State Power Investment Corporation completed hot functional tests at Haiyang Unit 3 in China’s Shandong province. The CAP1000 unit passed 53 commissioning procedures and is targeted for fuel loading and first grid connection within 2026.
- [The 6 nuclear stories that mattered this week](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/the-6-nuclear-stories-that-mattered-this-week): This week's six stories turned on bankability and margins: TerraPower bought construction certainty, Spain priced energy security over its phase-out calendar, Cernavoda lost its cooling margin, and Aalo turned a criticality milestone into a manufacturing bet.
- [Blue Energy and GVH advance 2.5 GW gas-plus-nuclear plant in Texas](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/blue-energy-gvh-2-5gw-texas-gas-plus-nuclear): Blue Energy and GE Vernova Hitachi advanced a 2.5 GW gas-plus-nuclear plant in Victoria, Texas: 1 GW of gas turbines for a data center in 2030, then up to five BWRX-300 SMRs from 2032. Final investment decision is targeted for 2027.
- [Nuclea buys Moltex reactor and fuel-recycling portfolio](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nuclea-acquires-moltex-technology-portfolio): Nuclea Energy has agreed to acquire Moltex's advanced nuclear technology portfolio — the WATSS waste-to-salt recycling process, the SSR-W wasteburner fast reactor and FLEX — an asset-led, all-cash deal from a decade of development with 80 granted patents.
- [NexGen breaks ground on Rook I uranium mine in Saskatchewan](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nexgen-rook-i-construction-start): NexGen Energy has started construction at the Rook I uranium project in northern Saskatchewan, opening a four-year build toward a mine expected to produce 30 million pounds of uranium per year. The Arrow deposit holds 239.6 million pounds U3O8 of probable reserves at 2.37% grade.
- [Spain extends Almaraz operating licence to 2030, delaying phase-out](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/spain-extends-almaraz-licence-to-2030): Spain's ecological transition ministry published an order renewing the Almaraz operating licence until June 2030, superseding phase-out shutdowns scheduled for October 2027 and October 2028. The government says the 2035 end date for the whole nuclear fleet stands.
- [TerraPower names Hyundai E&C as EPC for up to eight Natrium reactors](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/terrapower-hdec-epc-eight-natrium-reactors): TerraPower selected Hyundai Engineering & Construction as EPC for up to eight future Natrium reactors, with completion, price and performance guarantees meant to enable conventional commercial financing. A separate SK Innovation term sheet targets Korea's first Natrium plant.
- [Aalo turns its July 4 criticality into a reactor mass-production push](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/aalo-criticality-mass-production-push): Aalo CEO Matt Loszak is driving a high-velocity X conversation around the July 4 criticality milestone and a coming manufacturing announcement. Verified: a zero-power criticality of a full-scale core at INL, and a planned one-million-sq-ft factory to mass-produce Aalo Pods.
- [Cernavoda shuts both reactors as Danube falls below cooling threshold](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/cernavoda-shuts-both-reactors-as-danube-falls-below-cooling-threshold): Romania began the controlled shutdown of Cernavoda Unit 2 after the Danube's level fell below the plant's operating threshold. Both reactors are now in safe shutdown, while Hungary is preparing a riverbed sill and barges to protect cooling water at Paks.
- [Tianwan 7 begins loading its first nuclear fuel](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/tianwan-7-first-fuel-loaded): China has begun loading fuel into Tianwan 7, a Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactor. The unit must still reach criticality, connect to the grid and complete testing before planned commercial operation in 2026.
- [Prometheus says 32 partners. INL's own roster names 33.](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/prometheus-partner-count-32-vs-33): DOE and INL press materials call Prometheus a 32-partner consortium, but INL's own roster names 33 organizations. Archived captures show 33 names since at least July 25 — not a late addition. The likeliest reading is 'INL as lead plus 32 partners,' but no official source says so.
- [Jellyfish Take Three Gravelines Reactors Offline](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/gravelines-jellyfish-cooling-disruption): EDF took three Gravelines reactors offline after jellyfish clogged seawater cooling pumps. A fourth unit ran at half output, leaving one of six units at full power; EDF reported no impact on facility, personnel or environmental safety.
