ANS Nuclear Cafe

Fusion energy for commercial use is a technology that is yet to be realized, but one company is already setting its sights on taking it from land to sea.

A new type of material has been demonstrated to greatly enhance the ability to recover uranium from seawater, according to a study published recently in Sustainable Carbon Materials. The research, which could lead to a new way of obtaining uranium for nuclear reactor fuel, was conducted by scientists from Weifang University and North China Electric Power University.

The “space race” is once again making headlines, with technology worthy of the 21st century. Like the Cold War–era competition, this race too is about showcasing power—but this time it's nuclear power.

A new article in Power Technology examines the competing efforts of the United States, Russia, and China as they strive to be the first to put a nuclear reactor on the moon to power a lunar base, detailing the technical challenges and international rivalries.

The New Mexico Nuclear Alliance made its official debut as a nuclear energy advocate in late October, when founder Scott Lopez spoke with state lawmakers during a meeting of the New Mexico legislature’s Science, Technology and Telecommunications Committee, held at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.

“Nuclear Spider” sounds like the title of a 1950s-era science-fiction movie, but it’s actually a fairly accurate description of a new robotic system deployed by Atommash, the mechanical engineering division of Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear utility.

A new AI software tool for monitoring and controlling the plasma inside nuclear fuel systems has been developed by an international collaboration of scientists from Princeton University, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Chung-Ang University, Columbia University, and Seoul National University. The software, which the researchers call Diag2Diag, is described in the paper, “Multimodal super-resolution: discovering hidden physics and its application to fusion plasmas,” published in Nature Communications.

Wald

Matt Wald, an independent energy analyst and a writer who contributes to the Breakthrough Institute and has written feature articles for Nuclear News, recently shared his nuclear perspectives in a Zoom talk with Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering ORNL’s scientific goals.

Missed opportunity: Wald, a former reporter for The New York Times and a former policy analyst for the Nuclear Energy Institute, feels that the nuclear industry and community “have committed industrial sin. Nuclear suffered through a long drought, and now it sees terrific demand for its product, and it’s not ready to deliver the needed electricity.”

The Smithsonian-affiliated American Museum of Science & Energy in Oak Ridge, Tenn., is partnering with the East Tennessee Economic Council (ETEC) to celebrate Nuclear Science Week from Monday, October 20, to Friday, October 24.

Michigan-based consulting firm Ducker Carlisle has released a report that outlines projected developments and opportunities as well as potential problems in the global shift to cleaner power. Global Energy Transition Outlook predicts that market growth will happen not only in large-scale utility upgrades but also in small- and mid-scale electrification projects.

Former Vice President Al Gore has a global reputation as a champion of environmental protection. He has also been known as an opponent of nuclear energy. However, his opinion on nuclear seems to be changing, as highlighted in the recent Axios article, “How AI is Helping Al Gore Warm Up to Nuclear Power.”

Graphite is a key component of traditional nuclear reactors—many of which are aging. Because graphite tends to swell and fail after lengthy exposure to radiation, it is essential to maintain its structural integrity over the lifetime of a plant.

Recently, a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and other institutions reported a new and better way to evaluate the quality of the graphite. This new procedure could allow nuclear power plant operators to predict structural failure before it happens in a more accurate and less destructive way than is currently available.

China has established a state-owned fusion energy company, China Fusion Energy Co. (CFEC), as a subsidiary of the China National Nuclear Corporation with the goal of accelerating the commercialization of fusion energy. According to a report by People’s Daily Online, the new company has a registered capital of 15 billion yuan (about $2.1 billion).

I have been a North Carolinian for 62 years and involved in the state’s nuclear energy industry from my high school days to today. I have seen firsthand how North Carolina has flourished. This growth has been due to the state’s enterprising people and strong leaders. Clean, competitive, and always-on nuclear power has also played an important role.

An article in the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency’s July news bulletin noted that a first test has been completed for the High Burnup Experiments in Reactivity Initiated Accident (HERA) project. The project aim is to understand the performance of light water reactor fuel at high burnup under reactivity-initiated accidents (RIA).

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune explores the benefits and potential drawbacks of the 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) signed by Constellation Energy and Meta last month.

The University of Michigan’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences (NERS) has published a summary of a study on nuclear microreactors and machine learning (ML) that was conducted by researchers from NERS and Idaho National Laboratory. The full paper, “Nuclear Microreactor Transient and Load-Following Control with Deep Reinforcement Learning,” was featured in the July issue of Energy Conversion and Management: X.

Uranium provider Cameco has calculated an end-of-June spot price of $78.50 for uranium—a substantial jump from $71.55 the previous month. Cameco continues to list a long-term price of $80.00, a price that has remained unchanged since February.

The Wall Street Journal recently reviewed the status of nuclear energy in the United States, with a focus on how the U.S. nuclear industry can meet President Donald Trump’s executive orders (EOs) calling for nuclear power generation to quadruple within the next 25 years.

Dewji

Bahadori

Caffrey

Three authorities on health physics have written a response to President Trump’s Executive Order 14300, “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.”

Published June 27 on Substack, “Radiation Protection Policy in a Nuclear Era: Recommendations from Health Physicists in Response to EO 14300” was written by Emily A. Caffrey, assistant professor and director of the Health Physics Program at the University of Alabama–Birmingham; Amir A. Bahadori, associate professor at Kansas State University; and Shaheen A. Dewji, assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Surveys have consistently indicated that public support in the United States for the use of nuclear energy has been increasing in recent years. Four recent surveys continue to suggest that near-record-high numbers of Americans support nuclear energy. However, the survey results differ—sometimes widely—in the details of their findings.