Industry Update—November 2025

TerraPower has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Utah Office of Energy Development and Flagship Companies to explore the potential siting of a Natrium reactor and energy storage plant in Utah. The three agreed to jointly identify and assess various Utah locations for a potential Natrium plant with the goal of establishing preliminary site recommendations by the end of 2025.

AFWERX, the innovation and venture arm of the U.S. Air Force, has awarded New York City–based advanced nuclear technology developer Nano Nuclear Energy a Direct–­to–­Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contract estimated at $1.25 million for its Kronos MMR micro modular reactor. The contract calls for AFWERX, with the 11th Civil Engineering Squadron, to explore the feasibility of deploying the Kronos MMR at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, in Washington, D.C.

The global headquarters of Commonwealth Fusion Systems has been acquired by Pivotal Manufacturing Partners, a real-estate investment company focused on advanced manufacturing, and Declaration Partners, another private investment firm. The two companies, which will manage the facility in partnership, acquired the CFS headquarters building for $74 million with financing from Goldman Sachs. The facility will continue to be operated by CFS on a long-term lease as its primary manufacturing plant and corporate headquarters, with support from strategic investors, including Google, Nvidia, Temasek, and Mitsubishi. CFS, which is the world’s largest private fusion company, has raised about $3 billion from a variety of strategic investors, including technology companies, pension funds, and industrial businesses from around the world.

Ontario-based Fusion Fuel Cycles (FFC) has signed an agreement with California-based General Atomics covering a $20 million, 10-year strategic investment in the Unique Integrated Testing Facility (UNITY-2) project. General Atomics’ investment in FFC is expected to accelerate the development of UNITY-2, which FFC has been working on with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and Kyoto Fusioneering.

Centrica, a firm operating primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland, has signed a joint development agreement with Maryland-based X-energy to deploy X-energy’s Xe-100 advanced modular reactors in the U.K. The agreement is expected to begin a collaboration that could amount to at least $54 billion in economic value. According to the companies, a 12-unit Xe-100 deployment would be developed at a site adjacent to Hartlepool’s existing nuclear power station, which is scheduled to shut down in 2028. Centrica is to provide initial project capital for site development with the goal of beginning full-scale building activities in 2026. The first electricity generation could occur in the mid-2030s.

ν ashington, D.C.–based microreactor developer Last Energy has signed an MOU with DP World, a logistic and trade specialist headquartered in the United Arab Emirates. According to the agreement, the companies will establish the world’s first port-centric micro nuclear power plant at DP World’s London Gateway site, which is the United Kingdom’s largest and most integrated logistics hub. The contract represents an investment valued at £80 million ($107 million). The proposed PWR-20 microreactor would supply London Gateway with 20 MW of electricity to power the logistics hub and is expected to begin operation in 2030.

French small modular reactor developer Calogena has signed a letter of intent with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) to consider the installation of a Calogena unit at the CEA site in Cadarache. Calogena, which is a subsidiary of Group Gorgé, has been developing the CAL30 water-cooled SMR, which is designed to supply urban heating networks with electric power. Calogena hopes to begin deployment as early as 2030.

Swedish SMR developer Blykalla has signed an MOU with global engineering firm ABB to speed the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors for the maritime market. The new MOU builds on a previous contract that the companies signed to explore how ABB’s automation, electrification, and digitalization technologies could support Blykalla’s SMR prototype SEALER-E, which is based on electric lead-cooled technology. According to the companies, the new MOU seeks to continue the “growing momentum for nuclear energy as a marine power source.”

Two Italian firms—micro-modular reactor developer Terra Innovatum and nuclear component supplier ATB Riva Calzoni—have signed an MOU regarding the preparation, development, and production for Terra Innovatum’s SOLO reactor. The companies will work together to conduct joint feasibility studies, component designs, safety evaluations, engineering validations, and regulatory and project risk assessments. ATB is expected to lead the component manufacturing and commissioning of SOLO technology and to support commercial production and manufacturing at scale. The 1-MWe SOLO reactor design is intended to form the basis for a scalable modular energy platform from MWe-class to GWe-class.

Poland’s state-owned power company Orlen has announced that the country’s first SMR will be in the north-central city of Włocławek. That city was one of the six locations that was shortlisted by the joint venture Orlen Synthos Green Energy (OSGE) in 2023 for geological surveys related to potentially hosting SMR plants based on GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300.

