Japan will study the possibility of siting a deep geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste on the remote island of Minamitorishima, about 1,200 miles southeast of Tokyo.

Masaaki Shibuya, mayor of the village of Ogasawara, reportedly expressed his willingness to allow Japan’s government to proceed with a preliminary survey, called a literature survey, of the island, which is one of several within the Ogasawara Islands.

Yesterday, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Inertia Enterprises announced a strategic research and development partnership to address fusion challenges including laser development, fusion target design, and target fabrication technologies on the path to a commercial power plant.

When the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy launched the Optimizing Nuclear Waste and Advanced Reactor Disposal Systems (ONWARDS) program in 2022, it posed a challenge that the nuclear industry had never seriously confronted before: how to design waste management solutions that anticipate the coming shift to advanced reactors and not merely retrofit existing systems built for an older generation of technology. The program’s objectives were ambitious—reduce disposal footprint, enable scalable pathways for unfamiliar waste streams, and build the technical foundations for future disposal—yet also tightly grounded in the realities of emerging nuclear fuel cycles. For the nuclear community, this was a timely call. Advanced reactors were accelerating toward deployment, but the waste management systems needed to support them had not kept pace.

Ten months after Rolls-Royce SMR emerged as the United Kingdom’s preferred bidder to build the U.K.’s first small modular reactors, the company and the U.K. government’s Great British Energy–Nuclear (GBE-N) have signed a contract allowing work to begin at the site of the decommissioned Wylfa nuclear plant in North Wales.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi proclaimed it “a proud moment for India” when on April 6 the 500-MWe, sodium-cooled Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) achieved initial criticality. This milestone, which comes some 22 years after the continually delayed PFBR project began, marks India’s entrance into the second stage of its three-stage nuclear program, which has the ultimate goal of supporting the country’s nuclear power program with its significant thorium reserves.

The Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) called for the deployment of six 77-MWe pressurized water reactors at Idaho National Laboratory that would provide power to INL and to Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) customers in Utah and surrounding states. But UAMPS and NuScale Power mutually agreed to end the project in late 2023, ending a first-of-a-kind SMR project that was years in the making.

Total project costs, had it been completed, were estimated at $8.03 billion, with $1.36 billion coming from the Department of Energy as part of a 10-year, noncompetitive, cost-share award.

The Department of Energy has continued to roll out announcements of Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) awards for fiscal year 2025. Last week, the agency announced the recipients of 11 Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research Phase II Continuation (CINR II) awards, totaling $5.9 million.

University-led teams with current CINR R&D and Integrated Research Project awards are eligible to apply for CINR II awards, which provide opportunities for teams that have performed high-quality work through NEUP-funded projects to propose new projects that complement and enhance ongoing NEUP research.

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration announced that it has successfully removed all cesium-137 irradiators from South Carolina, as the agency seeks to eliminate radiological threats and protect communities.

Cs-137 sources are commonly used to irradiate cellular blood cells prior to transfusion to prevent graft-versus-host disease, where the donated cells view the recipient’s cells as an unfamiliar threat. If stolen from a less-secure facility, however, the cesium inside the irradiators could be used to create a radiological dispersal device, commonly referred to as a dirty bomb.

Hash Hashemian (president@ans.org), proud grandfather of 1-year-old Vera Rose Sizemore.

With the 2026 ANS Annual Conference right around the corner, planning is well underway, with many exceptional speakers who will explore how fusion and fission can turn breakthrough innovation into real, scalable power that drives our clean energy future. I am looking forward to seeing the nuclear community in Denver in June.

If you want to hear some of my thoughts on the current state of nuclear power before the conference, you can watch or listen to the March 3 episode of the Blockspace podcast, on which I was a guest (blockspace.media/podcast/americas-nuclear-revival-is-here-w-dr-hash-hashemian/). There, I aimed to both reach a broader audience and promote the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology.

The episode contains a wide-ranging discussion about the current state of nuclear energy in America, touching on regulatory reform, surging electricity demand, and what it will take to maintain U.S. leadership in nuclear development.

The Board of Directors of the American Nuclear Society, along with the ANS Public Policy Committee (PPC), recently approved revisions to Position Statement #35: Advanced Reactors and Position Statement #47: Management of Surplus U.S. Nuclear Material.

Los Alamos National Laboratory has announced the development of a new type of neutron sensor that works across a wide range of conditions, including in the presence of strong gamma radiation.

The technology is called the Integrated Composite Optical Neutron Sensor (ICONS).

Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. (Photo: Malmstrom AFB)

The Department of the Air Force (DAF) and the Defense Innovation Unit within the Department of Defense have selected Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado and Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana to potentially site microreactors.

Wednesday’s announcement moves forward the plans of the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations (ANPI) program, which was launched in 2024 with the objective of deploying “advanced, contractor-owned and operated” microreactors from commercial reactor companies on bases.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management announced that it has begun the permanent disposal of the first containers of vitrified low-level radioactive tank waste at the Hanford Site near Richland, Wash., marking a pivotal step in the nation’s radioactive tank waste cleanup mission.

Readers of Nuclear News will have heard of historical applications of civilian maritime nuclear power, like the merchant ship NS Savannah and the USS Sturgis floating power plant. With a few exceptions there has been little action in this area for over 50 years, and there are plenty of reasons and opinions as to why, but over the last few years the dramatic increase in interest from the maritime industry and its stakeholders has been undeniable.

On Wednesday, Idaho National Laboratory announced that the National Reactor Innovation Center’s Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME) test bed is now “open for business.”

With DOME’s opening, microreactor developers will soon be able to test, demonstrate, and validate their reactor designs. Rian Bahran, the Department of Energy’s deputy assistant secretary for nuclear reactors, called this “essential infrastructure” a “testament to our commitment to a robust nuclear future” and a key tool for “accelerating the development and deployment” of new energy technologies.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed legislation that lifted the state’s de facto moratorium on new nuclear construction projects. (Photo: Office of Governor)

New Jersey has become the latest state to lift a moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants, with Gov. Mikie Sherrill signing new legislation Wednesday with the state’s two nuclear power plants serving as the backdrop.

The legislation, S. 3870/A. 4528, allows the commissioner of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection to approve permits for the construction and operation of new nuclear facilities “based on safe, [Nuclear Regulatory Commission]–compliant waste storage.” Prior to this bill, New Jersey law practically banned such construction, because the state’s Coastal Area Facility Review Act required an approved method from the NRC for radioactive waste disposal that was outdated and could not be met.

Helion has launched a program formalizing its process of funding projects with external research partners. On Tuesday, the fusion company announced it would fund 25 proposals ranging from $50,000 to $500,000, totaling $4 million. The recipients include private companies, universities, and national laboratories.

Each spring, newly elected leaders prepare to step into their roles at the American Nuclear Society. During this year’s election cycle, ANS members voted for the newest vice president/president-elect and five board of director positions (four U.S., one non-U.S.). About 19 percent of eligible members of the Society voted—a 2 percent dip from last year’s turnout.

Fusion technology company Shine has been issued a conditional commitment for a loan of up to $263 million by the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF) to support the construction of the company’s medical isotope production facility in Janesville, Wis.

Yesterday, the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) announced its largest concentrated investment in fusion technology so far, committing $135 million over the next 18 months to fund projects that develop and commercialize fusion technologies.

The agency said it has invested approximately $134 million in commercial fusion since it began funding fusion projects with the launch of its ALPHA program in 2014, so the next year and a half will see a doubling of the agency’s investment in the fusion space.