- [Rosatom sends staff back to Iran's Bushehr plant](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/rosatom-specialists-return-bushehr): Rosatom has begun returning Russian engineering specialists to Iran's Bushehr plant after conflict-related evacuations. Five have arrived, bringing the Russian team to 25; further returns depend on security conditions.
- [Tianwan 8 completes cold functional tests](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/tianwan-8-completes-cold-functional-tests): CNNC says Tianwan 8 has completed cold functional tests, moving the unit from installation into commissioning. The 1,100 MWe VVER-1200 still needs hot testing, fuel loading and grid connection before commercial operation.
- [Slovakia’s Mochovce 4 Reaches First Criticality After 39 Years](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/mochovce-4-first-criticality): Slovenské elektrárne says Mochovce Unit 4 reached first criticality on 6 August 2026, nearly 39 years after construction began. The 471-MWe VVER-440 unit must still complete start-up tests, connect to the grid and pass a demonstration run before commercial operation.
- [Zaporizhzhia raises spent-fuel pool water levels](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/zaporizhzhia-raises-spent-fuel-pool-water-levels): Operators at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant are raising water levels in the spent-fuel pools at all six units. The precaution is meant to extend the time before boiling could begin if prolonged off-site power loss outlasted the site's diesel fuel supplies.
- [The 7 nuclear stories that mattered this week](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/the-7-nuclear-stories-that-mattered-this-week): This week's seven stories traced the nuclear buildout from capital markets and state procurement to reactor approvals, licensing, first criticality, fuel supply and wartime safety margins.
- [X-energy and Centrus sign HALEU deal for Xe-100](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/x-energy-centrus-haleu-supply-agreement): X-energy and Centrus signed a phased LEU and HALEU enrichment agreement. Material will move from Ohio to X-energy's TRISO-X fuel facility in Tennessee for part of the initial needs of an 11.5 GW pipeline.
- [Oklo's Groves reactor reaches first criticality in Texas](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/oklo-groves-first-criticality): Oklo says its Groves Isotope Test Reactor in Texas has achieved first criticality, a controlled, self-sustaining chain reaction at low power. The milestone came less than a year after groundbreaking; commercial power and isotope production are still ahead.
- [The ADVANCE Act, explained: what changed and where the NRC stands](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/advance-act-explained): The ADVANCE Act (July 2024) is the biggest NRC reform law in a generation: advanced-reactor fees cut 53% to $148/hr, foreign ownership opened to OECD nations and India, a pro-deployment mission, and 36 tracked milestones — 33 done by August 2026. Reviews are measurably faster.
- [DOE nuclear funding, explained: every program paying for the buildout](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/doe-nuclear-funding-explained): Federal nuclear money flows through six channels: DOE loans (now Energy Dominance Financing, headlined by $17.5bn for supply chain), the ARDP demos, $2.7bn in uranium enrichment contracts, Genesis Mission AI awards, the Civil Nuclear Credit and the 45U/45Y/48E tax credits.
- [Top SMR developers in 2026, ranked by what they've actually built](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/top-smr-developers-2026): Ranked by hard evidence, August 2026: GE Vernova Hitachi leads with BWRX-300 in construction; TerraPower is second after an HDEC fleet EPC deal; Rolls-Royce SMR third. Oklo, X-energy, Kairos, NuScale, Holtec and Westinghouse follow.
- [NRC reactor licensing process, explained](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nrc-reactor-licensing-process-explained): The NRC licenses new reactors through safety, environmental and public reviews. Applicants can use the two-step Part 50 route or the combined-license route under Part 52; Part 53 is still being developed.
- [China approves eight reactors across four nuclear projects](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/china-approves-eight-reactors): China's State Council approved eight reactors across four projects on 31 July. Six units will use Hualong One, including the first Hualong One 2.0 demonstration units, while two Guohe One units at Laiyang will begin the technology's first standardized batch-built project.
- [How states procure new nuclear power](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/how-states-procure-new-nuclear): States buy new nuclear through planning, site readiness, competitive bids, financing, licensing and ratepayer review. New Jersey's 1,100 MW Power NJ Act shows the buyer-side process.