In addition, Orlen and Synthos Green Energy have signed a new joint venture agreement that has two key components. The companies will each hold a 50 percent equity stake, with Orlen gaining strengthened control over strategic corporate matters. The second component is a licensing agreement that grants OSGE full access to BWRX-300 technology, which was developed in the United States. Orlen noted that access to this technology “places OSGE—and by extension, Orlen—at the forefront of the global deployment of small modular reactors.”

Zimbabwe’s Centre for Education, Innovation Research, and Development has signed an MOU with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power to cooperate on a preliminary feasibility study for the deployment of a KNNP i-SMR integrated pressurized water reactor in the African nation. KHNP plans to complete the standard design by the end of this year and to obtain standard design approval in 2028. The two have agreed to actively cooperate in the preliminary feasibility study by supporting the training of nuclear energy experts and the sharing of nuclear energy technology information.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS

Paragon acquired by Mirion

Radiation equipment provider Mirion has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Paragon Energy Solutions, a leading provider of engineering technology for the nuclear power industry. Mirion, which has about 2,800 employees in 12 countries, purchased the firm from Windjammer Capital Investors and anticipates the transaction to close before the end of the year, subject to regulatory review and other closing conditions. Paragon employs more than 100 skilled engineering professionals and has more than 20,000 proprietary parts. Its systems and solutions have been integrated into every nuclear reactor in North America.

Modulift, a manufacturer of specialist lifting equipment, is partnering with the Bylor engineering and construction firm to supply custom lifting technology for the mega cage at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, under construction in Somerset, England. The technology includes a modular rebar lifting frame for the mega cage, which is a huge prefabricated staircase structure that has been installed into the fuel building of Unit 2. This structure, described as one of the United Kingdom’s most complex infrastructure projects, is made of 14 reinforced cages and has a combined weight of 70 metric tons. The two companies had previously developed and deployed custom underslung beams together at the Hinkley site to lift prefabricated reactor and fuel building pools using “Big Carl,” which is said to be the world’s largest crane.

CONTRACTS

BWXT wins NNSA contract for defense-related uranium enrichment

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration has awarded a sole-source contract to BWXT Enrichment Operations for the licensing, manufacturing development, facility construction, and operations of a Domestic Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Experiment (DUECE) pilot plant. The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract is valued at $1.5 billion. The DUECE facility, to be located at BWXT’s Nuclear Fuel Services site in Erwin, Tenn., will be tasked with reaching technological readiness milestones in support of NNSA’s strategy to establish a reliable, economic, and fully domestic supply of enriched uranium for defense purposes. This supply is to include both low-enriched uranium for tritium production and high-enriched uranium for naval nuclear propulsion. DUECE will not be used to produce enriched uranium for the commercial nuclear power industry.

In support of this effort, BWX Technologies has started construction on its Centrifuge Manufacturing Development Facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The Erwin facility will use the centrifuges built at Oak Ridge. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the DUECE technology design authority, and it will continue to work on development of DUECE technology.

The U.K.’s Nuclear Waste Services has awarded an integrated waste management specialist nuclear services framework contract to Virginia-based Amentum. The four-year contract, with an estimated value of £26 million ($35 million), designates Amentum as one of the suppliers on all four lots of a new framework to support NWS’s waste management mission. Amentum is to deliver a number of services to NWS’s Integrated Waste Management Delivery team covering the full waste management lifecycle, including waste culture, knowledge management, sustainability, strategy and business case, and underpinning technical support. NWS is part of the U.K.’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which is tasked with cleaning up the nation’s nuclear sites safely, securely, and cost effectively.

Maryland-based Centrus Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea’s KHNP and POSCO International for the Korean firms to explore potential investment in the expansion of Centrus’s uranium enrichment plant in Piketon, Ohio. Centrus and KHNP also agreed to an increase in the volume of LEU to be supplied by Centrus under a contract signed last February. The new expanded supply volume is contingent on Centrus receiving the federal government funding that it needs to boost LEU production capacity at Piketon.

Texas-based energy developer Fermi America has signed an MOU with KHNP and Samsung C&T Corporation for the Korean companies to participate in the construction of Fermi’s planned 11-GW advanced energy complex near Amarillo, Texas. This energy-driven AI HyperGrid campus is being designed to integrate nuclear power with a combined-cycle natural gas project, utility grid power, solar power, and battery energy storage. Fermi America and Hyundai Engineering & Construction previously agreed to cooperate on the joint planning of the nuclear-based hybrid energy project and other elements of the endeavor. The new agreement with KHNP and Samsung establishes a foundation for KHNP to enter the U.S. market.

