Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation of the USA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with South Korea's Hyundai Engineering and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The five-year agreement outlines goals for development of technologies that enhance the ability of the USNC Micro Modular Reactor to produce and deliver carbon-free power, heat and hydrogen.

The University of Manchester and the University of Sheffield will support the delivery of independent evidence-based research to underpin the development of a UK Geological Disposal Facility following a GBP2.5 million (USD3.3 million) grant secured from Radioactive Waste Management (RWM).

New irradiation experiments on the behaviour of nuclear fuel have recently started in the High Flux Reactor at Petten, in the Netherlands. The Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group says that, by using a new measurement technique, data collected during the experiments could be used to develop new fuels and to optimise the efficiency of existing ones.

At the end of a five-day special meeting of the European Council, EU leaders reached agreement today to jointly borrow EUR750 billion (USD862 billion) to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The EU's recovery fund, to be composed of EUR390 billion in grants and EUR360 billion in loans, will be attached to a new EUR1.074 trillion seven-year budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). This brings the total financial package to EUR1.82 trillion.

Researchers at Belgium's Nuclear Research Centre have for the first time succeeded in accelerating a proton beam through the recently connected radio frequency quadrupole. The RFQ is a component of the particle accelerator that will drive the Myrrha sub-critical research reactor.

Advanced reactors that have a capital cost of less than USD3000 per kilowatt will be attractive investments and create the most value for plant owners, a study by international consultancy LucidCatalyst has concluded. The report found flexible advanced reactors complement wind and solar in markets with high penetrations of renewables.

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.

New cost-competitive nuclear power must make a significant contribution to meeting increased demand for low-carbon electricity, the Nuclear Innovation Research and Advisory Board says in a new report for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. It would be prudent to plan for nuclear energy to provide at least half of the firm low-carbon electricity not provided by renewables, it says.

A ceremony was held today to mark the official opening of a state-of-the-art laboratory building, named after former International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano, at the agency's Seibersdorf site outside Vienna, Austria. The new facility will increase the IAEA's capacity to assist countries in fighting and preventing transboundary animal and zoonotic diseases like COVID-19, and to tackle challenges related to climate change and food safety.

X-energy's TRISO-X fuel is to be irradiated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nuclear Reactor Laboratory's research reactor, the company has announced. Data from the irradiation testing will be used to support licensing of X-energy's Xe-100 and other TRISO-based reactors.

Researchers at the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are refining their design of a 3D-printed nuclear reactor core, scaling up the additive manufacturing process necessary to build it, and developing methods to confirm the consistency and reliability of its printed components.

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.