Rolls-Royce Wins Bid for Three SMRs in Sweden

• Rolls-Royce Wins Bid for Three SMRs in Sweden
• How Will the Rolls-Royce Project be Financed?
• Japan Inks Muliple Deals to Take its HTGR to Market
• Oklo to Purchase Fuel from Centrus for Its Ohio Reactors
• Oklo and Standard Nuclear Form Alliance for Recycling Spent Nuclear Fuel
• Elemental Power Selects GE-Verona BWRX300 SMR for Ohio Site
• Shine, Newcleo Sign on to Nuclear Fuel Recycling Consortium
• NRC Proposes Rule Changes to Accelerate Advanced Nuclear Fuel Infrastructure
• Zeno Power to Build a Nuclear Battery Manufacturing Plant in Sunol, CA
• Terrestrial Energy Lands at Texas A&M-RELLIS to Build its IMSR Advanced Reactor
• TerraPower Kicks Off UK Generic Design Assessment for its Natrium Reactor
• South Korea Announces Two Sites For New Reactors
• DOE Opens Thailand for American Civil Nuclear Exports

Rolls-Royce Wins Bid for Three SMRs in Sweden

(NucNet contributed to this report) Rolls-Royce has been selected by Videberg Kraft as its partner to deliver three 470 MW PWR type reactors to a location (map) on Sweden’s west coast on the Värö Peninsula, next to existing Ringhals nuclear plant. The project backed by Vattenfall will build the country’s first nuclear plant in more than 40 years.

The firm said the decision underlines its position as Europe’s leading SMR technology, following recent contract awards in both the UK and Czech Republic.

The win in Sweden follows several other market making wins in the UK and the Czech Republic. Rolls-Royce has a contract in the UK with Great British Energy-Nuclear (GBE-N) to build as many as three and possibly eight of its mid-range PWRs at the Wylfa site. The firm also has a contract with  the state-owned nuclear utility CEZ in the Czech Republic to build one or more of its power plants there.

In May 2024 CEZ took a 20% equity stake in Rolls-Royce SMR, which is the wholly owned subsidiary of Rolls-Royce. In May 2026 the UK National Fund invested $600M in the Rolls-Royce SMR business unit to help reduce risk for private investors to come to the table.

The 470 MW PWR is billed by Rolls-Royce as a “small modular reactor (SMR)” but is power rating puts it squarely in the mid-range of light water designs. The IEAE classifies SMRs as having power ratings between 50-300 MW. The chief competitin for the Sweden deal was a 300 MW SMR offered as the BWRX300 by Ge-Verona.

Videberg Kraft is a company set up by Swedish state power company Vattenfall and industrial consortium Industrikraft, which is backing the expansion of fossil-free electricity, most notably through new nuclear energy.

The Videberg project will deploy Rolls-Royce SMR nuclear plants to add about 1,500 MW of baseload capacity – around 6% of Sweden’s annual power consumption – for more than 60 year.

Rolls-Royce SMR said the decision builds on the strong foundations that have been established in the UK, where the company is building long-term capability, skills and supply chain strength to enable both domestic deployment and export opportunities. The firm has enjoyed strong support from the UK government which sees the firm’s success as a national security objective relative to its role sustaining the capability to build special small reactors for the UK navy’s fleet of nuclear powered ships and submarines.

Rolls-Royce SMR, which is in the final stages of the UK Generic Design Assessment (GDA) regulatory process, said it uses a unique modular approach to deploying proven nuclear technology – using a standardized, factory-built model that drives greater cost and schedule certainty.

Sweden has six large-scale reactor units in commercial operation at three sites: Forsmark, Oskarshamn and Ringhals. According to International Atomic Energy Agency data, nuclear energy provided 29% of the country’s electricity generation in 2024.

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How Will the Rolls-Royce Project be Financed?

Getting to a final investment decision (FID) for the Rolls-Royce project in Sweden won’t be a walk in the park. First of all, a price has to be established for the project. Rolls-Royce has advertised its 470 MW plant as coming in at about $2 billion a unit or around $4,300/kw and $6 billion for all three.

More likely, by the time the FID comes to the table for signatures by all parties, which is likely around 2030, the cost could be considerably higher. Using a hypothetical price of $5,400/Kw or 125% of the advertised price, the three units would cost $7.6 billion.