- [Westinghouse files for IPO as Cameco touts AP1000 pipeline](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/westinghouse-ipo-cameco-brookfield-ap1000-pipeline): Westinghouse Electric — 49% Cameco, 51% Brookfield — confidentially filed a draft IPO registration. Alongside it, Cameco disclosed a pipeline of up to 91 potential AP1000 reactors totalling about 105 GWe across global markets.
- [China hot-tests first MW-class helium turbine for reactors](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/china-cnnc-helium-turbine-test-facility-hot-testing): CNNC subsidiary CNNC Huaxing completed the hot power-generation test of China's first MW-class helium turbine — a closed-loop Brayton-cycle machine that points toward higher-efficiency power conversion for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors.
- [CFS raises another $1 billion for commercial fusion path](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/commonwealth-fusion-systems-raises-1-billion): CFS raised another $1B — the largest fusion round since its 2021 raise — bringing total capital to $4B. CEO Bob Mumgaard says SPARC is about 80% complete.
- [Nuclear vs Natural Gas: Which Is Better for Baseload Power?](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nuclear-vs-natural-gas-baseload-power): Nuclear is the better baseload fit in the U.S. EIA says reactors generally run as base-load units, while many gas combined-cycle plants are intermediate-load. In 2025, nuclear supplied 18% of utility-scale generation from 7.7% of capacity; gas supplied 40% from 40.0%.
- [DOE names five states for nuclear fuel-cycle campus finalists](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/doe-five-states-nuclear-lifecycle-innovation-campus-finalists): DOE named Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah as finalists for Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses. Wright signed non-binding MOUs after 28 applications from 26 states. DOE cites up to $50B investment and nearly 25,000 jobs.
- [NRC clears Framatome Richland for TRISO fuel work](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nrc-approves-framatome-richland-triso-fuel-fabrication): NRC approved Framatome’s Richland amendment to raise enrichment handling to under 10% U-235 and fabricate TRISO. The same cycle brought a Lightbridge–QNI HALEU supply MoU.
- [DOE: four advanced reactors hit criticality in 2026](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/doe-four-advanced-reactors-reach-criticality-2026): DOE says four advanced test reactors reached criticality in 2026 — Antares Mark-0, Valar Ward 250, Deployable Energy Unity and Aalo-X — exceeding a July 4 target of three.
- [TRISO fuel, explained](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/triso-fuel-explained): TRISO packages uranium in layered ceramic coatings so each particle is its own containment. It underpins many advanced reactors and is moving into licensed U.S. manufacturing.
- [TerraPower becomes first advanced reactor company to join INPO](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/terrapower-first-advanced-reactor-company-to-join-inpo): TerraPower was accepted into the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations on July 21, 2026, the first advanced reactor company to join. Membership supports Kemmerer Unit 1, the 345-MWe Natrium reactor under construction in Wyoming.
- [Oklo gets DOE startup authorization for Groves reactor](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/oklo-groves-doe-startup-authorization): Oklo received DOE startup authorization for its Groves Isotope Test Reactor, clearing fuel loading, startup testing and first criticality after a just-over-10-month private-land build near Lockhart, Texas.
- [DOE picks 278 Genesis Mission projects; nuclear takes largest award](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/doe-genesis-mission-278-projects-nuclear): The US Department of Energy selected 278 projects under its Genesis Mission AI-for-science RFA, backed by more than $5 billion in federal commitments. Nuclear took the largest award: $60 million over three years for the INL-led Prometheus project.
- [DOE puts $60M behind INL-led Prometheus to build reactors with AI](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/doe-genesis-mission-prometheus-ai-nuclear): DOE awarded $60 million over three years to Prometheus, an Idaho National Laboratory-led project applying AI to reactor design, licensing, construction and operations. It is the largest of 278 first-round Genesis Mission awards, with over $200 million in industry cost share.
- [Power NJ Act, explained](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/power-nj-act-explained): New Jersey's Power NJ Act does not just endorse new nuclear. It creates a buyer-side procurement clock for at least 1,100 MW, with hearings, deadlines, and ratepayer guardrails running through July 2028.
- [Every Nuclear Plant Under Construction in the US in 2026](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/us-nuclear-plants-under-construction-2026): NNN's tracker shows one U.S. nuclear unit under construction in 2026: TerraPower's 345 MW Natrium at Kemmerer. The NRC permit landed in March, nuclear construction began in April, and completion is currently penciled in for 2031.
