A new 3-D scanning device that has been tested in Russia will cut down the time taken to verify that heavy steel components are shaped exactly according to design. It "makes it possible ... to take a large step towards Industry 4.0 measurement at our plant," said Andrey Kuntysh of Atommash's Petrozavodskmash factory.

The Czech Republic's nuclear sector could deliver up to 75% of the work to construct new reactors at Dukovany and boost GDP by 0.9% during the peak of construction, a government report has concluded. Accordingly, it should be supported and enabled to win more export work, the report said.

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction has been contracted by China Techenergy Company to supply an Industrial Anti-seismic Protection System for units 7 and 8 of the Tianwan nuclear power plant in Jiangsu province. Earlier this year, CTEC - a subsidiary of China General Nuclear - awarded the South Korean company a contract for the IAPS systems for units 3 and 4 at the Xudabao plant in Liaoning province.

The major components have been delivered for the second nuclear reactor under construction at Rooppur in Bangladesh. The reactor pressure vessel and four steam generators weigh 1700 tonnes in total.

The reactor pressure vessel for the first of two Hualong One reactors under construction at the Zhangzhou nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province has passed the factory acceptance inspection. Zhangzhou unit 1, construction of which began in September 2020, is scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2024.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited has been awarded a contract by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited to supply 12 steam generators for indigenously developed 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors to be constructed at four locations in the country. The contract - worth about INR14 billion (USD190 million) - was awarded under NPCIL's "fleet mode" procurement programme.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced the uranium market as several companies announced in the second quarter of 2020 measures leading to an important decrease of uranium production and related services, the Euratom Supply Agency says in its newly released 2020 Annual Report. The report provides an overview of nuclear fuel supply and demand in the EU.

Japan's Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation announced today it has completed the manufacture of the first of four toroidal field coils it is supplying to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project. Nine of ITER's 18 toroidal field coils, plus a spare, are being fabricated in Europe with the other nine being made in Japan. Gigantic superconducting magnets, they will generate the magnetic cage to contain the ITER fusion reactor's plasma.

France's Framatome today announced its acquisition of Valinox Nucléaire SAS - which specialises in the production of seamless steam generator tubes for nuclear power plants - from Vallourec Group. Valinox now becomes a subsidiary of Framatome and retains its brand name.

A mismatch between the world's climate ambitions and the availability of critical minerals could mean a slower and more expensive energy transition, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency. The Paris-based organisation describes its special report, The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions, as the most comprehensive global study to date on the importance of minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements in a secure and rapid transformation of the global energy sector.

The sixth Poloidal Field coil of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor was inserted into the fusion machine's tokamak pit on April 21. The milestone marks the beginning of the assembly of ITER's magnet system, which will control the shape and stability of the ITER plasma. First plasma at ITER - in Cadarache, France - is planned for 2025, with deuterium-tritium fusion experiments commencing in 2035.

The reactor pressure vessel and first two steam generators for Rooppur unit 2 have started their journey from the Volgodonsk branch of AEM-Technology JSC in Russia to the construction site in Bangladesh.