Moody's Investors Service has downgraded to A2 from A1 the issuer and senior unsecured ratings of Électricité de France, outlook negative. The rationale for the negative outlook includes "the incremental risks associated with the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station project in the UK, should it go ahead," Moody's said yesterday.

Research and development framework contracts worth up to £12 million ($17 million) have been awarded to a series of consortia involving over 70 organizations by the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

The UK government has announced details of almost £80 million ($115 million) in funding to support the creation of five new National Colleges that it says will support the delivery of major infrastructure projects, including new nuclear. The centres of high-tech training will "ensure the UK has skilled people in industries crucial to economic growth - high speed rail, nuclear, onshore oil and gas, digital skills and the creative industries", the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said yesterday.

Large infrastructure projects require a range of key features and sufficient risk management to attract financing, but a new nuclear project has to go further still to draw in potential backers, delegates at a recent conference in London heard.

A think tank has urged the British government to spend money earmarked for nuclear R&D on ensuring that at least three advanced reactors including at least one small modular reactor (SMR) and a Generation IV design have completed regulatory assessment by the early 2020s.

Age is no barrier to prolonging the operation of nuclear power plants thanks to technological advances that could not have been predicted by reactor designers working decades ago. That was the conclusion of nuclear industry leaders at a conference hosted recently by EDF Energy and the World Association of Nuclear Operators in London.

Sweden's Studsvik has agreed to sell its low-level radioactive waste operations in Sweden and the UK to EDF of France. At the same time, the two companies have agreed to collaborate in decommissioning and waste management.

The UK has the capabilities to produce the reactor pressure vessel for Westinghouse's small modular reactor (SMR) design, according to an independent assessment by the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre.

Sellafield Limited and Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) have drawn up plans to assist each other with communications related to their respective decommissioning activities. These plans follow the signing of a cooperation agreement in 2014.

The UK's Nuclear Industry Association has welcomed new official data from the Office for National Statistics which it said shows the "vital contribution nuclear power generation makes to the economy". The statistics, released for the first time and part of the low-carbon and renewable energy data series, show nuclear generation and new build activities contributed £3.5 billion to the economy in 2014, with 15,500 people employed full time.

Amec Foster Wheeler has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Nuclear Engineering and Construction Corporation on cooperation in nuclear energy. Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce has signed contracts with China National Nuclear Corporation covering technical training.

EDF Energy has inaugurated a new 'dry store' for used nuclear fuel that enables continued operation of the Sizewell B nuclear power plant until at least 2035. The plant, which is in Suffolk, accounts for 3% of the UK's total electricity demand.