Candu Energy, an AtkinsRéalis company based in Mississauga, Ontario, has concluded preferred vendor agreements with two additional suppliers in the CANDU nuclear supply chain: Hitachi Energy and Nu-Tech Precision. These companies are among 11 suppliers with which Candu Energy has signed PVAs to enhance the development of its CANDU reactors. According to Candu Energy, the new agreements will further incentivize investment in Canada as the partner companies support the development of the reactors there and abroad. Since 2024, Candu Energy has issued more than $2.35 billion in purchase orders for the CANDU nuclear supply chain, the vast majority of which have been issued to Canadian suppliers.

Two Canadian companies in the business of nuclear fuel—Cameco and Orano Canada—have signed a 15-year, $500 million agreement with Rise Air, an Indigenous people–­owned airline in Saskatchewan. The partnership will see Rise Air providing workforce transportation services for Cameco and Orano employees in northern Saskatchewan over the agreement’s period. Cameco and Orano each had previous transportation partnerships with Rise Air, but those agreements were of much shorter duration. Rise Air stated that the new agreement will allow it to “plan for the future with confidence—investing in modern equipment, upgrading our facilities, and expanding hiring and training. Most importantly, it allows us to focus on building long-term careers for residents of northern Saskatchewan.” Cameco and Orano stated that the new agreement underscores their confidence in Rise Air—Saskatchewan’s largest regional airline—as “the right partner to meet their workforce transportation needs, which are essential to continued growth in the North.”

Cameco has reached a long-term agreement with Slovakia’s Slovenské Elektrárne to provide uranium and chemical conversion services to support the Slovak energy company’s operations at its nuclear power plants until 2036. The contract was described as strategic for Slovenské Elektrárne, allowing the firm to diversify suppliers, reduce dependence on only one source, and guarantee smooth operations at its nuclear facilities. Although details of the contract remained confidential, Cameco revealed that it will begin supplying material to support operations at the Bohunice and Mochovce nuclear power plants in 2028.

The Czech Republic’s CˇEZ Group has awarded a large contract to Doosan Škoda Power to supply new turbine generators for the reactor units at the Temelín nuclear power plant. The contract, described as the largest ever for Czech nuclear power plants, is valued at “several billion” Czech koruna. (One billion Czech koruna is equivalent to about $48 million.) Temelín’s original turbine generators, which are nearing the end of their operational lives, were supplied by Škoda Plzeˇn, which is now part of Doosan Škoda Power. The new turbine generators will allow for greater power output. Doosan Škoda Power, headquartered in the Czech city of Plzeˇn, is part of South Korean group Doosan Enerbility.

The Kazakh Atomic Energy Agency has signed an MOU with Germany’s Nukem Technologies Engineering Services for the provision of comprehensive consulting services regarding future decommissioning and radioactive waste management in Kazakhstan. Although the world’s leading producer of uranium, Kazakhstan currently does not use nuclear energy. However, the government intends for nuclear power to become 5 percent of the nation’s electricity generation mix by 2035. Under the new MOU, Nukem is to evaluate and optimize projects, implement best available practices in remediation and safety, and ensure compliance with global safety and regulatory standards.

Kazakhstan’s uranium mining and nuclear fuel company Kazatomprom has signed a “heads of” agreement on the development of the Central Jordan Uranium Project with the Jordan Uranium Mining Company (JUMCO). The agreement formalizes the intentions of the companies and defines the main conditions for implementation of the uranium project, including development of a strategic partnership, new opportunities for international cooperation, and expansion of Kazatomprom’s position in the global uranium industry. Last year, JUMCO announced that it would build a uranium mill processing 300–­400 metric tons of uranium per year in the country’s central region, about 80 kilometers south of the capital Amman.

Russia’s Rosatom and the China National Nuclear Corporation have signed an MOU to develop joint projects, partnerships, and other cooperation in training and skill development for nuclear power initiatives. The agreement was signed during a CNNC delegation’s visit to Russia in September. According to the companies, the MOU is “developing a human-centered approach to training and development.”

A consortium formed by China Energy Engineering Jiangsu Electric Power Construction No.3 Company and China National Nuclear Huachen Construction Engineering Company has been awarded a contract for the construction of the conventional islands of the three reactors in the first phase of China’s Xuwei nuclear power project, located in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. Jiangsu Electric Power is to construct the three conventional island power plants, their ancillary facilities, and balance-of-plant components. This project, which is owned by CNNC Suneng Nuclear Power Company, is intended to supply electricity and industrial heating by coupling Gen IV high-temperature gas-cooled reactors with Gen III pressurized water reactors. CNNC is slated to build two 1,208-MWe Hualong One PWR units and one 660-MWe HTGR unit at Lianyungang. This facility will also include a steam heat exchange station.