Emil

Fission power and nuclear fuel recycling company Oklo has received letters of intent and is partnering with two major data centre providers to deliver up to 750 MW of nuclear power for data centres across the US.

The California company, backed by Sam Altman, the chief executive officer of US artificial intelligence company OpenAI, said the commitments expand its customer pipeline to approximately 2,100 MW.

Oklo said that under the letters of intent it will work with one of the fastest-growing data centre companies to deploy its nuclear plants in select markets, addressing the provider’s critical need for sustainable, reliable power.

“This collaboration supports Oklo’s expanding footprint, including its announced sites in Idaho, Ohio, Texas, and Wyoming, reinforcing the company’s commitment to advancing clean, resilient power options nationwide,” a statement said.

Oklo’s Aurora nuclear power plant consists of a small fast neutron fission reactor with integrated solar panels. Aurora can produce up to 15 MW of power and operate for 10 years or longer before refuelling. It can also generate heat for industrial applications.

It uses metallic fuel and can operate on fuel made from fresh high assay low-enriched uranium (Haleu) or used nuclear fuel.

Fast neutron reactors offer the prospect of vastly more efficient use of uranium resources and the ability to burn actinides, which are otherwise the long-lived component of high-level nuclear waste. They can extract more energy from uranium, use less mined uranium and convert unused uranium into new fuel.

Altman is Oklo’s chairman. The company went public in May through a merger with his AltC Acquisition Corp.

Earlier this month Oklo said it had secured an environmental compliance permit from the US Department of Energy and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for its nuclear power plant site in the US.

The company said in a statement that the permit is a significant milestone as it advances its plans to deliver the first commercial advanced fission power plant in the US, at the INL site.

Electric cables in decommissioned nuclear power plants which were previously incinerated can now have their copper recovered using a new technique successfully trialled by Veolia.

The company says it has developed a method to safely handle the wires to dispose of the plastic coating which surrounds and protects the copper wire within it from radiation.

Veolia says that "standard thin gauge to heavy duty electrical cables will make up hundreds of tonnes of waste during the planned decommissioning across various projects" and an initial trial of 12 tonnes of cable that were stripped of their contaminated plastic coating found that the exposed cores of the wires were tested for radioactivity and found to be safe, producing four tonnes of copper for recycling.

Copper is used in many domestic appliances, computers, pipework, construction and numerous other places including musical instruments and statues. It is plentiful within the earth's crust but the amount which is currently deemed to be economically viable to be mined is about 60 years' worth, Veolia said.

It estimates that using the recycled copper from decommissioned nuclear power plants saves around 85% of the carbon emissions associated with copper sulphide extraction from large open pit mines.

Nicola Henshaw, Managing Director Hazardous at Veolia UK, said: "Utilising our expertise in decontamination, depollution and hazardous waste, part of our global GreenUp strategy, we’ve helped the nuclear industry significantly reduce its waste and salvage valuable materials. As more end of life nuclear facilities are decommissioned this new process represents a new way of capturing valuable resources from this industry. With pressure on the earth’s copper reserves, more demand from industry, and the need to reduce carbon emissions, this latest innovation marks an advance towards a circular economy."

The Veolia group has operations in 57 countries and employs more than 210,000 people across waste management, water management and energy services. Its operations in the UK include the decommissioning programme for Magnox nuclear reactors where its work ranges from initial surveys through decontamination to appropriate disposal.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has officially ruled that unit 2 of the Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Fukui prefecture cannot be restarted as it does not comply with regulatory safety standards.

New regulatory standards announced in June 2013 prohibit reactor buildings and other important facilities being located above any active fault.

On two occasions - in May 2013 and March 2015 - a Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) panel of experts concluded that an active fault lies under the Tsuruga 2 reactor building. However, owner Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) has maintained that its own analysis has shown that the fault is not active and does not extend under the unit. In November 2015 it applied to the NRA for a review to restart the operation of Tsuruga 2.

An NRA review team presented the results of their confirmation of the activity of the fault at a meeting on 31 May this year, and the continuity of the fault at a meeting on 26 July. The team concluded that the possibility of an active fault running directly underneath the reactor building "cannot be denied". The regulator adopted the team's draft screening report in August.

