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Hadron Energy advances its Halo reactor plans

Hadron Energy has completed its previously announced business combination with GigCapital7 Corp. The corporate combination resulted in Hadron, which is developing a microreactor called Halo, receiving a total cash value of approximately $31 million from the GigCapital7 trust account and other financing, as well as public market access to support the company’s plans to see the Halo MMR through design, regulation, and customer-deployment.

Hadron has also signed a uranium conversion services agreement with ConverDyn, the Solstice Advanced Materials–General Atomics joint venture behind Solstice’s uranium hexafluoride conversion facility in Metropolis, Ill.

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Fluor gets X-energy contract for Dow’s Seadrift project

Fluor Corporation has signed a contract to support X-energy’s planned small modular reactor project at Dow’s UCC Seadrift Operations facility in southern Texas. Fluor’s role will initially involve delivery of front-end loading stage 2 services, including project definition, strategic planning, feasibility assessment, cost control, and risk mitigation. X-energy plans to deploy four 80-MW SMRs to replace old infrastructure and supply electricity and industrial steam for the Seadrift facility, which produces materials for such applications as food packaging, footwear, wire and cable insulation, solar cell components, and medical and pharmaceutical packaging. X-energy submitted a construction permit application for the project, which is supported by the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March 2025.

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GE Vernova, Hitachi seek opportunities in Southeast Asia

GE Vernova and Hitachi have entered into a memorandum of understanding to identify opportunities for the commercial deployment of the BWRX-300 small modular reactor in Southeast Asia. The companies agreed to carry out the collaboration through the GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Hitachi GE Vernova Nuclear Energy joint ventures. The companies will also look for opportunities to incorporate qualified Japanese suppliers into the partnership and to strengthen the supply chain for future BWRX-300 deployment in Southeast Asia. The BWRX-300 is under construction at Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington site in Canada, and in the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is reviewing the Tennessee Valley Authority’s application to construct the BWRX-300 at the utility’s Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

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Supply chain contract signed for Aurora

Oklo, the California-based developer of the Aurora Powerhouse sodium-cooled fast-neutron reactor, has signed a contract with Siemens Energy that is meant to de-risk supply chain and production timeline challenges for Oklo. Under the terms, Siemens will design and deliver the power conversion system for the Powerhouse, which is to be deployed at Idaho National Laboratory.

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New international partnership to speed Xe-100 SMR deployment

X-energy, Amazon, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, and Doosan Enerbility have formed a strategic partnership to accelerate the deployment of X-energy’s Xe-100 small modular reactors and TRISO fuel in the United States to meet the power demands from data centers and AI. The partners will collaborate in reactor engineering design, supply-chain development, construction planning, investment strategies, long-term operations, and global opportunities for joint AI-nuclear deployment. The companies also plan to jointly mobilize as much as $50 billion in public and private investment to support advanced nuclear energy in the U.S.

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SMR service center targeted for Ontario

GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy has announced plans to invest as much as $50 million to establish a Canadian BWRX-300 Engineering and Service Center near Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington New Nuclear Project site. The Ontario government had previously approved the construction of the first of four BWRX-300 small modular reactors at the site. The center will provide engineering and technical services for the long-term operation and maintenance of the future fleet of SMRs in Ontario. It will also serve as a hub for innovation and training, knowledge sharing, supply chain engagement, and workforce development.

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Texas universities evaluating SMRs for water desalination

Natura Resources has signed a memorandum of understanding with two Texas universities—Texas Tech University and Abilene Christian University—to evaluate the integration of the company’s molten salt small modular reactor technology with water desalination systems. The collaboration includes Texas Tech’s Texas Produced Water Consortium, which was established by the Texas legislature in 2021 to explore the potential benefits of using treated produced water for purposes outside of the oil and gas industry of the Permian Basin. Produced water is salty or brackish hydrocarbon-containing water that is produced as a byproduct of oil and gas extraction. The stated goal of the new collaboration is to develop “a sustainable solution for water scarcity by purifying produced water from oil and gas operations, making it available for agricultural and other beneficial uses.” Abilene Christian University is planning to host the first deployment of Natura Resources’ Natura MSR-1, a 1-MWt molten salt research reactor.