- [NNN Daily Brief — July 22, 2026](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/daily-brief-2026-07-22): Today in nuclear: a $40 million Intermountain-West nuclear corridor, two more Czech sites for Rolls-Royce SMRs, Ginna's 20-year licence-renewal filing, and nuclear M&A doubling to $7 billion.
- [NNN Daily Brief — July 21, 2026](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/daily-brief-2026-07-21): Today in nuclear: Bulgaria's AP1000 project got a bilateral push, Sweden's uranium law took effect, Serbia set its timeline, and microreactors found data-center buyers in Latin America.
- [New Jersey keeps its 1,100 MW nuclear procurement moving](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/new-jersey-keeps-1100-mw-nuclear-procurement-moving): New Jersey's Power NJ Act is still on a clock. The state wants at least 1,100 MW of new nuclear, and the calendar now runs through July 2028, which turns support into a buying process.
- [Mochovce 4 preparing for physical start-up tests](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/mochovce-4-preparing-for-physical-start-up-tests): Mochovce unit 4 has cleared assembly and sealing and is entering physical start-up tests. The milestone matters because it moves Slovakia one step closer to a unit that could raise the country's already high nuclear share.
- [NNN Daily Brief — July 19, 2026](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/daily-brief-2026-07-19): Today in nuclear: India's Mahi Banswara tender, New Jersey's 1,100 MW process, TRISO-X's Oak Ridge push, and Bruce Power's hot cell all pointed to execution.
- [India turns Mahi Banswara into a 2.8 GW PHWR procurement](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/india-mahi-banswara-phwr-procurement): NPCIL's Mahi Banswara tender has become the day's loudest India nuclear thread on X. Under the debate sits a verified 2.8 GW indigenous PHWR package that pushes the project from plan to procurement.
- [The best nuclear energy news sources (2026)](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/best-nuclear-energy-news-sources-2026): World Nuclear News remains the broadest free trade daily, ANS is best for U.S. depth, NucNet leads in Europe, and the NRC/IAEA feeds still publish first.
- [NNN Daily Brief — July 18, 2026](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/daily-brief-2026-07-18): Today in nuclear: Kola's site licences, Almaraz's extension, TRISO-X's grant, and newcleo's NRC plan all pointed to execution.
- [New Jersey sets timeline for 1,100 MW nuclear procurement](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/new-jersey-sets-timeline-for-1100-mw-nuclear-procurement): New Jersey's Power NJ Act turns a 1,100 MW nuclear target into a procurement timetable, with deadlines, ratepayer safeguards, and final board review.
- [Russia grants site licences for first two Kola units](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/russia-grants-site-licences-for-first-two-kola-units): Russia's regulator has granted site licences for the first two Kola nuclear units, moving the new plant one step deeper into the build pipeline. The decision does not start full construction, but it clears an early gating item in the licensing chain.
- [NNN Daily Brief — July 17, 2026](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/daily-brief-2026-07-17): Today in nuclear: TerraPower construction, TRISO-X fuel capacity, India's tender, and newcleo's licensing plan all pointed to execution.
- [TerraPower begins excavation at Kemmerer Unit 1](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/terrapower-begins-excavation-at-kemmerer-unit-1): TerraPower says excavation has begun at Kemmerer Unit 1, turning the Natrium project into visible site work ahead of foundation pour. The 345-megawatt sodium fast reactor paired with molten-salt storage is now moving from planning to earthmoving.
- [NNN Daily Brief — July 16, 2026](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/daily-brief-2026-07-16): Today in nuclear: New Jersey opened a 1,100 MW procurement path, Newcleo filed for NRC engagement, Congress advanced permit reform, and China moved Lufeng.
- [New Jersey opens 1,100 MW nuclear procurement process](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/new-jersey-opens-1100-mw-nuclear-procurement-process): New Jersey has turned advanced nuclear into a procurement program with dates, safeguards, and a 1,100 MW target. The state is no longer just talking about new nuclear; it is building a competitive route to buy it.
