Molten salt reactor technology has the potential to revolutionise the commercial shipping industry by making the largest ships faster, cleaner and more efficient, Core Power Chairman and CEO Mikal Bøe said in an interview with World Nuclear News. The goal is initially to power floating production of hydrogen-derived green fuels for a vast fleet of smaller vessels and, once licensed and approved, eventually to provide onboard electric propulsion power for large ships.

China National Nuclear Corporation has launched a district heating demonstration project at the Qinshan nuclear power plant in Zhejiang Province. The project, in cooperation with the Haiyan County Government, will "provide a nuclear energy solution to solve the heating problem in southern China," the company said.

The UK government today published a Call for Evidence that sets out its suggested approach to building the first advanced modular reactor demonstrator. This will specifically explore high temperature gas reactors as the most promising model for the demonstration programme, which ministers are investing GBP170 million (USD237 million) into delivering by the early 2030s.

Rosatom and a subsidiary of Kaz Minerals have signed for power supply to the new Baimskaya copper mining project in the Chukotka region of eastern Siberia. Rosatom proposes to use three floating nuclear power plants each employing a pair of the new 55 MWe RITM-200M reactors, a version of which is in service powering icebreakers. A fourth unit would be held in reserve for use during repair or refuelling. The first reactors are already under construction by Atomenergomash. The companies said that they would conclude a long-term take-or-pay contract for the electricity by April 2022.

Unit 4 of the Kola nuclear power plant in Murmansk, Russia has successfully completed the fifth cycle of irradiation using "third generation" RK-3 fuel designed for VVER-440 reactors. During the planned fuel loading, a televisual inspection of the irradiated fuel was performed with the help of specialised equipment, which showed that, after five irradiation cycles, all RK-3 assemblies had retained their original shape and all the fuel rods were sealed.

The deployment of microreactors in the short-to-medium term could support energy markets not available to large nuclear plants, but some significant challenges must be overcome for them to capture new market shares. In the longer term, they will be able to contribute to decarbonisation efforts. These are amongst the findings of a recently published technical report from the US Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review a topical report to apply Framatome's suite of Advanced Codes and Methods to operating conditions with uranium-235 enrichments above the industry standard of 5 weight percent. The report is a critical step towards implementing nuclear fuel at higher enrichments and burnups, the company said.

The Nuclear Innovation Alliance has welcomed the reintroduction of the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act last week by five US senators, three Republicans and two Democrats. This represents continued bipartisan support for advanced reactors, the non-profit "think and do" tank said.

Kairos Power is to establish a low-power demonstration reactor at the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge, investing USD100 million in a project to demonstrate its capability to deliver low-cost nuclear heat. The Hermes reactor is a scaled version of Kairos Power’s Fluoride Salt-Cooled High Temperature Reactor, an advanced reactor technology that aims to be cost competitive with natural gas in the US electricity market. The Hermes reactor is scheduled to be operational in 2026.

A new report published today by the UK's Nuclear Sector Deal’s Innovation Group presents a series of recommendations for realising the opportunity of zero-carbon hydrogen from nuclear energy. Its findings follow a Nuclear Hydrogen Roundtable event, which brought together over 80 experts and industry leaders from across the hydrogen value chain.

Holtec is preparing to increase production of its HI-STAR casks, following the receipt of regulatory approvals and new orders in Europe. The first HI-STAR 150 was loaded at the Cofrentes nuclear power plant in Spain and placed into the storage facility on 23 June. This is Holtec's first dual-purpose metal cask loaded in Europe.

A common misconception about advanced nuclear technologies is that they are largely conceptual and will not be commercialised in time to contribute to meeting near-term climate goals, but a comprehensive look at global efforts to develop advanced nuclear reveals rapid progress towards commercialisation and operation, write Clean Air Task Force, ClearPath, Nuclear Innovation Alliance, Pillsbury and Third Way.