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BWRX-300 SMR deployment partnership developed

Several U.S. utility companies and supply chain partners have formed a coalition to accelerate deployment of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s BWRX-300 small modular reactor. The coalition, which has applied for $800 million in funding from the Department of Energy’s Generation III+ SMR program, is led by the Tennessee Valley Authority and includes GEH, Bechtel, BWX Technologies, Duke Energy, Electric Power Research Institute, Indiana Michigan Power, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Sargent & Lundy, Scot Forge, other utilities and advanced nuclear project developers, and the State of Tennessee. TVA previously selected the BWRX-300 SMR for possible deployment at the Clinch River site, near Oak Ridge, Tenn. If the new coalition is awarded the requested DOE funding, TVA intends to accelerate construction of the first SMR at this site by two years, planning for commercial operation by 2033.

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Mission of Gen IV International Forum is extended

A framework agreement to continue the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) beyond its scheduled February 2025 expiration was signed by representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom at November’s COP29 meeting in Azerbaijan. The new agreement, which excludes previous signatory Russia, focuses on the sharing of information and pooling of funds for advanced nuclear technologies. The agreement also sets a goal of deploying fourth-generation nuclear technology by 2030. The specific advanced technologies identified by the forum are gas-cooled fast reactors, lead-cooled fast reactors, molten salt reactors, sodium-cooled fast reactors, supercritical water–cooled reactors, and very-high-temperature reactors.

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Startup Longview Fusion signs CRADA with LLNL

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Longview Fusion Energy Systems have reached a cooperative research and development agreement that builds upon the LLNL National Ignition Facility’s repeated demonstrations of fusion energy gain and supports Longview’s efforts toward the commercialization of fusion energy. The agreement calls for the national lab and the California company to combine their laser fusion science and technology expertise for the purpose of developing a performance/economic model that can optimize Longview’s fusion power plant designs. In addition, critical requirements are established for Longview’s fusion technology systems and facilities, while a technology road map to mature these systems is being developed. The new agreement complements a set of Department of Energy programs involving LLNL and Longview that are designed to accelerate the delivery of laser fusion energy according to the Biden administration’s Bold Decadal Vision for fusion commercialization.

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Collaboration on SMR-powered ships

The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and the Korea Ship & Offshore Plant Research Institute (KRISO) have formed a collaboration to advance the commercialization of ships powered by small modular reactors, as well as floating SMR power-generation platforms. ABS is to provide an analysis of regulatory guidelines and international standards for the design of SMR-powered ships. KRISO is to develop the core technologies for the ships, such as conceptual designs and propulsion systems, as well as a framework for integrated ship and nuclear power safety analysis. KRISO will also design a floating SMR power-generation platform together with a commercialization model for supplying stable power to island areas.

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Radiant purchases nuclear-grade graphite for its microreactor

Microreactor startup Radiant Industries and Amsted Graphite Materials, the largest American-­owned synthetic graphite producer, have reached an agreement to collaborate on reducing U.S. reliance on foreign sources of nuclear-grade graphite. The collaboration began with Radiant placing a purchase order with Amsted for its Kaleidos microreactor, a 1-MW high-temperature, gas-cooled portable microreactor that has a graphite core and uses TRISO fuel.

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UAE prepares for advanced nuclear

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), the United Arab Emirates’ nuclear energy development organization, has signed several agreements regarding advanced reactors, many of which were signed at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, UAE.

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DOE, DOD support X-energy’s microreactor work

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has signed a one-year cooperative agreement with X-energy designed to advance the development of a design for a transportable mobile microreactor. Under the agreement, the DOE will support X-energy’s work on the architecture and technology for the 3- to-5-MWe microreactor’s preliminary design. X-energy is also the recipient of a Department of Defense contract to develop an enhanced engineering design for a transportable microreactor that will be suitable for both defense and commercial applications.

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SMR power barge designs approved

The American Bureau of Shipping has approved in principle the designs for an offshore small modular reactor power barge from Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering and Kepco Engineering and Construction. Another collaborator on the project is the Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry, which assisted ABS in design reviews. The SMR barges are designed to provide electricity for islands and other remote communities.

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Centrus-Oklo partnership expands

Oklo, a California-based developer of next-generation fission reactors, has expanded its partnership with Centrus Energy, a Maryland-based supplier of nuclear fuel and services. The two companies have been cooperating since 2021 on the development of Centrus’s American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio, to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel. According to the companies’ new memorandum of understanding, Centrus will manufacture certain components for Oklo’s Aurora “powerhouse” reactor, a fast neutron reactor designed to generate up to 15 MW of power and operate for at least 10 years without refueling. The Aurora is also designed to produce usable heat. Centrus also has agreed to purchase electricity generated by the Aurora reactors, while Oklo has agreed to purchase HALEU fuel from the Piketon facility. The facility is expected to begin fuel production before the end of the year.