Until Rolls-Royce and the multiple parties to the deal in Sweden sit down at the negotiation table, the actual price will be anyone’s guess. One thing that will be top of mind is that in the Czech Republic, South Korea’s KHNP, which will build one or more new 1,000 MW PWR type reactors at the Dukovany site, has indicated the cost will be $9,000/kw or $9 billion per unit.

Rolls-Royce will offer Sweden economies of scale in proposing to build three SMRs which are half the size of the KHNP units. A lot depends on global economic conditions including demand for steel, cemenet, and skill trades labor.

According to reports by the ANS Newswire, NucNet, and World Nuclear News, the project will be financed through a combination of public-private ownership, direct state aid, and government-backed market guarantees. Financing a multi-billion-dollar nuclear project requires a unique blend of public backing, industrial partnerships, and newly overhauled state mechanisms. Getting all parties to “yes” in the complex negtiations to close this deal will require superb diplomatic skills.

Joint-Venture Structure (Public-Private Equity)

The project developer, Videberg Kraft, relies on a hybrid corporate structure combining state-backed utilities and private heavy industry firms.

• Vattenfall: Sweden’s state-owned energy utility is a primary owner and board governance leader.
• Industrikraft: A consortium of major Swedish industrial companies and heavy energy consumers who are co-investing to secure long-term, stable electricity prices.
• The Swedish Government: As part of the ongoing development, the Swedish government is scheduled to become the majority owner of Videberg Kraft, injecting state capital directly into the equity of the project.

A Swedish Nuclear State Aid Framework

In August 2025, Sweden enacted historic legislation designed specifically to remove the financial risk that typically kills approval of new nuclear builds. Videberg Kraft was the first company to formally apply for this state aid. The financing hinges on two primary government tools:

• Government-Backed Loans: The state provides low-interest, long-term credit lines or loan guarantees to insulate the project from private commercial banking high-interest rates.
• Two-Way Contracts for Difference (CfDs): This acts as a price-guarantee mechanism. The government and Videberg Kraft agree on a “strike price” for electricity. If market prices drop below it, the government compensates the operator. If market prices spike above it, the excess profit is capped and returned to the state, guaranteeing predictable revenue for investors.

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Japan Inks Muliple Deals to Take its HTGR to Market

Rolls-Royce announced that it has taken a significant step towards broadening its nuclear portfolio by signing two memorandums of cooperation with the United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory and Japan Atomic Energy Agency related to development of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR) and fabricating the TRISO fuel to power them. 

Rolls-Royce said it is engaged in the project “looking to broaden its nuclear portfolio and explore opportunities in the advanced modular reactor market.” 

Rolls-Royce says its advanced modular reactor (AMR) “is a compact nuclear power solution designed to meet increasing demand for clean, scalable and reliable power across civil, defence and industrial sectors in the sub-50 MWe scale markets.” The company said its reactor would have “a power output of up to 25 MWe/75 MWth per unit and can be combined in multiple units for micro-grids.

Rolls-Royce said its AMR will provide “scalable, sustainable and reliable power, unlocking sovereign power demands and enabling decarbonisation across civil, defence and industrial sectors. Examples include data centers, defense installations, maritime & logistics, and mining.”

In December 2022, the UK government announced funding of GBP60 million ($77 million) for research into HTGRs, to fund the development of a demonstration project that would be operational by 2030. It chose the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency’s (JAWA) High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) due to its expertise in HTGRs.

According to the JAEA the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR)is the first and only one high-temperature gas-cooled reactor in Japan. The first criticality of the HTTR was achieved on November 10,1998. The reactor outlet coolant temperature of 950°C under full thermal power of 30MW was achieved on April 19, 2004 for the first time in the world. From January to March in 2010, HTTR was operated successfully for 50 days under high temperature and full power conditions.

A U.S. Firm is Also Engaged in Commercializing Japan’s HTTR

In the US the ZettaJoule ZJ reactor is a High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) based on updated technology derived from the Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s HTTR (High-Temperature Engineering Test Reactor). The target date to apply for an NRC construction license for the design is projected by ZettaJoule to be by 2028-2029. 

The ZJ reactor will use TRISO fuel which consists of uranium particles individually encapsulated in multiple protective layers of pyrocarbon and silicon carbide. They retain fission products even at temperatures as high as 1600° C. The ZJ reactor is expected to use LEU+ fuel, which is at 5-10 percent enrichment, to ensure commercial availability. The possible use of HALEU fuel may be considered at a later time.  

