Nuclear Sector Advances on Multiple Fronts in Europe and Beyond

· Climate · France · Poland

A cluster of nuclear developments emerged this week. Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries delivered three more replacement steam generators to EDF for unit 2 of the Cruas plant in southeastern France. Bruce Power completed installation of 480 calandria tubes at unit 4 in Canada, faster than at unit 3. The US Department of Energy approved cost-shared funding under its Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program for the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment, targeting first criticality in 2027. Poland's SGE and ZE Pak formed a joint venture to develop a plant at Pątnów with up to six BWRX-300 small modular reactors, and Westinghouse placed conditional orders for safety-related modules with four Polish firms. Newcleo opened a EUR10 million MOX fuel centre in southern France, Kairos Power automated fuel pebble inspections in New Mexico, and Bluecore Energy announced a low-enriched uranium purchase.

Why it matters：The simultaneous delivery, licensing and fuel milestones across established and advanced reactor programmes show nuclear's revival moving from pledges to procurement, shaping supply chains for decades.

Key points

  • MHI delivered three replacement steam generators to EDF's Cruas 2 reactor in France.
  • Poland moved forward with both a six-unit SMR joint venture and Westinghouse module orders.
  • US DOE funded the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment, targeting first criticality in 2027.

Sources (original reporting)

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