Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj announced it has initiated an environmental impact assessment procedure for a possible operating licence extension and potential power uprating of units 1 and 2 at its Olkiluoto nuclear power plant.

Finnish energy firm Helen has signed a letter of intent with Steady Energy - developer of the LDR-50 small modular reactor - with the aim of enabling an investment in a small-scale nuclear power plant for the production of district heating.

Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority said its review of Posiva Oy's operating licence application for the world's first used fuel disposal facility is taking longer than expected and will not be completed by the end of this year as planned.

The pilot phase of the joint early regulatory review of France's Nuward small modular reactor design has led to positive lessons for all sides, and three more European regulators are set to join the next phase, a meeting at the 67th International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference has been told.

A four-legged robot designed for autonomous operation in challenging environments has been put through its paces at a depth of more than 400 metres in the tunnels of the Onkalo underground used nuclear fuel repository near Olkiluoto, Finland.

Steady Energy aims to build the world's first district heating plant featuring its LDR-50 small modular reactor by 2030. The company - which has been spun out from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland - has raised EUR2 million (USD2.2 million) in seed funding led by VTT, Yes VC and Lifeline Ventures.

Norsk Kjernekraft has signed a letter of intent with TVO Nuclear Services - a consulting company wholly owned by Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj - to jointly investigate the deployment of small modular reactors in Norway.

Finnish utility Fortum and Westinghouse Electric Company of the USA have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore prerequisites for the development and deployment of new nuclear in Finland and Sweden. The agreement is related to Fortum's nuclear feasibility study launched in November 2022.

Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj said it had detected and subsequently repaired defects and deficiencies in the seals of the connectors of unit 3 at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. The EPR entered commercial operation on 1 May.

The African Commission on Nuclear Energy has launched a five-year programme, Uplifting Nuclear Safeguards in Africa, which will have support from the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland and funding from the European Union and Finland.

Nuward has big plans for its small modular reactors. Renaud Crassous, president of the newly-created EDF subsidiary, joins us to discuss its hopes. Plus, in the monthly news round-up, it's Germany out, Turkey in.

Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj has issued an acceptance certificate to the Areva-Siemens consortium for the Olkiluoto 3 EPR, which began regular electricity production on 16 April. It said the 1600 MWe reactor is scheduled to enter commercial operation on 1 May.