ZetaJoule Agreement with the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station

World Nuclear News reported in February 2026 the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station has signed an agreement with advanced small modular reactor company ZettaJoule to explore building a very-high temperature modular reactor that could attract USD1 billion in research funding.

The project has the objective of supporting plants by ZettaJoule to build its ZJ0 reactor adjacent to the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) Nuclear Engineering & Science Center in College Station, Texas. The new reactor facility would be owned by TEES, a state agency which is part of the Texas A&M University System.

ZettaJoule, established in 2023, is offering high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology it says is based on decades of safe proven operations at Japan’s High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR), a graphite-moderated and helium-cooled reactor that started up in 1998 at the Oarai Nuclear Hydrogen and Heat Application Research Center near Tokyo.

The company’s 30 MW (thermal) ZJ advanced small modular reactor is designed to operate at temperatures up to 950 degrees Celsius. With temperatures high enough for synthetic fuels, hydrogen, steelmaking, chemicals, desalination, and data centres, the company says the ZJ0 platform could unlock entirely new applied research pathways for industry.

The firm added in it press statement that the reactor “has the potential to catalyse up to USD1 billion in research collaborations, industrial partnerships, and federal funding over the next decade, positioning Texas A&M Engineering as the national hub for high-temperature gas reactor innovation.”

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Oklo to Purchase Fuel from Centrus for Ohio Site Reactors

• It is one of the first large-scale commercial high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) supply agreements that could include prepayments from Oklo
• Centrus is to provide Oklo with enough HALEU to support multiple years of Oklo reactor core covering up to five Aurora powerhouses as part of Oklo’s planned 1.2 GW Clean Energy Campus for Meta
• The project aligns with the broader redevelopment efforts by the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI) to transform thousands of acres at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant located in Piketon, OH, about 100 miles east of Cincinnati, OH
• Oklo and Kiewit Nuclear Solutions Co. have entered into an MOU intended to support engineering, procurement, and construction planning for the initial planned Aurora powerhouse deployments in southern Ohio.

Oklo and Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE: LEU), a uranium enrichment and nuclear fuel services provider, announced a Letter of Intent under which Centrus agrees to supply enough domestic high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to power up to five Aurora powerhouses for multiple years, with deliveries to Oklo scheduled to begin in 2029.

Centrus will supply HALEU from its American Centrifuge Plant in Pike County, Ohio to support Oklo’s planned 1.2 GW power campus in the region. The two companies announced the formation of their joint venture last March.

The agreement, which anticipates a further definitive contract, brings together domestic fuel supply, planned advanced nuclear power generation, customer demand, and project execution in southern Ohio. The firms said the agreement “strengthens fuel certainty for Oklo’s planned Aurora powerhouse deployments at a time when access to domestically sourced HALEU remains one of the central constraints facing the advanced nuclear sector.”

The Letter of Intent could include prepayments from Oklo to Centrus to support fuel supply for Oklo’s planned campus buildout. It follows Oklo’s January 2026 announcement with Meta, which included prepayment to provide project certainty for fuel to run Oklo’s planned Aurora powerhouse campus. Centrus plans to leverage billions in private capital along with the previously announced $900 million HALEU task order from the U.S. Department of Energy.

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Oklo and Standard Nuclear Form Alliance for Recycling Spent Nuclear Fuel

• Collaboration represents Oklo’s first third-party offtake pathway for recycled materials, aiming to bolster domestic energy resiliency via recycling and responsible utilization of U.S. surplus plutonium.

• Oklo and Standard Nuclear, a reactor-agnostic producer of TRISO nuclear fuel, announced they have entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore commercial collaboration on nuclear fuel recycling and advanced fuel manufacturing. Standard Nuclear would use the materials to fabricate TRISO fuel with an equivalent enrichment level of 5-19%U235.

Plans to Recycle Plutonium

As part of that collaboration, the companies also intend to work together on tghe utilization of U.S. surplus plutonium for advanced reactor fuel, following both companies’ recent selection of five firms by the U.S. Department of Energy for advanced negotiations under its Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program.

