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As Nuclear News has done since 2022, we have compiled a review of the nuclear news that filled headlines and sparked conversations in the year just completed. Departing from the chronological format of years past, we open with the most impactful news of 2025: a survey of actions and orders of the Trump administration that are reshaping nuclear research, development, deployment, and commercialization. We then highlight some of the top news in nuclear restarts, new reactor testing programs, the fuel supply chain and broader fuel cycle, and more.
Lester M. Waganer, V. Dennis Lee, Mohamed A. Abdou, Alice Y. Ying, Thanh Hua, Dai-Kai Sze, Mohamad A. Dagher
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 618-622
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A11963007
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This paper summarizes the current status of the Demo blanket test systems and how the ITER reactor design and operations are being accommodated. The US blanket program is planning to develop a liquid metal breeder and a solid breeder blanket for testing and evaluation. The test blanket modules will have prototypical components, materials, and coolants representative of power reactor systems. The modules are to be located in the ITER horizontal test ports and installed/removed with special remote handling equipment. Adjacent ITER blanket neutronic and temperature conditions suggest the use of an isolation frame surrounding the test blanket modules or submodules. This frame will also provide additional shielding to protect the adjacent vacuum vessel. The frame and blanket module are attached to the surrounding backplate to transfer static and dynamic loads. All coolants and tritium-bearing fluids will be routed out of the midplane port to special heat exchangers and tritium separation systems. Special remote handling equipment is being designed to install and extract the test blanket modules. Dedicated transporters will be used to move the blanket and shielding modules to dedicated hot cells. Special facility areas will be provided immediately outside the port areas for the heat exchangers, pumps, and tritium-separation systems.