NEI Weekly Newsletter
Nuclear Engineering International
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Welcome to the latest edition of Nuclear Engineering International's newsletter on LinkedIn.
Another busy week for the sector and lots of news items shared.
Please make sure to check out the latest content on our updated website: https://www.neimagazine.com/
See this week's highlights below:
HYUNDAI E&C DISCUSSES KOZLODUY EXPANSION DURING VISIT TO BULGARIA
Bulgaria’s partnership with South Korea in the field of high technology and investments could receive an added impetus from the planned construction of Kozloduy NPP units 7&8, Bulgarian President Rumen during a visit to Sofia by South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering and Construction.
US-based Westinghouse was awarded a front-end engineering & design contract with Kozloduy NPP subsidiary, Kozloduy NPP-Newbuild (KZNPP-NM – Kozloduy NPP Novi Mostnosti) in June 2023. In February 20024, Bulgaria and the US signed a formal agreement to collaborate on the construction of Kozloduy 7&8.
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT SIMULATOR AND DESALINATION PLANT DELIVERED TO AKKUYU NPP
Asimulator for training employees of the station’s electric workshop has been delivered to the construction site of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant under construction in Türkiye.
The simulator, manufactured by the All-Russian Research Institute for the Operation of Nuclear Power Plants (VNIIAES – part Rosatom’s nuclear utility Rosenergoatom), is intended for the training in maintenance and repair operations of electrical equipment.
The hardware complex of the simulator includes real cells of the electrical equipment. During plant operation, such equipment operates at a voltage of 0.4 kilovolts. The simulator sections are completely identical to the station’s own electrical equipment, but its power circuits use a voltage safer for personnel.
POSIVA COMPLETES ACCEPTANCE TESTS OF BUFFER INSTALLATION SYSTEM FOR ONKALO REPOSITORY
Finland’s radioactive waste management company, Posiva Oy says acceptance tests have been completed in Parkano on the installation and transfer devices of the Buffer Installation System (BIS) for the Onkalo underground used fuel repository near Olkiluoto.
The world’s first ever BIS for the final disposal of used nuclear fuel has been under development by Posiva for several years. It is an assembly of several devices for the transfer and installation of the bentonite backfill between the final disposal canister and the rock.??
Two special vehicles transported the 14-metre-long devices from Parkano to the Pori testing station for the implementation of system automation and its integration to the control system of the final disposal facility.
NIGER AUTHORITIES WITHDRAW OPERATING PERMIT FROM IMOURAREN URANIUM MINE
Niger’s military government has withdrawn the operating licence of France’s Orano to exploit the Imouraren uranium mine. The government said it would review foreign mining concessions after it took power in July 2023. Relations with France have steadily deteriorated after the last French military troops deployed in Niger were expelled in December 2023.
In January the government temporarily suspended the granting of new mining licences and ordered an audit of the sector.
领英推荐
SOUTH KOREA INVESTIGATES POSSIBLE LEAK AT WOLSONG NPP AFTER WATER DISCHARGE
South Korea’s authorities are investigating a possible leak after some 2.3 tonnes of stored water was released from the used fuel storage at unit 4 of the Wolsong NPP in Gyeongju. The Nuclear Safety & Security Commission (NSSC) said it received the report on the discharge of the water into the sea from plant operator Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and immediately dispatched experts from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) to investigate. After discovering a decrease in the water level at the storage KHNP immediately took measures to stop the leakage.
Radiation from the suspected leakage was estimated at 0.000000555 millisievert (mSv), far below the average radiation dose limit of 1 mSv to an individual for one year.
COMMISSIONING OF FIRST FLOATING NUCLEAR PLANT FOR BAIMSKY PROJECT SET FOR 2028
The first of the four floating NPPs (the PEB-106 project), planned to supply energy to mining projects in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, is planned to be commissioned in 2028, according to the deputy head of Rosatom’s Engineering Division, Vladimir Aptekarev,
FNPPs are to be used to power the development projects in the Baim ore zone. In the Bilibinsky district of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the largest project for the construction of a mining and processing plant based on the Peschanka copper-porphyry field is being implemented.
INDONESIA OUTLINES PLANS FOR FIRST NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
Indonesia’s National Research & Innovation Agency (BRIN – Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional) has said that the testing and operation of its first commercial nuclear power plant in Indonesia will take place in the 2030-2034 period.
Dr Topan Setiadipura, the head of BRIN’s Nuclear Technology Research Centre said in a statement that 80 small modular reactor (SMR) designs are currently being developed globally, one of which is a 40 MWt power and industrial steam generator, PeLUIt-40 (Pembangkit Listrik dan Uap Panas Industri-40), jointly developed by BRIN and several national institutions.
PREPARATORY WORK UNDERWAY AT PALLAS REACTOR CONSTRUCTION SITE
Preparatory work has begun at the construction site of the PALLAS reactor in the Netherlands. The PALLAS reactor is intended to replace the existing 45 MWt High Flux Reactor (HFR), operated by NRG on behalf of the European Union’s Joint Research Centre, which began operation in September 1960.
While HFR has provided about 60% of European and 30% of the world’s use of medical radioactive sources, the 55MWt tank-in-pool type PALLAS reactor will be able to deploy the neutron flux more efficiently and effectively than the HFR.
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