Oklo and Standard Nuclear intend to jointly evaluate product specifications, potential commercial terms, and delivery schedules for recycled materials from Oklo’s planned $1.6 bilion fuel recycling facility in Oak Ridge, TN. The collaboration would focus on the supply of reprocessed uranium and transuranic material streams from used nuclear fuel, which could serve as feedstock for TRISO fuel manufacturing in the range of 5-19% U235.

Oklo’s planned fuel recycling facility in Oak Ridge, TN, is planned to support a commercial pathway for recovering selected materials from used fuel for advanced fuel manufacturing and isotope applications, including for healthcare, industrial, space, defense, and research uses.

The MOU also establishes a framework for the companies to explore the use of U.S. surplus plutonium for advanced reactor fuel after Oklo and Standard Nuclear were selected for advanced negotiations under the DOE’s Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program. The companies intend to evaluate opportunities to collaborate on facilities, licensing, packaging, and transportation to support secure, cost-effective conversion of surplus plutonium into advanced reactor fuel for clean, baseload electricity.

Oklo is developing fuel recycling capabilities to recover useful materials from used nuclear fuel and convert them into feedstocks for advanced nuclear applications. The U.S. has accumulated almost 100,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel, representing a significant potential energy resource.

Oklo is also advancing Pluto, a plutonium-fueled fast test reactor, as part of its broader strategy to demonstrate how surplus plutonium can be used as bridge fuel for advanced reactors rather than remain solely a long-term disposition challenge.

According to a May 2026 report by the ANS Newswire, Oklo is currently focused on using surplus plutonium to fuel Pluto, but in the future the company expects its core fuel pathway to be based on recycling used nuclear fuel to produce uranium-transuranic metal fuel. Last May Oklo announced a new partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory and Nvidia to perform AI-enabled research on nuclear infrastructure and fuel.

A company spokesperson told the newswire, “Electrochemical recycling differs from other techniques such as PUREX, because plutonium remains mixed with other actinides to be fissioned in fast reactors such as Oklo’s Aurora Powerhouses.”

In December 2025, Oklo announced it had conducted fast-spectrum plutonium criticality experiments with LANL, generating data to support fuel validation and the development of its Pluto reactor.

The partnership is focused on exploring plutonium-bearing fuels, including the development of science-based AI models to support fuel validation and materials science and fabrication research and development. The team will also be exploring the development of nuclear-powered AI computing centers at LANL.

About Pyroprocessing

According to a Wikipedia article on reprocessing of spent nucler fuel, using pyroprocessing, the most developed, though commercially untested, alternative reprocessing method, is Pyroprocessing using the Integral fast reactor (IFR) a sodium fast reactor concept of the 1990s.

After the spent fuel is dissolved in molten salt, all of the recyclable actinides, consisting largely of plutonium and uranium though with important minor constituents, are extracted using electrorefining. The resulting mixture keeps the plutonium at all times in an unseparated gamma and alpha emitting actinide form, that is also expected to be self-protecting in terrorist or theft scenarios.

Standard Nuclear Files with SEC for Initial Public Offering

Standard Nuclear, Inc., a reactor-agnostic producer of TRISO nuclear fuel, announced in June 2026 that it has publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to the proposed initial public offering of shares of its Class A common stock. 

The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. The Company intends to list its Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “STDN”.

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Elemental Power  Selects GE-Verona BWRX300 SMR for Ohio Site

Elementl Power, an independent developer of utility-scale nuclear power projects, announced that it is pursuing development of a nuclear power plant with a planned capacity of up to 1.5 gigawatts (GW) in Southeast Ohio. This scope would include the construction of five 300 MW BWRX300 SMRs.

Elementl has signed an Early Works Agreement with GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy to utilize the company’s BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMR) for the project. It is the second major commitment of the use of the BWRX-300 in the U.S. The Tennessee Valley Authority is planning to build multiple units of the SMR at its Clinch River, TN, site.

The nearly 700-acre Meigs County property is situated along the Ohio River in Letart Township, approximately 110 miles southeast of Columbus. Elementl has agreed to purchase the site from American Municipal Power (AMP). The site was previously considered in 2009 for development of a 960 MW coal-fired power plant, but it was cancelled thar year due to cost issues.

Elementl recently filed a request with PJM Interconnection to connect the site into the regional transmission system for the first 600 megawatts (MW) of output from the planned SMR facility. PJM will review Elementl’s application and is expected to respond later this year. Construction on the first unit is expected to begin in 2030, subject to a final investment decision and regulatory approvals, with an anticipated completion date of 2034.

