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2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
IAEA again raises global nuclear power projections
Noting recent momentum behind nuclear power, the International Atomic Energy Agency has revised up its projections for the expansion of nuclear power, estimating that global nuclear operational capacity will more than double by 2050—reaching 2.6 times the 2024 level—with small modular reactors expected to play a pivotal role in this high-case scenario.
IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi announced the new projections, contained in the annual report Energy, Electricity, and Nuclear Power Estimates for the Period up to 2050 at the 69th IAEA General Conference in Vienna.
In the report’s high-case scenario, nuclear electrical generating capacity is projected to increase to from 377 GW at the end of 2024 to 992 GW by 2050. In a low-case scenario, capacity rises 50 percent, compared with 2024, to 561 GW. SMRs are projected to account for 24 percent of the new capacity added in the high case and for 5 percent in the low case.
S. Le Tacon, A. Brodier, C. Chicanne, M. Theobald
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 70 | Number 2 | August-September 2016 | Pages 351-357
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST15-240
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Some experiments implemented on the Laser Megajoule facility (LMJ) require the use of the rare-earth (RE) elements, the lanthanides (57 < Z < 71). Rare-earth metals are known to be unstable under atmospheric conditions and some of them are extremely reactive with air. They may react with oxygen and humidity to form RE oxides. In the present work, we study the oxidation of different RE thin films (gadolinium, dysprosium, and praseodymium) prepared by physical vapor deposition. Energy-dispersion spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, and weight measurement are performed to characterize the corrosion mechanisms as a function of time and aging atmospheres (air, dry box, and vacuum). It appears that the oxidation kinetics depends on atomic number and microstructure of the films. Praseodymium coatings are very quickly corroded (in a few hours) when exposed to air and degrade to a yellow powder. Aluminum layers, used as a diffusion barrier, allow us to preserve praseodymium coatings over a period of several weeks when aging in a dry box. Gadolinium and dysprosium coatings (without a protective layer) are preserved from corrosion due to the formation of a passivation layer on their surface. Whatever Z, a dense microstructure permits us to limit the oxygen content and allows us to stabilize the residual stress.