An EDF-led consortium has been awarded UK government funding to further develop plans to use heat and electricity from Heysham 2 to create hydrogen for use in the production of asphalt and cement. Earlier this year, a feasibility study demonstrated the significant benefit the project would bring in proving how nuclear could power hydrogen electrolysis.

The Rwanda Atomic Energy Board has signed an agreement with Dual Fluid to collaborate on the development of a demonstration Dual Fluid nuclear reactor in Rwanda. The demonstration reactor is expected to be operational by 2026.

Spot, a robotic quadruped, has completed a trial at the Dounreay site in Scotland, UK, where it successfully navigated an evaporator cell in the Fuel Cycle Area that has been shut off for 25 years.

BWX Technologies, Inc is to process thousands of kilograms of US government-owned scrap material containing enriched uranium to produce high-assay low enriched uranium - or HALEU - feedstock for fuel for advanced nuclear reactors.

Swedish nuclear technical services provider Studsvik and German radioactive waste specialist GNS Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service mbH have formed a strategic and exclusive cooperation to implement Studsvik's inDRUM technology for the German market. inDRUM is a patented technology for the treatment of problematic wastes, such as legacy wastes in aging drums.

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.

Two projects to explore the feasibility of using nuclear energy in systems to remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere - one led by GE Vernova and one led by Northwestern University - are included in a list of 19 projects selected to receive US Department of Energy support.

A research project has highlighted the potential for quantum computing to deliver significant benefits for the design and operation of radiation facilities in the nuclear, medical and space industries, as Professor Paul Smith, Jacobs ANSWERS Technical Director, explains.

Westinghouse has announced the creation of a centre of excellence for Low Enriched Uranium Plus fuel manufacturing at its Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins, South Carolina.

Orano USA has completed work to separate and pack the top third of the reactor vessel, with its embedded internal components, using its patented Optimized Segmentation process. The reactor vessel will be cut into three segments as the company carries out accelerated decommissioning of the plant.

Testing has been completed of the second full-scale laser system module developed by Australia's Silex Systems Ltd for deployment in Global Laser Enrichment's commercial pilot demonstration facility in the USA. The module is expected to be installed and operational by the end of this year.

Drone pilots have successfully completed two flight firsts on the UK's Sellafield site which are expected to lead the way to increased safety of employees during decommissioning. Sellafield has now become the first UK nuclear site to employ a drone equipped with a radiation monitor.