Following a public comment period, the NRA has now ruled that the unit does not comply with the regulatory safety standards and can therefore not be restarted. It marks the first instance that such a decision has been made under the new regulations.

NRA Chairman Shinsuke Yamanaka was quoted by Jiji Press as saying "it was a big decision", adding that the decision "is not different at all from those made so far, in that we conducted strict screening from scientific and technical standpoints".

In a statement, JAPC said it was "disappointed" with the NRA's decision. "It did not recognise that the activity and continuity of the K fault found in the D-1 trench on the site of Tsuruga nuclear power plant unit 2 are in conformity with the new regulatory standards," it said.

"We will work toward reapplying for permission to change the installation of Tsuruga nuclear power plant unit 2 and starting operation," the utility added. "We will specify the content of the additional investigation required for the application, taking into account the opinions of external experts."

The US International Development Finance Corporation has signed a letter of interest with Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe to provide more than PLN4 billion (USD980 million) in financing for Poland's first nuclear power plant.

"The involvement of this important entity has more than just a financial dimension for us. It confirms the US administration's interest in our project," said Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) Finance Division Director, Wojciech Rosiński.

He added that the letter of interest (LOI) signed by the US International Development Finance Corporation reflects the outcome of months of talks held by PEJ with the institution as well as with other leading institutions from the US market interested not only in Poland but also in the global energy transition.

Agnes Dasewicz, head of investments at US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), added: "DFC is committed to enhancing regional energy security throughout Central and Eastern Europe. This LOI is a step toward reducing regional reliance on Russian energy exports while also seeking to bolster economic growth and create jobs."

The DFC - the USA's development bank - works in partnership with the private sector to finance solutions to challenges facing developing countries, and invests across a range of sectors, including energy, healthcare, critical infrastructure, and technology. In July 2020, DFC lifted its legacy prohibition on funding nuclear energy projects overseas.

PEJ - a special-purpose vehicle 100% owned by Poland's State Treasury - said the letter of interest received from DFC "is another document regarding the financing of the Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear power plant project". A similar declaration, for the equivalent of about PLN70 billion, was made earlier by the US Export-Import Bank, as a result of years of talks with Westinghouse, supported by PEJ and Bechtel since last year. Westinghouse and Bechtel jointly form a US consortium that implements the PEJ investment project in Pomerania.

In November 2022, the then Polish government selected the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor technology for construction at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Choczewo municipality in Pomerania in northern Poland. An agreement setting a plan for the delivery of the plant was signed in May last year by Westinghouse, Bechtel and PEJ. The Ministry of Climate and Environment in July issued a decision-in-principle for PEJ to construct the plant. The aim is for Poland's first AP1000 reactor to enter commercial operation in 2033.

Under an engineering services signed in September last year, in cooperation with PEJ, Westinghouse and Bechtel will finalise a site-specific design for a plant featuring three AP1000 reactors. The design/engineering documentation includes the main components of the power plant: the nuclear island, the turbine island and the associated installations and auxiliary equipment, as well as administrative buildings and infrastructure related to the safety of the facility. The contract also involves supporting the investment process and bringing it in line with current legal regulations in cooperation with the National Atomic Energy Agency and the Office of Technical Inspection.

In September, the Polish government announced its intention to allocate PLN60 billion to fund the country's first nuclear power plant.

A new jobs map published by EDF Energy shows the nuclear industry now supports 3500 jobs in the city of Bristol in southwest England. Many of these jobs have been supported by the Hinkley Point C project, with further new build projects expected to provide more.

The Bristol, nuclear city jobs map shows the extent of the jobs in dozens of businesses involved in engineering, manufacturing, logistics, training and research. Across the region, 27,000 jobs are now supported by nuclear - three times more than in 2014.

Engineering centres with hundreds of engineers have been developed at Aztec West business park in Bristol. They are due to expand to support Sizewell C in Suffolk, the UK's next nuclear project after Hinkley Point C in Somerset, EDF Energy noted. Plans to develop the Oldbury and Berkeley sites in Gloucestershire for small modular reactors offer further potential for growth in skilled jobs.

