The first of 163 nuclear fuel assemblies has been loaded into unit 2 of the Leningrad II nuclear power plant, marking the start of the physical start-up of the VVER-1200, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom announced yesterday. After fuel is loaded, the reactor will be brought to minimum controllable power level (up to 1%), to ensure safety of all relevant processes. The physical launch will be followed by power start-up, trial operation and integrated testing.

The UK government has announced an investment of GBP40 million (USD50 million) in the development of advanced modular reactors and small modular reactors. A government-commissioned report, meanwhile, has made recommendations for boosting the capability of the UK's nuclear R&D sector and domestic supply chain to support future AMR deployment.

Kairos Power of the USA has entered into a strategic collaboration with advanced materials supplier Materion Corporation to develop a reliable and cost-effective supply of coolant for its fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR). Materion will supply beryllium fluoride, technical consultation, key interfaces and support services.

The floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov has been fully commissioned in Pevek, which is in the Chukotka region of Russia's Far East. The milestone was made official following the approval of Rosenergoatom General Director Andrey Petrov. Rosenergoatom is the operator subsidiary of the state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Atommash, part of the Atomenergomash engineering division of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, has completed the core barrel, or shroud, of the reactor vessel for unit 1 of the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.

Alloy 617 - a combination of nickel, chromium, cobalt and molybdenum - has been approved by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for inclusion in its Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. This means the alloy, which was tested by Idaho National Laboratory, can be used in proposed molten salt, high-temperature, gas-cooled or sodium reactors. It is the first new material to be added to the Code in 30 years.

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy has made its first submittals to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for the vendor design review of its BWRX-300 small modular reactor. The submittals are for the combined first two phases of the three-phase process and address eight of the 19 VDR focus areas.

The US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Tennessee Valley Authority are to collaborate on the economic feasibility of potentially licensing, building, operating and maintaining one or more advanced nuclear reactors - such as a small modular reactor - at TVA's Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency have completed Step 3 - "overall design, safety case and security arguments review" - in their scrutiny of the UK HPR1000 reactor design. They will now start the fourth and final stage in the Generic Design Assessment process - "detailed design, safety case, and security evidence assessment".

The US Department of Energy on 5 February issued a Request for Information/Notice of Intent to solicit applications for two advanced reactor demonstration awards. It said the issuance of the RFI/NOI was also to give interested parties an opportunity "to provide their insights on how the demonstration programme could be successfully executed".

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power has awarded Candu Energy, a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin, four contracts worth about USD22 million for multi-campaign field inspections, prolonged operation assessment and thermal-hydraulic computer code updates at Wolsung nuclear reactors in South Korea.

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy has officially started the regulatory licensing process for its BWRX-300 reactor design. On 30 December, the company submitted the first licensing topical report for the small modular reactor to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The company expects such reports to serve as a foundation for the development of a Preliminary Safety Analysis Report that could potentially be submitted to the NRC by a utility customer.