The US Department of Defense, acting through the Strategic Capabilities Office and with the Department of Energy as a cooperating agency, has released a draft environmental impact statement for the construction and demonstration phase of a prototype mobile microreactor. A public comment period on the draft EIS will begin on 24 September.

Canadian companies Cameco and X-energy have entered a non-binding and non-exclusive Memorandum of Understanding to explore possible areas of cooperation to support the potential future deployment, fuelling and servicing of Xe-100 small modular reactors in Canada and the USA.

NuScale Power yesterday said it is moving forward with manufacturing process development work at BWXT Canada Ltd's facility in Cambridge, Ontario, in preparation for the fabrication of the NuScale Power Module. The company said this is critical to developing its small modular reactor technology.

Prospective small reactor vendor Terrestrial Energy has announced that its IMSR400 power plant configuration will include twin reactors and generators. The move is a response to utility requirements and will increase cost competitiveness, the Canadian company said.

The first of the two high-temperature gas-cooled reactors of the demonstration HTR-PM plant at Shidaowan, in China's Shandong province, attained a sustained chain reaction for the first time yesterday. The reactor is scheduled to be connected to the electricity grid before the end of this year.

The private sector must be prepared to provide the funds needed to take new and innovative reactor technologies from the first deployment stage to wide-scale commercial operation, Jigar Shah, director of the Loans Program Office at the US Department of Energy, said yesterday during World Nuclear Association's Annual Symposium. He said the LPO is developing the business models needed to deploy new nuclear.

Polish chemical producer Ciech will consider nuclear technologies to replace coal burnt for power and process heat in its plants. Ciech has signed a Letter of Intent to cooperate with Synthos Green Energy, which is already working with GE-Hitachi and Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation.

Consideration of small modular reactors for the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico is advancing to the second stage. Having concluded such a deployment was feasible, the Nuclear Alternative Project is now looking at siting requirements. Speaking at World Nuclear Association's Annual Symposium yesterday, Eddie Guerra of NAP said the results of a study currently underway "will help to move the discussion how the sites will fit and how they will align with the minigrids already planned."

Both demonstration and test reactors are necessary to support the development and commercial deployment of the new reactor technologies that will expand access to reliable, clean energy, writes Kathryn Huff, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy at the US Department of Energy. This article was first published by the Office of Nuclear Energy on 30 July.

Four small modular reactors will power the huge Baimskaya copper and gold mining development in the Russian Arctic, according to an agreement signed by Rosatom subsidiary Atomflot. The company's director general, Mustafa Kashka, said the deal was significant for the whole global market for small reactors.

Energoatom of Ukraine will explore the possible deployment of NuScale small modular reactors to replace fossil fuel plants, according to a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the companies. It is the latest in a series of agreements on energy signed during the visit of a Ukrainian delegation to the USA.

Polish chemicals group Synthos and energy group ZE PAK have signed an investment agreement to explore the construction of four to six BWRX-300 small modular reactors at the site of ZE PAK's Pątnów coal-fired power plant in central Poland. Synthos, which has exclusive rights in the country for GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's small nuclear reactors, will participate in the project as both an investor and the technology provider.