A Purdue researcher examines the DPSC test specimen during a two-point load test. (Photo: Purdue University)
In a bid to tackle the primary obstacle in nuclear deployment—construction costs—those in industry and government are moving away from traditional methods and embracing innovative construction technologies.
Drilling begins. (Photo: Kairos Power)
Kairos Power announced this morning that safety-related nuclear construction has begun at the Oak Ridge, Tenn., site where the company is building its Hermes low-power test reactor. Hermes, a scaled demonstration of Kairos Power’s fluoride salt–cooled, high-temperature reactor technology, became the first non–light water reactor to receive a construction permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in December 2023. The company broke ground at the site in July 2024.
Cutaway diagram of Marviken. (Image: Vattenfall)
In the late 1950s, the Swedish government decided to undertake a large-scale nuclear energy project. Situated about 75 miles southwest of Stockholm on the Baltic coast, Marviken was located on a peninsula, allowing for the cooling water intake and outlet to be located on either side of the peninsula. The coastal location also allowed the large reactor pressure vessel to be delivered by ship.
NAC International’s Volunteer package. (Image: NAC)
NAC International has announced that it has received certification from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its new high-capacity Volunteer packaging system for transporting nonfissile or fissile-exempt radioactive materials.
Isotek employees load canisters of Th-229 that will go to TerraPower to support cancer treatment research. (Photo: DOE)
Workers with Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management contractor Isotek have surpassed a significant milestone in the supply of medical radioisotopes, extracting more than 15 grams of rare thorium-229 through the Department of Energy’s Thorium Express Project.
William Magwood (center, yellow tie) and the visitors from Japan. (Photo: OECD NEA)
As part of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency’s engagement with the next generation of nuclear energy scholarship, Director General William Magwood IV and Deputy Director General Nobuhiro Muroya hosted students earlier this year from Tokyo Metropolitan Toyama High School.
NRC hosting public meetings today on TVA project
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week shared a portion of the construction permit application from the Tennessee Valley Authority to build a small modular reactor at the Clinch River nuclear site in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
In anticipation of TVA’s filing, NRC staff scheduled two public meetings in Oak Ridge for today, to discuss the agency’s process for licensing nuclear power plants.
Hanford workers move a 330-gallon double-wall transport container of treated tank waste. (Photo: DOE)
As part of its Test Bed Initiative (TBI) demonstration project, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management completed two shipments of treated, low-activity tank waste from the Hanford Site near Richland, Wash. The approximately 2,000 gallons of TBI waste will be solidified in grout and permanently disposed of at Waste Control Specialists’ (WCS) federal disposal facility in Andrews County, Texas, and at EnergySolutions’ disposal facility in Clive, Utah.