In late March, Senator Lisa Murkowski and her staff played host to some of the leading thinkers in the growing community of people who believe that nuclear energy is too important to fail without trying to do things both differently and better. The occasion of the meeting was the introduction and release of a new […]
Advanced Atomic Technologies
NRC accepted NuScale’s DCA. Will it complete its review on time? Estimated completion July 2020
Yesterday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission accepted NuScale’s 12,000 page design certification application (DCA). That action starts the safety determination process, which is scheduled to take 40 months. Completed on December 31, 2016 and submitted to the NRC on January 12, 2017, NuScale’s certification application has been subjected to a 60 day checklist review designed to […]
Will be catching up with advanced and small reactor innovators in Atlanta
Nuclear Energy Insider, a UK based trade publication and conference organizer that shares an acronym name with the Nuclear Energy Institute, will be holding its 7th annual early spring event focusing on small and advanced reactors. The Summit includes a face-paced, two day agenda on March 30-31. The venue is the conveniently located Westing Buckhead, […]
ThorCon and Indonesia moving forward smartly on manufactured nuclear plants
Three state-owned Indonesian companies, Pertamina, PLN and INUKI, have completed the ThorCon technology pre-feasibility study agreed to in the Memorandum of Understanding with ThorCon International. The ten-month study concluded that the ThorCon molten salt reactor design could deliver safe, cheap, clean energy, could be built now, would be economically viable, and would have the potential […]
U.S. Shouldn’t Depend On Russian Reactors. Restore Our World Class Fast Flux Test Facility
Senator Carper (D-DE) asked each witness at a March 8 hearing about NEIMA – Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act – to give one suggestion for improving the bill. If asked, my answer would be to include findings that emphasize the importance of U.S. government-owned testing facilities that are capable of supporting the NRC licensing […]
Bipartisan pro-nuclear love fest at Senate EPW hearing
Yesterday, on International Women’s Day, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) committee held a hearing that provided both visible and audible proof that times are changing in the political and public acceptance of nuclear energy. The committee organized the hearing in order to gather information and invited stakeholder feedback related to the recently reintroduced […]
FFTF restoration would provide the fastest, most efficient path to fast spectrum neutron testing
If a U.S.-based researcher or reactor designer needs to irradiate fuel or material with fast neutrons for testing, their current options are extremely limited. No domestic test facility can provide enough fast neutrons to do anything more than slowly irradiate a small quantity of tiny samples. Anything more requires the full cooperation of either Russia […]
#AdvancingNuclear took over Twitter yesterday
If you gather enough nuclear nerds and atomic geeks into a single location and include some talented professional communications experts, it’s possible to make a social media splash and capture attention – at least for a short period of time. That is one of the lessons I learned yesterday while attending Third Way’s Advanced Nuclear Summit […]
Potential for Korea, Japan, U.S. to Collaborate on Pyroprocessing Under Trump
South Korea (ROK), Japan and the United States all have large nuclear energy programs that are facing a variety of challenges limiting their growth, namely opposition by the nonproliferation industry to wider deployment of enrichment and recycling technologies. There is interest and opportunity to collaborate in developing solutions in areas where challenges overlap. The Global […]
Kairos Power Is Hiring For Hybrid Natural Gas-Nuclear Power System
As long-established nuclear system vendors falter under the weight of challenges that often burden mega-projects, a growing herd of start-up companies envision an exciting future in innovative nuclear solutions to the world’s energy trilemma. One of the newest additions in the space is Kairos Power, an Oakland, CA-based start-up that is quietly assembling a team […]
History Made as NuScale Files First SMR Application With U.S. Nuke Regulators
Two years ago, NuScale committed to filing a license application for its eponymous SMR design with U.S. regulators by the end of 2016. Just three months before two company executives used a custom pen on the cover letter of the ~12,000 page design certification application, even NuScale insiders were doubtful that the task could be […]
Terrestrial Energy Announces Plans To License Their Integral Molten Reactor In The U.S.
Yesterday, Terrestrial Energy USA (TEUSA) informed the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that they planned to begin pre-license application discussions with a goal of being ready to file a design certification application no later than Oct 2019. Here is a brief video that provides an overview of Terrestrial Energy‘s Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSRTM TEUSA […]
