Nuclear milestones advance in China and US testbeds

· Climate · China · United States

China National Nuclear Corporation announced that Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant's unit 7 has been successfully connected to the grid. In the US, the Department of Energy approved the Documented Safety Analysis for Last Energy's planned micro-modular reactor at Texas A&M-RELLIS, clearing it to move into the readiness review, the final step before authorization for criticality and operations. Separately, Deployable Energy's Unity demonstration reactor was selected by the DOE's National Reactor Innovation Center for testing inside the DOME testbed at Idaho National Laboratory in 2027.

Why it matters：Grid connection of large reactors and regulatory progress for microreactors show advanced nuclear moving from design toward deployment on multiple fronts.

Key points

  • Tianwan 7 is now connected to China's grid.
  • Last Energy cleared a key safety review for its Texas pilot.
  • Deployable Energy's Unity will be tested in DOME in 2027.

Sources (original reporting)

More stories from this day