The figures show that more than 300 Bristol-based companies have won contracts at Hinkley Point C, worth more than GBP2 billion (USD2.6 billion). Framatome and construction firm Laing O'Rourke and have opened new factories in Avonmouth, employing 150 people, building modular parts for the Hinkley Point C project, while 650 engineers at the UK EPR Engineering centre based at Aztec West are designing Hinkley Point C and the next large nuclear power station project at Sizewell C.

The University of Bristol supports world-leading nuclear research and training, while training is also supported by the University of the West of England Bristol also benefits from facilities to support nuclear skills and the National College for Nuclear in Somerset, Bridgwater and Taunton College and South Gloucestershire and Stroud College.

"The South West went first with new nuclear at Hinkley Point C and Bristol is reaping the rewards," said Andrew Cockcroft, Head of Social Impact at Hinkley Point C. "The project has been a catalyst to attract new businesses and growth to the city, supporting thousands of highly skilled, well-paid jobs and making Bristol a national centre of nuclear expertise."

Phil Smith, Managing Director of Business West, added: "Bristol, the economic engine of the South West, sits at the centre of the region's new era of exciting expansion into the production of low-carbon energy. Tackling the UK's critical challenges of energy prices, energy resilience, and achieving net-zero, the region's burgeoning developments in offshore wind, EV batteries, and in particular new nuclear projects, will be dependent on Bristol's powerhouse of academia, engineering, and professional services.

"Business West is supporting the much-needed supply chain that new nuclear will rely on, including the critical component of an available and skilled workforce."

The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is considering support for Poland’s project to build its first commercial nuclear power station with a loan of 4 billion zloty (about $979m, €920m).

The interest was confirmed in a letter of interest signed by the DFC, the US government’s development finance institution, on 12 November.

The DFC letter of interest is another key document related to the financing of the Polish project to build three Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power plants at a site near the villages of Lubiatowo and Kopalino in Choczewo commune, Pomerania, a province in the north of Poland.

A similar declaration, for the equivalent of about $17bn, was made by the US Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank), following years of talks with Westinghouse, supported by PEJ and Bechtel.

Westinghouse and Bechtel jointly form a US consortium that will implement the nuclear project.

In March, Robert Rudich, energy attaché at the US embassy in Warsaw, said Exim Bank had sent a letter of interest for “a very large number of billions of dollars”. He said: “That is probably the lowest-cost debt financing available and it is an immensely powerful tool that we are bringing to this strategic project.”

“The involvement of the DFC has more than just a financial dimension for us,” said Wojciech Rosiński, finance division director at Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ), the state company set up to implement the nuclear project, including securing financing. “It confirms the US administration’s interest in our project,”

Nuclear LOI Follows ‘Months Of Talks’

Rosiński said that the letter of interest was the outcome of months of talks held between PEJ and the DFC.

Agnes Dasewicz, head of investments at DFC, said DFC is committed to enhancing regional energy security throughout Central and Eastern Europe

“This LOI is a step toward reducing regional reliance on Russian energy exports while also seeking to bolster economic growth and create jobs,” Dasewicz said.

DFC partners with the private sector to finance solutions to the most critical challenges facing the developing world. It invests across sectors including energy, healthcare, critical infrastructure and technology.

In November 2022, Warsaw chose US-based Westinghouse to supply its AP1000 pressurised water reactor technology for the construction of three units in Pomerania.

At the COP29 UN climate change conference taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, six more countries - El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Nigeria and Turkey - have added their support for the tripling of global nuclear energy capacity by 2050.

During COP28 - held in Dubai, UAE, in December last year - 24 countries backed a Ministerial Declaration calling for the tripling of global nuclear energy capacity by 2050. The heads of state, or senior officials, from Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Ghana, Hungary, Jamaica, Japan, South Korea, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, the UAE, the UK and the USA signed the declaration on 2 December, with Armenia and Croatia also signing up during the summit.