If Elementl moves forward with the project, the site will require regulatory approvals from multiple state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Ohio Power Siting Board.

As a private development project, Elementl plans to finance the cost of the proposed plant. If constructed, this project will not be funded through electric customer rates.

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Shine, Newcleo Sign on to Nuclear Fuel Recycling Consortium

(WNN) US fusion energy company Shine has joined a consortium that is working to build US nuclear fuel recycling capability. It has also agreed to work with France-based company Newcleo to link Shine’s recycling capabilities with Newcleo’s reactors, which are designed to run on recycled fuel. The firm said, “Roughly 90,000 metric tonnes of used nuclear fuel sit in US storage today, and Shine’s strategy is to turn that inventory into a strategic energy asset.”

The MARIE (for Model for the Assessment of Reprocessing and Recycle with Innovative Execution) consortium is led by the independent non-profit EPRI research organization, The project is funded under the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA-E) CURIE program.

In May 2026 The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced it is considering offering up to $50 million in funding to develop transuranic (TRU) fuels for use in advanced reactors using materials recovered from U.S. reserves of used nuclear fuel and other strategic nuclear materials.

A transuranic fuel is fabricated using artificially made radioactive elements that has an atomic number higher than uranium in the periodic table of elements such as neptunium, plutonium, americium, and others.

Since the U.S. inventory of surplus plutonium is in the hands of the Department of Energy (NNSA), it comes from defense sources. Some of comes the disassembly of nuclear weapons at Pantex and related sources. Development of transuranic fuels, especiually weapons related plutonium (PU-239), from these materials would solve DOE’s otherwise seemingly intractable problem of how to safely dispose of these materials.

Shine said its is working to build an optimization tool the US nuclear industry could use to evaluate and underwrite the first commercial used fuel recycling facilities. The MARIE model was developed and is operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Shine is targeting a pilot facility capable of processing 100 tonnes of used nuclear fuel per year in the early 2030s – the kind of facility MARIE is designed to help support.

Shine’s role covers the security, regulatory, and commercial questions facing a US nuclear recycling industry, drawing on its experience in licensing its Chrysalis medical isotope production facility as well as its experience as a commercial isotope producer to assess the markets for valuable isotopes recoverable from used fuel.

SHINE founder and CEO Greg Piefer said, “Recycling effectively makes nuclear fuel a renewable resource, reshaping the next era of clean energy. The companies that figure out how to licence and build the facilities will set the pace for US recycling, and that’s the work we’re doing in this consortium,” 

Technical Collaboration to Recycle Used Nuclear Fuel

In a separate announcement, Shine and Newcleo said they have agreed to collaborate on advancing innovative technologies for the recycling of used nuclear fuel. Methods for financing the initiative were not disclosed in press materials.

They will assess how Shine could supply Newcleo with materials from the used nuclear fuel of traditional reactors to manufacture MOX fuel, and how Shine could recycle spent fuel from Newcleo’s reactors. The companies also intend to jointly pursue US federal funding opportunities and explore additional opportunities for collaboration across both the US and European Union, where they say used fuel stockpiles represent a growing strategic priority. The companies plan to begin technical scoping this year, with joint federal funding proposals to follow.

Newcleo is developing advanced modular reactors cooled by liquid lead, and the facilities to produce mixed-oxide – or MOX – fuel to power them. Shine is developing nuclear fuel reprocessing technologies aimed at enabling the efficient and proliferation-resistant extraction of uranium and plutonium from existing used nuclear fuel inventories. The MOX fuel manufacturing capabilities that Newcleo is advancing can convert those materials into new fuel suitable for use in advanced reactor systems, the companies said.

Last year, Newcleo signed an agreement with US-based sodium-cooled fast-reactor developer Oklo to develop advanced fuel fabrication and manufacturing infrastructure in the USA. It has begun pre-application engagement with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to support the future licensing of its first Lead-cooled Fast Reactor and an associated MOX fuel fabrication facility.

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NRC Proposes Rule Changes to Accelerate Advanced Nuclear Fuel Infrastructure

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed sweeping changes to fuel-cycle and materials licensing regulations, including a streamlined licensing pathway for reprocessing facilities and updated requirements for advanced reactor fuels aimed at accelerating deployment of next-generation nuclear technologies.

