Russian regulator Rostekhnadzor has issued a permit for the next stage of commissioning at unit 2 of the Leningrad II nuclear power plant in Sosnovy Bor, in Western Russia. The VVER-1200 reactor has since started a gradual increase in capacity, from 1% to 35-40%.

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) and Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom have confirmed they have signed a final amendment to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation. This extends the agreement through to 2040 and reduces US reliance on uranium from Russia during that time period. It is unchanged from a draft amendment released for public comment on 11 September.

The US Department of Commerce and Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom have finalised their agreement to extend the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation, to 2040, Hogan Lovells said yesterday. The Washington DC, USA-based law firm represented enrichment services supplier Urenco USA Inc in its effort to extend the agreement, which has governed trade between the two countries in uranium products since 1992.

The development of a national nuclear industry facilitates a country's economic growth while at the same time keeping in harmony with low-carbon and sustainable development, Yaroslav Mozdakov, director for communications and international affairs at Rusatom Energy International, said last week during a webinar hosted by the Expert Group on Resource Management of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. REIN is a subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak yesterday highlighted the contribution of the country's nuclear power sector, which this year celebrates its 75th anniversary, to the transition to low-carbon energy. During his address to the 11th Clean Energy Ministerial, Novak said the climate agenda was becoming an increasingly significant factor in changes to the wider energy industry.

JSC Akkuyu Nuklear has announced the completion of concrete pouring of the reactor and turbine buildings' foundation slabs at unit 2 of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant under construction in Mersin province, in southern Turkey. The 4800 MWe plant will comprise four VVER1200 reactors and is expected to meet about 10% of Turkey's electricity needs. Rosatom’s first build-own-operate venture, the USD20 billion project is based on an inter-governmental agreement signed between Russia and Turkey in May 2010.

TVEL, the fuel manufacturer subsidiary of Russia's Rosatom, has supplied fuel for the Budapest Research Reactor in Hungary. The VVR-M2 fuel assemblies - manufactured by the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant - were supplied under a contract signed in 2019 with the Centre for Energy Research of Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

The US Department of Commerce and Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom have initialled a draft amendment to extend the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation, which expires this year. The amendment, if finalised, will extend the deal to 2040 and "reduce US reliance on uranium from Russia" for the next 20 years.

Driving investment towards nuclear projects, the topic of World Nuclear Association's Strategic eForum 2020 yesterday, has become "the top priority" for the industry, Ilya Rebrov, the chief financial officer of Rosatom, said in his opening remarks as part of the high-level panel. The opportunities to attract private financing to new-build projects are growing, and the Russian state nuclear corporation hopes to draw on its recent experience in wind energy, he said.

Atommash has completed hydraulic tests on the first steam generator for the Kursk II nuclear power plant under construction in Western Russia, which will be the first to use the VVER-TOI (typical optimised, with enhanced information) reactor design. Atommash is part of Atomenergomash, the engineering division of state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Unit 2 of the Leningrad II nuclear power plant in Western Russia has started the final stage of its physical launch by reaching the minimum controllable power level. This means that the neutron flux control equipment has recorded stable neutron capacity, and the first self-sustained controlled nuclear reaction has commenced in the reactor core.

The Russian government, Rosatom and Rostec have signed a statement of intent for the development of end-to-end digital technology. In a separate digital technology development, Rosatom has announced the creation of a digital configuration management system for the Hanhikivi-1 nuclear power plant project in Finland.