Researchers at the US Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratory have successfully tested a new power system based on a closed-loop Brayton cycle to deliver electricity to the grid. The system could dramatically increase the efficiency of power plants including current and new advanced reactor systems as well as gas-fired and concentrated solar plants.

Governments must invest and break down roadblocks to the deployment of emerging and existing technologies if the world is to move to net-zero by mid-century - including legislative change to allow countries that currently prohibit the use of nuclear energy to consider using it as part of their energy mix, according to a new report by Princeton University and Worley.

The UK government has announced GBP3.3 million (USD3.8 million) in funding to support the development of advanced nuclear technology. Six projects aimed at developing Advanced Modular Reactors in the UK have been selected to receive funding totalling GBP2.5 million.

Core Power, MIT Energy Initiative and the Idaho National Laboratory have been granted research funds by the US Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy University Program for a three-year study into the development of offshore floating nuclear power generation in the USA.

Thorizon of the Netherlands has raised EUR12.5 million (USD12.4 million) for the development of a thorium molten salt reactor. Thorizon is a spin-off from the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group, the organisation that operates the High Flux Reactor in Petten.

The American Bureau of Shipping has announced it is to research barriers to the adoption of advanced nuclear propulsion on commercial vessels under a research contract awarded by the US Department of Energy. The organisation is also supporting separate research into molten salt reactors.

Two identical remotely-operated manipulators used to maintain the Joint European Torus fusion energy machine at the Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire, UK, are being tested in a series of practice 'rescue missions', where each saves its stranded twin.

The UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory and Bangor University in north Wales have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to advance education and research in nuclear energy, including on new and innovative fuels, co-generation and nuclear thermal hydraulics.

The US Department of Energy has issued its Record of Decision on the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor at Idaho National Laboratory. If appropriated by Congress, the Versatile Test Reactor would be the first fast spectrum test reactor to operate in the United States in nearly three decades.

The technology built by National Technical Systems will allow NuScale Power Corporation to mimic the range of environmental conditions under which its small modular reactors are required to function to meet US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and plant-specific requirements.

Westinghouse Electric Company and France's EDF are to jointly explore the functionalities of Westinghouse's EnCore accident-tolerant fuel technology. Westinghouse will study the use of the fuel in an EDF reactor for potential deployment across the EDF nuclear fleet after 2030.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority and the USA's Commonwealth Fusion Systems have signed a five-year Collaboration Framework Agreement aimed at advancing commercial fusion energy.