Latest news with #modularreactors
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Newcleo teams up with Slovakia's JAVYS to develop advanced nuclear reactors
MILAN, June 3 (Reuters) - Nuclear start-up Newcleo has agreed to set up a joint venture with Slovakia's JAVYS on the use of spent nuclear fuel, the company founded by Italian physicist Stefano Buono said on Tuesday. The announcement came after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosted a meeting in Rome with her Slovak counterpart Robert Fico. Newcleo is developing small modular reactors powered by reprocessed nuclear waste. The company aims to build so-called lead-cooled fast reactors (LFRs) that will enable Slovakia's spent nuclear fuel to be used as propellant. The newly established joint venture, in which JAVYS will hold a 51% stake and Newcleo the remaining 49%, will focus on constructing four LFR reactors at the Jaslovské Bohunice site in Slovakia. "This project will not only strengthen our energy security but it will also create hundreds of qualified jobs and can attract significant investments to Slovak industry," JAVYS Chairman Peter Gerhart said in a statement.
The Guardian
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Denmark rethinking 40-year nuclear power ban amid Europe-wide shift
Denmark is reconsidering its 40-year ban on nuclear power in a major policy shift for the renewables-heavy country. The Danish government will analyse the potential benefits of a new generation of nuclear power technologies after banning traditional nuclear reactors in 1985, its energy minister said. The Scandinavian country is one of Europe's most renewables-rich energy markets and home to Ørsted, the world's biggest offshore wind company. More than 80% of its electricity is generated from renewables, including wind, biofuels and solar, according to the International Energy Agency. But Denmark may begin investing in modular nuclear reactors too, Lars Aagaard, the energy and climate minister, suggested. Aagaard told the Danish newspaper Politiken: 'We can see that there is a development under way with new nuclear power technologies – small, modular reactors. But it's not enough that they have potential. We also need to know what it means for Danish society if we are to enable these technologies.' The country's decision to reconsider nuclear power has emerged as interest in new nuclear reactor designs has picked up across Europe, alongside plans to extend the lifespan of the continent's existing reactors. Denmark's former prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the Financial Times on Wednesday he supported lifting the 'ridiculous' ban on nuclear power. 'Wind and solar are good as long as you have wind and sunshine. But you have to have a non-fossil base-load and it's ridiculous to exclude nuclear power in advance. My guess is that this is a process [from the government] towards lifting the ban,' he said. Renewed European interest in nuclear power is in part because of an expected increase in demand for low-carbon electricity to decarbonise transport, industry and home heating in the decades ahead. The developers of small modular reactor designs, which can be built in factories and assembled on site, have promised lower costs and shorter construction times than traditional large-scale reactors. Nuclear power has also won the backing of tech companies, including Google, which are interested in using small modular nuclear reactors to supply their energy-hungry datacentres with consistent 24/7 electricity. Spain, widely considered anti-nuclear, is understood to be reconsidering plans to shut down its seven nuclear reactors in the next decade after a major power outage across the Iberian peninsula last month. In Germany, which banned nuclear power in 2022, the debate over whether to restart its reactors has been reignited after the halt in Russian gas imports that year underlined its heavy reliance on gas power plants. Meanwhile, the UK, France and Belgium have agreed to extend the life of existing nuclear reactors to help meet the growing demand for low-carbon electricity to decarbonise their economies. France hopes to build another six reactors to rejuvenate its ageing fleet, and late last year connected the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor to its grid, the first addition to its nuclear power network in 25 years. The UK is building the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset and expects to set out plans to develop small modular reactors in the coming months, alongside deciding whether to invest in the embattled Sizewell C nuclear project. In Denmark, Ørsted, the wind company, has struggled in the face of high inflation, supply-chain disruption and higher interest rates, forcing it to cut jobs and delay or cancel projects. Last week it cancelled one of the UK's largest offshore windfarms, Hornsea 4, off the Yorkshire coast, saying soaring costs meant it no longer made economic sense.
National Post
09-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
Construction of modular nuclear reactors set to start at Darlington station with total cost of $21B
Construction on the first of four small modular reactors at a nuclear station east of Toronto is set to begin this year with the entire project costing $21 billion. Article content The first reactor at the site of the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station should be completed by 2030, officials said. Article content The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission approved Ontario Power Generation's plan last month to build the first of four reactors. Article content Article content 'We're breaking ground on a project that when complete will produce power for 1.2 million homes, 1,200 megawatts of power,' said Energy Minister Stephen Lecce. Article content Article content The project will create 18,000 jobs, including 3,700 highly skilled jobs. Article content Lecce said 80 per cent of the spending on the entire project will go to Ontario companies that are providing skilled workers to build the new reactors. Article content 'Our workers, our welders, our boilermakers, our heavy equipment operators will build this project with Canadian steel, Canadian concrete, and Canadian innovation,' he said. Once built, the small nuclear reactors will operate for 65 years, the province said. Article content OPG selected GE Hitachi's small modular reactor technology. The American-Japanese company has its headquarters in the United States. Article content Small modular reactors are smaller-than-usual nuclear reactors that are sometimes considered safer due to their size. They can operate individually or as part of a larger nuclear complex, depending on their location's energy requirements. Article content Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said it's a real gamble during an ongoing trade war with the United States. Article content Article content 'I think it's irresponsible for the government to be bringing in an SMR with U.S. technology that's going to lock us into needing enriched U.S. uranium to have it work,' Schreiner said. Article content Article content The province's nuclear generator fleet are CANDU reactors that do no need enriched uranium, but the SMR technology does. Article content The Independent Electricity System Operator said last year that electricity demand is expected to increase 75 per cent by 2050. Article content The moves are part of a larger push from Lecce to rely more heavily on nuclear generation to power the province's growing electricity demands. Article content The plan also includes exploring a new, large-scale plant at Bruce Power in Tiverton, Ont., considering a new nuclear plant near Port Hope, Ont., and refurbishing units at the Pickering nuclear plant to extend its lifespan. Article content Lecce is also bullish on exporting Ontario's nuclear know-how abroad. The province has signed agreements worth more than $1 billion with companies in Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic. Article content