The proposed rule is intended to reduce regulatory barriers and accelerate development of the fuel infrastructure needed to support next-generation nuclear energy technologies.

“America is rebuilding the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle at a pace not seen in decades,” Chairman Ho K. Nieh said. “These proposed rules support American leadership in nuclear energy through safety-focused and efficient licensing.”

The changes would modernize regulations governing the production, storage, use and security of nuclear materials, helping advanced reactor developers move more efficiently from fuel development to commercial operation. By streamlining licensing processes and reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens while maintaining rigorous safety standards, the proposal supports efforts to expand domestic nuclear fuel capabilities and deliver more reliable electricity to the nation’s power grid.

The proposed rule is part of the NRC’s broader regulatory modernization initiative under Executive Order 14300 and builds on congressional direction in the ADVANCE Act to create a more predictable, efficient, and technology-inclusive regulatory framework for emerging nuclear technologies.

The NRC plans to hold a public meeting on the proposed rule soon. The NRC is also seeking public input on several related areas, including reprocessing facility licensing, pilot fuel line oversight, waste management, operator qualification, and change-control processes.

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Zeno Power Plans to Build a Nuclear Battery Manufacturing Plant

Zeno Power announced it is establishing a nuclear battery manufacturing facility at the Vallecitos Nuclear Center in Sunol, CA. Zeno has partnered with NorthStar, a leader in nuclear decommissioning, to restore specialized hot cell infrastructure to produce nuclear batteries that will power critical defense, space, and commercial missions. The estimated cost of the facility was not disclosed in press materials.

This lease agreement with NorthStar enables Zeno to fulfill initial deliveries to government customers in 2027 and then quickly scale production. With more than $60 million in contracts with the Pentagon and NASA, and strong follow-on demand from government and commercial partners, Zeno is positioned to deliver nuclear batteries at scale beginning in 2028. 

Established in 1957, the 1,600-acre Vallecitos complex was home to America’s first privately owned nuclear power plant, which received Power Reactor License No. 1 from the Atomic Energy Commission. 

In March of 2025, the former operators of Vallecitos closed on a deal with NorthStar to complete nuclear decommissioning and eventual site restoration at Vallecitos. NorthStar’s decommissioning work will continue across the broader site in parallel with Zeno’s manufacturing activities in the discrete hot cell portion of the complex. 

Zeno recently took possession of initial decontaminated hot cells – thick-walled, robustly shielded rooms designed for safe handling of radioactive materials. Non-radiological operations have begun at the facility, with radiological operations expected later this year, pending regulatory approval.

Vallecitos Nuclear Center has existing decommissioning licenses from the NRC and California, with dedicated hot cell infrastructure already in place, a rare and valuable asset in the United States. Hot cells allow technicians to safely build nuclear batteries by remotely handling radioactive materials through thick lead-glass windows and mechanical arms. Zeno’s work to restore the hot cell facilities actively preserves and expands the local nuclear workforce through private investment.

Nuclear batteries, also known as radioisotope power systems, convert the natural decay of radioisotopes into years of uninterrupted power. Unlike conventional batteries or solar panels, these small systems operate continuously in extreme environments – from sensing networks in the deep ocean to rovers on the lunar surface to spacecrafts exploring the outer solar system. 

About Zeno Power Nuclear Batteries

Zeno Power plans to bring three nuclear battery products to market. They include a radioisotope sterling generator, a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, and a radioisotope heater unit.

Zeno’s nuclear batteries (also known as radioisotope power systems) use radioactive isotopes such as strontium-90 and americium-241 as fuel. As these materials naturally decay, they emit heat that can be used directly or converted into electricity using thermoelectric generators or a Stirling engine. Governments have used nuclear batteries for decades to power critical missions from the deep sea to interstellar space.

Unlike NASA’s radioisotope thermonuclear generators (RTGs), which have successfullyt powered many of the agency’s deeep space science missions, Zeno avoids the need for the complex and expensive processes and fabrication of plutontium 238 for its products.