The declaration says the countries recognise the need for a tripling of nuclear energy capacity to achieve "global net-zero greenhouse gas/carbon neutrality by or around mid-century and in keeping a 1.5°C limit on temperature rise within reach". It also recognises that "new nuclear technologies could occupy a small land footprint and can be sited where needed, partner well with renewable energy sources and have additional flexibilities that support decarbonisation beyond the power sector, including hard-to-abate industrial sectors".

On Wednesday, in an event co-organised by the COP29 Presidency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the USA and World Nuclear Association, a further six countries signed the declaration. This brings the total number of countries endorsing the declaration to triple to 31.

"We warmly welcome these six new countries to the Coalition of the Ambitious," said World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León. "Today's announcement highlights the essential role of nuclear energy in meeting the Paris Agreement goals in a cost-effective and equitable manner.

"Leadership requires a clear-eyed assessment of the here and now, but also the foresight to prepare for what the world will need not only in 2050, but in the decades after. The signatories to this declaration are making a long-term commitment. But it is a long-term commitment with a long-term pay off, providing energy certainty and reliability in an uncertain world."

World Nuclear Association noted the announcement "is the latest moment of recognition for the essential role of nuclear energy in achieving net-zero emissions". On Tuesday at COP, the US Administration issued a roadmap outlining plans for the deployment of 200 GW of nuclear capacity by 2050. Other recent developments have included the recognition of nuclear energy - for the first time in a major COP decision - among the solutions needed to keep the 1.5-degree goal within reach, as part of last year's Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement. In March, the IAEA and Belgium co-chaired the first Nuclear Energy Summit, in which countries highlighted the role of nuclear energy in reducing the use of fossil fuels, enhancing energy security, and boosting economic development. In September, at New York Climate Week, 14 of the world's largest banks and financial institutions from five countries signalled their support for tripling global nuclear capacity.

"Nuclear can now count on the world's biggest banks to back the growth of the nuclear industry," Bilbao y León said. "Nuclear has attracted the interest and investment of the world's largest and most advanced technology companies. And nuclear has ever-increasing support from the public, who recognise that in nuclear they have an answer to their demands for energy security, reliable supply and prices, and a response to climate change. This is truly a global coalition of the ambitious. And thank you all for being part of it."

World Nuclear Association and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, with support from the IAEA's Atoms4NetZero and the UK government, launched the Net Zero Nuclear initiative in September 2023 seeking "unprecedented collaboration between government, industry leaders and civil society" ahead of COP28. The Net Zero Nuclear Industry Pledge, has been endorsed by more than 130 companies.

US president Joe Biden’s administration is setting out plans for the US to triple nuclear power capacity by 2050, with demand climbing for the technology as a round-the-clock source of carbon-free power.

Under a roadmap unveiled on 12 November, the US would deploy an additional 200 GW of nuclear energy capacity by mid-century through the construction of new reactors, plant restarts and upgrades to existing facilities. This would at least triple the current US capacity of about 97 GW.

The White House said it wants to “jump start the nuclear energy deployment ecosystem” with 35 GW of new capacity by 2035 that will be operating or under construction in the US.

It then wants to ramp up to a sustained pace of producing 15 GW per year in the US by 2040.

The strategy is part of a concerted push by the Biden administration to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, a goal the incoming Trump administration is likely to abandon.

However, increased deployment of nuclear power has bipartisan congressional support and president-elect Trump has signalled support, calling for the construction of new nuclear reactors during his 2024 campaign.

The roadmap relies on existing federal authorities, but would require new funding, leaving nuclear power’s bipartisan supporters in Congress to allocate that money.

In July, bipartisan support led to the enactment of a law giving the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission new tools to regulate advanced reactors, licence new fuels and evaluate breakthroughs in manufacturing that promise faster and cheaper buildouts.

The White House said: “These targets reflect ambitious but achievable goals to serve as a call to action for the nuclear energy industry and signal that the US government is working and will continue to work to facilitate the safe and responsible deployment of nuclear energy and related infrastructure and job creation.”

Ali Zaidi, the White House national climate adviser, said: “Over the last four years the United States has really established the industrial capacity and the muscle memory across the economy to carry out this plan.”