- [Newcleo lays out NRC licensing path for 200 MWe reactor](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/newcleo-us-nrc-licensing-path): Newcleo has turned a design pitch into an NRC engagement plan for its 200 MWe lead-cooled fast reactor. The filing does not grant a license, but it does open the pre-application path that every serious U.S. reactor entrant must eventually clear.
- [NNN Daily Brief — July 15, 2026](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/daily-brief-2026-07-15): Today in nuclear: AP1000 licensing, Lufeng construction, Temelín life extension, and fuel supply terms all moved.
- [NRC clears Westinghouse AP1000 exemption request](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nrc-clears-westinghouse-ap1000-exemption-request): The NRC's approval of Westinghouse's AP1000 exemption request keeps the design-certification renewal track alive and preserves a reusable licensing asset for the company. It is procedural, not a new reactor approval, but that procedural step is the point.
- [China General Nuclear installs reactor vessel at Lufeng unit 1](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/china-general-nuclear-installs-reactor-vessel-at-lufeng-unit-1): China General Nuclear has installed the reactor pressure vessel at Lufeng unit 1, moving the Guangdong site into a more equipment-heavy phase. The milestone matters because the six-unit project could eventually generate about 52 TWh a year.
- [The nuclear decommissioning market in 2026: size, players, pipeline](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nuclear-decommissioning-market-2026): Nuclear decommissioning is a roughly $8–11bn-a-year market in 2026, spread across 220 permanently shut reactors. Europe's pipeline tops $120bn, US trust funds near $100bn, and specialists like Holtec and NorthStar do most of the work — while restarts pull plants back out.
- [NNN Daily Brief — July 14, 2026](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/daily-brief-2026-07-14): Today in nuclear: the NRC is rewriting ALARA, Changjiang Unit 3 reached criticality, Paks is studying district heating, and Ukraine is funding more fuel-cycle work.
- [IEA says data-center SMR deals hit 45 GW](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/iea-says-data-center-smr-deals-hit-45-gw): The IEA says conditional data-center and SMR off-take agreements have climbed to 45 GW, up from 25 GW at the end of 2024. The report says AI power demand is now pushing nuclear into procurement conversations, not just planning decks.
- [NRC proposes removing ALARA from radiation protection rules](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nrc-proposes-removing-alara-from-radiation-protection-rules): The NRC is proposing to remove ALARA from radiation protection rules and replace it with a graded approach. The agency says dose limits stay in place, but it wants less ambiguity in how compliance is judged.
- [NNN Daily Brief — July 13, 2026](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/daily-brief-2026-07-13): India-Australia uranium exports, a data-center pipeline, and a tighter uranium outlook set the tone for today.
- [India-Australia uranium deal tightens the fuel-supply story](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/india-australia-uranium-deal-tightens-fuel-supply): Australia's uranium pact with India lands as analysts on X warn the fuel market is tightening and long-range nuclear demand is rising.
- [GridMarket, Deployable Energy announce $22.5B data-center nuclear deal](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/gridmarket-and-deployable-energy-tee-up-225b-data-center-nuclear-pipeline): GridMarket and Deployable Energy are trying to turn the data-center power crunch into a nuclear procurement pipeline. Their release puts $145 billion in estimated lifetime value and 3 GW of deployments through 2035 on the table.
- [NNN Daily Brief — July 12, 2026](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/daily-brief-2026-07-12): TVA's IRP leads a day of nuclear policy, private-sector expansion, and restart planning.
- [TVA's 2026 IRP puts advanced nuclear in the grid plan](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/tva-2026-irp-puts-advanced-nuclear-in-grid-plan): TVA's 2026 IRP is being read as a formal signal that advanced nuclear is no longer a side option. Analysts say the plan models 1–5 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2040 and builds an SMR procurement runway around rising load growth.
- [NITI Aayog maps SHANTI Act 2025 implementation](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/niti-aayog-shanti-act-implementation-consultation): NITI Aayog's SHANTI Act consultation shifted India's nuclear talk from permission to implementation. The July 10 meeting in New Delhi put FDI rules, insurance, manufacturing, and workforce planning on the same table.
- [The 5 nuclear stories that mattered this week](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/the-5-nuclear-stories-that-mattered-this-week): This week's nuclear news was a study in execution: a Westinghouse certification move, an Argentine SMR plan, Chernobyl funding, Ignalina dismantling, and the NRC's licensing reset.
