A research team led by GE Hitachi Nuclear has successfully tested an innovative new building block made of steel-concrete composite that is claimed to significantly reduce the cost of building nuclear reactor containment structures.

Moltex Energy Canada Inc has initiated pre-licensing consultation with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission in relation to the development of its WATSS process for converting used uranium oxide fuel into molten salt reactor fuel.

Australian ship design group Seatransport and US-based Deployable Energy are collaborating with UK-based classification society and professional advisory service Lloyd's Register to develop nuclear power generation for different applications, including strategic response vessels in remote areas.

Eight technology developers have been selected and are now eligible to seek funding as part of a programme to provide fixed on-site microreactors at military installations "to support global operations across land, air, sea, space and cyberspace".

US microreactor developer Aalo Atomics has launched the Aalo Pod - a 50 MWe "extra modular reactor" for powering data centres which is based on its Aalo-1 advanced reactor technology.

British inertial fusion energy developer First Light Fusion and systems, engineering and technology company Frazer-Nash Consultancy have announced plans for collaborative research to advance fusion energy.

The UK government has announced GBP20 million (USD25.5 million) to kickstart Starmaker One – a British private fusion investment fund that it says will help fusion businesses and start-ups in the sector grow and commercialise at scale.

US private fusion company Commonwealth Fusion Systems has installed the disc-shaped stainless steel cryostat base, marking the start of the assembly of the SPARC tokamak. Meanwhile, Fusion for Energy has completed the manufacture of the eight torus and cryostat cryopumps for the ITER tokamak.

The extended funding round is intended to support Germany-based Marvel Fusion's transition from its research and development phase towards industrial deployment.

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency has developed what it says is the world's first "uranium rechargeable battery" and that tests have verified its performance in charging and discharging. Meanwhile, South Korean researchers have developed a prototype betavoltaic battery powered by the carbon-14 isotope.

NANO Nuclear Energy Inc has assembled the first reactor core hardware of its ZEUS solid core battery reactor for initial non-nuclear testing.

The two California-based companies have formed a strategic partnership to develop the first commercial nuclear-powered spacecraft for deep-space applications.