The roadmap says that during the 1970s and 1980s, the US successfully deployed approximately 100 GW of domestic nuclear power. The US nuclear energy industry continues to “lead the world” in nuclear power safety, security, innovation, operational performance, and non-proliferation, but has since fallen behind in deploying new nuclear power plants and faces increasing competition in the global marketplace for reactor exports.

Plans Call For Large-Scale Reactors And SMRs

A significant “potential deployment pathway” for new large reactors is using existing nuclear sites, the roadmap says. Adding new units to existing sites can reduce costs and construction times because site characterisation work is at least partially complete, a workforce is already in place, physical security is in place, and support from the local community is often present.

Among the 54 sites with operating reactors and 11 sites where reactors have retired, a recent Department of Energy study identified that 41 sites have the land, water, and other conditions to site up to 60 GW of new large reactors. Several of the 54 sites were originally designed for two or more reactors but only have one operating.

The roadmap also points to small modular reactors (SMRs), which it says have strong potential for resilient electricity and for industrial heat and hydrogen production.

Demand for nuclear is increasing as nations aim to accelerate the addition of low-emissions power sources, and as a result of rising electricity consumption by energy-intensive industries including data-processing for artificial intelligence.

Microsoft struck a deal in September for electricity that would be generated from a restarted Three Mile Island-1 nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. Google, Amazon and billionaire financier Ken Griffin are all among those to have recently expressed new interest in the development of nuclear energy.

Japanese regional utility Chugoku Electric Power has told the Nuclear Regulation Authority that it plans to restart Unit 2 at its Shimane nuclear power station in Shimane Prefecture, southwest Japan, on 7 December.

If the restart goes ahead, it will bring the number of reactors able to operate to 14 and boost the nation’s power supply this winter.

Shimane-2, the second boiling water reactor (BWR) unit to restart in Japan since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, was set to resume in August, but the restart was rescheduled due to essential safety upgrade work.

Shimane-2 is a 789-MW BWR unit of the same type as those that suffered meltdowns at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station following the massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The plant began commercial operation in 1989.

Unit 2 at Tohoku Electric Power Company’s Onagawa nuclear power station in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, was restarted on 29 October, becoming the first BWR in Japan to be go back online.

However, it was taken offline on 3 November due to an equipment malfunction. While a generator test was being carried out, an incident occurred in which a device for calibrating the detector that measures neutrons inside the reactor was stopped in the middle of the process.

Tohoku Electric said it had identified the cause of the incident, but has not yet said when it plans to restart the plant.

Before the Fukushima disaster Japan’s fleet of 54 nuclear plants generated about 30% of the country’s electricity, but were all shut down for safety checks following the accident.

Among the 33 operable nuclear reactors in Japan, 13 have now resumed operations after meeting post-Fukushima safety standards. The restarted plants are: Sendai-1 and -2, Genkai-3 and -4, Ikata-3, Mihama-3, Ohi-3 and -4, Onagawa-2 (temporarily offline) and Takahama-1, -2, -3 and -4.

In October, Japan’s new economy minister said the country will need to maximise the use of existing nuclear power plants because AI and data centres are expected to boost electricity demand.

Yoji Muto said the new administration will plan restarting as many reactors as possible so long as they are safe.

Muto’s comments point to a continuation of former prime minister Fumio Kishida’s policy that moved Japan back towards nuclear energy as a major power source.

Newly appointed prime minister Shigeru Ishiba, who succeeded Kishida on 1 October following the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, had said during his election campaign that Japan should reduce its dependence on nuclear energy, but later said that he would support the restart of existing plants.

Texas A&M University is beginning the licensing process for potential sites at Texas A&M-RELLIS in Bryan, Texas, for multiple companies to test and construct the next generation of nuclear reactors - and says it will be the only higher education institution with a commercial reactor site licence in the USA.

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents has agreed to notify the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the plan by submission of a letter of intent, which it says marks the beginning of a licensing process. "Reactor companies will benefit from the A&M System taking on the licensing burden," the university said. "The result will be a shorter path to getting their reactors up and running."