- [NRC lets Westinghouse seek AP1000 design certification renewal](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nrc-lets-westinghouse-seek-ap1000-design-certification-renewal): The NRC says Westinghouse can seek renewal of the AP1000 design certification, preserving a reusable licensing path for future reactors while the AP1000 family continues to anchor Westinghouse's U.S. reactor strategy.
- [Centrus signs $900M DOE task order to scale HALEU production](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/centrus-signs-900m-doe-task-order-haleu-production): Centrus says it has signed the DOE task order that moves its HALEU program from demonstration toward commercial operation. The company says first new capacity is expected by 2029, with the initial build-out aimed at 12 metric tons a year.
- [Core Analysis: The license path is the product now](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/core-analysis-the-license-path-is-the-product-now): The NRC's NEPA rewrite, Clinch River, and Poland's CfD request all point to the same shift: the licensing path is becoming part of the product.
- [Sizewell B lifetime extension terms agreed to 2055](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/sizewell-b-lifetime-extension-2055): EDF and the UK government have agreed lifetime-extension terms that keep Sizewell B on the grid to 2055. The deal combines £800 million of refurbishment with a long-run strike price, making an existing reactor part of the UK's clean-power plan for two more decades.
- [NRC targets faster nuclear licensing with NEPA streamlining proposal](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nrc-targets-faster-nuclear-licensing-with-nepa-streamlining-proposal): The NRC proposes to narrow NEPA reviews to effects it can regulate, expand exclusions, and set deadlines for environmental assessments and impact statements.
- [BWRX-300 vs AP300 vs Natrium: which SMR is actually winning?](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/bwrx-300-vs-ap300-vs-natrium): As of mid-2026: BWRX-300 is in construction with an operating licence filed (Darlington); Natrium holds a March 2026 construction permit and broke ground in Wyoming; AP300 remains in pre-licensing. Deployment maturity order: BWRX-300, Natrium, AP300.
- [Natrium, explained: TerraPower's reactor with a built-in battery](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/natrium-reactor-explained): Natrium is TerraPower's 345 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor with molten-salt storage that flexes output to 500 MWe for 5.5+ hours. It won the NRC's first modern fast-reactor construction permit in March 2026, broke ground at Kemmerer in April, and TerraPower joined INPO in July.
- [The BWRX-300, explained](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/bwrx-300-explained): The BWRX-300 is GE Vernova Hitachi's 300 MWe boiling-water SMR, a simplified descendant of the licensed ESBWR — and the most deployment-advanced SMR in the West: four units approved at Darlington with unit 1 in construction, and Poland proposing fourteen more.
- [Small modular reactors, explained: who is building them worldwide](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/smrs-explained): Small modular reactors are nuclear plants of up to ~300 MWe per module, factory-built for serial deployment. Two designs already generate power in China and Russia. Western first units are in construction at Darlington and Kemmerer; 127 designs compete worldwide.
- [Poland's Orlen Synthos seeks CfD backing for 14 BWRX-300 SMRs](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/polands-orlen-synthos-seeks-cfd-backing-for-14-bwrx-300-smrs): Orlen Synthos Green Energy has asked Poland's energy ministry for CfD support for a 14-unit BWRX-300 programme at three sites — a financing framework that would turn Europe's most ambitious SMR plan into a fundable project.
- [DOE to offer $17.5bn in nuclear supply chain loans](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/doe-to-offer-17-5bn-in-nuclear-supply-chain-loans): The DOE's Office of Energy Dominance Financing has issued a loan opportunity worth up to $17.5bn for nuclear supply-chain support, aimed at the vendors, fabricators and component suppliers behind a ten-reactor buildout.
- [OPG seeks licence to operate first G7 small modular reactor](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/opg-seeks-licence-to-operate-first-g7-small-modular-reactor): OPG has applied to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for a 20-year licence to operate the first BWRX-300 at Darlington. A public hearing follows; if granted, the unit would be the first SMR to operate in a G7 country.
