The compact, transportable Holos-Quad microreactor, developed by HolosGen, is shown housed within a standard 40-foot ISO container. (Image: HolosGen)
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.
The high-burnup research cask (center) stands with other spent nuclear fuel dry storage casks at the North Anna ISFSI in Virginia. (Photo: Dominion Energy)
The Department of Energy said it anticipated delivering a research cask of high-burnup spent nuclear fuel from Dominion Energy’s North Anna nuclear power plant in Virginia to Idaho National Laboratory by fall 2027. The planned shipment is part of the High Burnup Dry Storage Research Project being conducted by the DOE with the Electric Power Research Institute.
As preparations continue, the DOE said it is working closely with federal agencies as well as tribal and state governments along potential transportation routes to ensure safety, transparency, and readiness every step of the way.
Watch the DOE’s latest video outlining the project here.
A drone-borne GRS system assesses soil properties in an agricultural field. (Photo: M. Casling/IAEA)
The International Atomic Energy Agency has initiated a coordinated research project that will combine an “innovative, non-invasive, and scalable nuclear technique”—gamma-ray spectrometry (GRS)—with drones and satellite imagery to gather and analyze data that can reveal the quality of soil on agricultural lands around the world.
A spent fuel canister is moved at the Idaho National Laboratory site. (Photo: DOE)
Work crews at Idaho National Laboratory have transferred 40 spent nuclear fuel canisters into long-term storage vaults, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has reported.
Concept art of TerraPower’s Natrium plan. (Image: TerraPower)
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has whittled down the timeline for reviewing TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1 in Wyoming. Announcing a new, more aggressive schedule, the NRC said it aims to complete its review by the end of 2025, eight months earlier than originally planned.
The ITER tokamak pit with the two vacuum vessel sector modules installed. (Photo: ITER)
Westinghouse Electric Company announced that it has signed a $180 million contract with the ITER Organization for the assembly of the vacuum vessel for the fusion reactor being built in southern France. Designed to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power, the ITER tokamak will be the world’s largest experimental fusion facility.
From left: GLE’s Stephen Long, Scott Steuer, Jesus Diaz-Quiroz, Nima Ashkeboussi, and Timothy Knowles, with the NRC’s Matt Bartlett, Samantha Lav, Robert Sun, Shana Helton, Andrea Kock, and Kimyata Morgan-Butler. (Photo: GLE)
Global Laser Enrichment announced that it has submitted its safety analysis report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the planned Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility (PLEF). This follows GLE’s December 2024 submission of the plant’s environmental report, now completing GLE’s full license application for NRC review.
Unit 1 of the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant. (Photo: DJ Slaw)
Dominion Energy’s V.C. Summer nuclear power plant, in Jenkinsville, S.C., has been authorized to operate for 80 years, until August 2062, following the renewal of its operating license by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a second time.
Argonne’s Peter Tkac (left) and David Bettinardi analyze results from lab experiments designed to isolate desirable products from spent nuclear fuel. (Photo: ANL)
The Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory will collaborate with Wisconsin-based fusion technology company Shine to design new chemical processes for separating valuable materials from used nuclear fuel.
A visualization of the SPARC tokamak experiment. (Image: Ken Filar/PSFC Research Affiliate)
In its June 30 announcement of a new deal to purchase 200 MW from Commonwealth Fusion Systems' (CFS) first ARC fusion power plant planned for Virginia, Google called it “the largest direct corporate offtake agreement for fusion energy” ever. While Google made no mention of its plans for the power, its press release noted that clean energy is needed to reduce data center emissions.
A representation of the NRIC DOME microreactor test bed. (Image: NRIC)