This "test-bed" supporting multiple reactors from various companies, could put additional power into the state's energy grid at a time of high demand, said John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M System. He described the Texas A&M System - a statewide network of 11 universities - as "the missing piece of the puzzle" for the development of small modular reactors (SMRs).

The Texas A&M System has already gathered proposals from nuclear reactor companies that hope to construct reactors at Texas A&M-RELLIS, and said negotiations are expected to begin soon. There might also be additional opportunities for organisations "to take advantage of the A&M System's site for nuclear testing and the manufacturing of modular reactors", it said. It will announce the companies that are selected to carry out testing at Texas A&M-RELLIS "after negotiations are complete".

Texas A&M University is home to the largest nuclear engineering department of any university in the USA and the A&M System helps manage the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Pantex nuclear weapons plant. The TRIGA research reactor at the university's Nuclear Engineering & Science Center's celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2021

"From the people, to the land, to the enthusiasm to innovate, the Texas A&M System has everything we need to help the country meet its clean energy needs," Sharp said.

Chugoku Electric Power Company has announced that it plans to resume operation of unit 2 at its Shimane nuclear power plant on 7 December. The 789 MWe boiling water reactor has been offline since January 2012.

In June 2021, Shimane 2 became the 17th Japanese reactor to pass the regulator's safety screenings and the fifth boiling water reactor (BWR) - the same type as those at the Fukushima Daiichi plant - to receive regulatory approval to restart.

Following approvals by the cities of Matsue, Izumo, Yasugi and Unnan, in June 2022 the governor of Shimane prefecture approved the restart of Shimane 2. His approval marked the completion of the process to gain the consent of local communities for the unit to resume operation.

In early October, Chugoku released a revised schedule for the restart of the unit. It said the reactor was expected to restart in early December, with power generation scheduled to begin in late December. The reactor will resume commercial operation in January 2025.

The utility has now specified that the unit will be restarted on 7 December.

Chugoku began loading fuel into the core of Shimane 2 on 28 October. The process of loading the 560 fuel assemblies was completed on 3 November.

Unit 2 at Tohoku Electric Power Company's Onagawa nuclear power plant was restarted on 29 October, becoming the first BWR in Japan to be restarted. However, the unit was taken offline on 3 November due to malfunctioning equipment. While a generator test was being conducted, an incident occurred in which a device for calibrating the detector that measures neutrons inside the reactor was stopped in the middle of the process.

Today, Tohoku said that it had identified the cause of the incident - "the connection between the expansion joint inside the reactor containment vessel and the guide pipe used to feed the detector cable into the reactor had become detached" due to a nut not being sufficiently tightened.

The utility has not yet said when it plans to restart the reactor again.

Great British Nuclear (GBN) said it had started detailed negotiations on 11 November with the final four shortlisted bidders into the UK’s small modular reactor (SMR) programme.

The four companies, GE Hitachi, Holtec, Rolls-Royce SMR and Westinghouse, have been shortlisted following two rounds of assessment by GBN, the government’s nuclear delivery body.

GBN will negotiate with all four before final tenders are submitted, with final decisions to be taken in the spring.

The government said in a statement that to reach this stage, each of the four designs was subject to a “robust analysis”. GBN has evaluated each technology, including aspects such as safety, deliverability, and their ability to support development of a fleet of SMRs.

“GBN considers the designs, each of which is proceeding through the UK’s regulatory process, are viable options for development,” the statement said.

“Subject to negotiations, GBN consider any one of these designs would be fit to use in the UK nuclear programme.”

GBN’s chair, Simon Bowen said: “This is a significant moment for the SMR programme. Our technical experts have assessed each design in detail and are very confident these SMRs could play a key role in the UK’s future energy mix.

“The negotiation phase will enable us to select the absolute best technologies on the best terms for the UK.”

The two companies that were on an initial list of six, but were not included in the list of four, were EDF and US-based NuScale Power.

French state-owned utility and nuclear operator EDF said in July that it had pulled out of the competition after deciding to shift away from its indigenous Nuward technology to a design based on proven technology only.

The UK government gave no reason for NuScale’s failure to make the list of four. In November 2023, NuScale cancelled its first SMR project, in the US, as costs increased.