- [NRC opens environmental review of Holtec's Palisades new-build](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nrc-opens-environmental-review-of-holtecs-palisades-new-build): The NRC has opened the environmental review tied to Holtec's application to site two SMR-300 reactors at Palisades in Covert, Michigan — one of the early gates the Pioneer project must clear before construction can be considered.
- [Nuclear fusion, explained: three ways to bottle a star](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/nuclear-fusion-explained): Nuclear fusion combines light atoms into heavier ones, releasing ~4x more energy per kilogram than fission. Tokamaks confine plasma in magnetic donuts, stellarators twist the chamber itself, and laser fusion has hit target gain above 4 — but none has put power on a grid yet.
- [US opens DOME, a first-of-a-kind microreactor test bed](https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/news/us-opens-dome-a-first-of-a-kind-microreactor-test-bed): The Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) test bed has opened at Idaho National Laboratory, inside the repurposed EBR-II containment. It will let developers run fuelled microreactor experiments without building standalone facilities.

## Topics

aalo, actinide, advance-act, advanced-fuel, advanced-reactors, africa, ai, ai-data-centers, akkuyu, alara, almaraz, antares, ap1000, ap300, apr1400, arc, australia, balkhash, baseload-power, blue-energy, brayton-cycle, brookfield, bushehr, bwrx-300, california, cameco, canada, cap1000, central-asia, centrus, cernavoda, cfs, cgn, china, civil-nuclear-credit, cnnc, commissioning, community-acceptance, construction, cooling-systems, core-analysis, daily-brief, danube, data-centers, defense-energy, deployable-energy, diablo-canyon, doe, drought, eagl-1, edf, eia, electricity, enrichment, epr2, europe, evinci, fanco, financing, framatome, france, fuel-cycle, fuel-loading, fuel-recycling, fuel-supply-chain, fusion, gallup, ge-vernova-hitachi, genesis-mission, ghana, global, gravelines, grid-planning, gridmarket, groves, guohe-one, haiyang, haleu, hdec, helical-fusion, helium-turbine, holtec, htgr, hualong-one, hungary, hyperscalers, iaea, idaho, idaho-national-laboratory, india, industry, industry-business, inl, inpo, iowa, ipo, iran, isotopes, janus, japan, kazakhstan, kemmerer, kenya, kepco, kola, korea, launch-pad, licensing, life-extension, lightbridge, louisiana, manufacturing, mbrapp, meti, microreactor, microreactors, mining, mochovce, molten-salt-reactors, moltex, national-labs, natrium, natural-gas, ncerc, nepa, new-build, new-builds-smrs, new-jersey, new-mexico, newcleo, nexgen, nextera, niti-aayog, nrc, nuclea, nuclear, nuclear-financing, nuclear-policy, off-site-power, oklahoma, oklo, operations-safety, orano, outage, paks, palisades, phase-out, phwr, pjm, poland, policy-regulation, procurement, project-ike, radiant, radiation-protection, reactor-exports, reactor-licensing, reactor-pilot-program, reference, reprocessing, research-innovation, restart, restarts, richland, romania, rosatom, rostekhnadzor, roundup, russia, rwanda, safety-culture, saskatchewan, security, shanti-act, sizewell-b, sk-innovation, slovakia, small-modular-reactors, smr, smr-300, smrs, south-africa, south-korea, spain, sparc, spent-fuel, spic, stellarator, supply-chain, tennessee, terrapower, texas, tianwan, tracker, triso, triso-x, turkey, tva, type-one-energy, uk, ukraine, unity, uranium, urenco, us, usa, utah, uzbekistan, valar, vver-1200, vver-440, war-risk, waste-decommissioning, westinghouse, x-energy, xe-100, zaporizhzhia

## Reactor Project Tracker

https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/tracker — unit-level tracker of nuclear reactor construction projects (status, schedule, slippage, sourced milestone logs). Machine access: https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/api/v1/projects (JSON), https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/data/tracker.json (bulk).

## Prometheus Program Tracker

https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/prometheus — canonical tracker of the DOE Genesis Mission Prometheus program (INL-led, 33-partner AI-for-nuclear consortium): explainer, partner map, workstreams, timeline, event log. Machine access: https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/api/v1/prometheus (JSON), https://www.nuclearnewsnetwork.com/data/prometheus.json (bulk).