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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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August 2025
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Industry Update—August 2025
Here is a recap of industry happenings from the recent past:
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.
George H. Miley, Bradley Boyer
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 61 | Number 1 | January 2012 | Pages 200-205
Fusion-Fission Hybrids and Transmutation | Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems | doi.org/10.13182/FST12-A13420
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Recent progress in fusion development combined with the rebirth of nuclear fission power has regenerated interest in fusion-fission hybrid reactors. Such systems could be applied to both low power research reactors for use in University and industrial research assemblies and power reactors. However most attention has been directed at D-T fusion drivers using Tokamak, ICF or various alternate confinement systems like FRCs. However, the necessity to have large devices and breed tritium in the blanket complicates the concept. Here we propose the inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) fusion approach since it offers the advantages of simple structural, high power density and a non-Maxwellian beam dominated plasma suited for burning advanced fuels to minimize tritium involvement. The cylindrical IEC allows a small compact unit which can be inserted into fuel element slots in the fission reactor core, thus providing a compact overall system and excellent neutronic coupling. The basic physics for the IEC has been demonstrated in small-scale laboratory experiments close to levels needed for driving a subcritical assembly for use in student teaching labs. However, for use in future high power hybrids significant scale-up in source strength is required. Scale up using an external ion source (e.g. a Helicon) so the background gas pressure is minimized in the reaction zone potentially offers a route to the required neutron source strength.