Unit 6 at the Tianwan nuclear power plant in China's Jiangsu province was connected to the grid for the first time yesterday, according to the China Nuclear Energy Association. The milestone - at 8.27pm local time - marked the unit's entry into the grid-connected commissioning phase.

Hungary will start repaying the Russian loan for the Paks II project in 2031, five years later than originally agreed, Hungary's Finance Ministry has announced. This amendment to the intergovernmental agreement for the EUR12.5 billion (USD15.1 billion) project means that income from the new nuclear power plant can help repay the loan, but it does not change the rate of interest on the loan nor the option to pay it off early, it added.

The planned Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant in Finland is now likely to enter commercial operation a year later and cost up to EUR1 billion (USD1.2 billion) more than previously expected, Fennovoima says in an update to its construction licence application. The company submitted the update today to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

The sixth Poloidal Field coil of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor was inserted into the fusion machine's tokamak pit on April 21. The milestone marks the beginning of the assembly of ITER's magnet system, which will control the shape and stability of the ITER plasma. First plasma at ITER - in Cadarache, France - is planned for 2025, with deuterium-tritium fusion experiments commencing in 2035.

Tests that simulate the temperatures and pressures which the reactor systems will be subjected to during normal operation have been started at unit 3 of the Vogtle plant near Waynesboro, Georgia. Meanwhile, the final module has been put in place at unit 4, marking the last major crane lift at the project site.

French company EDF has submitted to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd its binding techno-commercial offer to build six EPRs at Jaitapur in Maharashtra. The offer is the culmination of work that began with the 2018 signature of an agreement between the two companies and paves the way for discussions towards a binding framework agreement.

Cold functional tests were completed yesterday at unit 3 of the Karachi nuclear power plant in Pakistan, China National Nuclear Corporation has announced. Units 2 and 3 at the site are China's first exports of the Hualong One reactor design, promoted on the international market as the HPR1000. Karachi 2 was synchronised with the electricity grid last month.

The loading of fuel assemblies into the core of the reactor of unit 6 at the Tianwan nuclear power plant in China's Jiangsu province began on 14 April, China National Nuclear Corporation has announced. The domestically-designed ACPR1000 reactor is scheduled to enter commercial operation by the end of this year.

The reactor pressure vessel and first two steam generators for Rooppur unit 2 have started their journey from the Volgodonsk branch of AEM-Technology JSC in Russia to the construction site in Bangladesh.

A white paper containing 13 recommendations for the Dutch government to help realise the construction of new nuclear power plants in the Netherlands has been issued by the e-Lise Foundation. Founded at the end of 2020, the Foundation aims to promote the use of nuclear energy in the Netherlands and abroad. It is currently participating in the government's market consultation on the use of nuclear energy.

Concreting of the cooling tower at the first unit of the Kursk II nuclear power plant in western Russia has started. At a height of 179 metres, the structure will be the tallest cooling tower in Russia. It is expected to be fully completed by 2024.

The Volgodonsk branch of Russia's AEM-Technology JSC has dispatched the first-ever reactor pressure vessel for the VVER-TOI (typical optimised, with enhanced information) reactor design. The RPV is being transported to the construction site of the Kursk II nuclear power plant, which will be the first to use the new design. Hydraulic testing of the RPV for the first Kursk II unit was completed in December last year.