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Terrestrial Energy Lands at Texas A&M-RELLIS to Build its IMSR Advanced Reactor

• Terrestrial Energy and The Texas A&M University System sign agreements for the commercial deployment of firm’s molten salt IMSR reactor and related R&D projects at Texas A&M-RELLIS.
• The agreeement enables completion of site characterization work necessary for NRC permitting and commercial IMSR plant construction at the Texas site.
• It support development of the Department of Energy’s Reactor and Fuel Line Pilot Projects. In June 2025 Terrestrial Energy was selected as one of five firms for the DOE fuel line program The company was chosen to demonstrate a fuel salt fabrication process in a phased approach.
• Advance IMSR Plant commercial pipeline and testing activities supporting NRC operating licensing.

Terrestrial Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: IMSR), a developer of small modular nuclear power plants using its Generation IV Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR), and The Texas A&M University System (A&M System) have signed ground lease and R&D agreements.

These agreements provide exclusive access and rights to approximately 77 acres at the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus in Bryan, TX, facilitate testing activities, and cover multiple projects, including the planned commercial IMSR Plant at A&M-RELLIS. The agreements provide will enable project development, including the involvement of engineering, supply chain and other project partners. 

The projects were initiated following the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the A&M System announced in 2025 after its selection of Terrestrial Energy to participate in its Energy Proving Ground initiative, which was established to bring advanced nuclear capacity to the campus. 

Importantly, they allow Terrestrial Energy to complete necessary site characterization and environmental evaluations, activities that started in 2025 and which will provide the detailed site data required for an application to the NRC for a permit to construct an IMSR Plant and for additional buildings and facilities. These activities are subject to further approvals by The A&M System’s Board of Regents in advance of nuclear activities.

These include facilities to support IMSR testing activities as well as the Company’s DOE partnership projects: Important elements of these planned testing activities will be undertaken in close collaboration with the A&M System under the direction of a Master Research Agreement signed in the first quarter of 2026.

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TerraPower Kicks Off UK Generic Design Assessment for its Natrium Reactor

TerraPower announced major milestones in its United Kingdom deployment program: the formal commencement of the UK regulatory review for its 345 MW advanced sodium cooled Natrium reactor and the launch of its subsidiary, TerraPower UK Ltd. These regulatory and commercial activities mark the company’s most significant steps to date toward deploying a fleet of Natrium reactors in the United Kingdom.

Generic Design Assessment Review Begins

TerraPower has now begun Step 1 of the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process. The company submitted its GDA application in October 2025, its first international regulatory filing for the Natrium technology and received formal acceptance by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in February 2026. 

The start of Step 1 of the GDA process marks a significant step toward Natrium advanced reactor deployment in the UK, supporting Britain’s ambition to accelerate innovative, sustainable and next-generation energy solutions.

TerraPower UK Established

The launch of TerraPower UK Ltd and the appointment of Dr. Ian Hudson as Head of TerraPower UK gives the company a permanent voice in the country. Dr. Hudson brings more than 30 years of leadership experience in the nuclear industry with a proven track record of growing business and delivering complex programs. TerraPower UK will serve as the company’s operational base for all UK activities including GDA engagement. It is the company’s first office outside the United States.

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South Korea Announces Two Sites For New Reactors

(NucNet) South Korea’s state-run energy company Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has chosen Yeongdeok County in the east of the country as a potential site for two new large-scale nuclear reactors. According to South Korean Englush language media reports quoting KHNP, the company has also chosen Gijang County in the southeast as the candidate site for South Korea’s first small modular reactor (SMR). The decision marks the first time since 2011 that South Korea has designated new sites for nuclear power plants.

The two 1,400-MW reactors in Yeongdeok County are scheduled for completion in 2037 and 2038. They are expected to use South Korea’s domestic design of a Generation III+ APR1400 pressurized water reactor (PWR) technology. The APR1400 was designed by KHNP and Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco). KHNP is Kepco’s wholly-owned subsidiary which owns and operates South Korea’s commercial nuclear plants.

The planned i-SMR plant in Gijang County is targeted for completion in 2035. The i-SMR is South Korea’s proprietary, next-generation SMR nuclear plant, designed by a consortium of South Korean organizations led by the KHNP and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The i-SMR, or Innovative Small Modular Reactor is a PWR plant with an electrical output of 170 MW. (KHNP Briefing PDF file)

Reports in South Korea said the Gijang SMR facility would have a capacity of about 700 MW, which means it is likely to have four SMR units, or a capacity of 680 MW.

According to KHNP, the two sites were chosen after reviewing suitability, environmental impact, construction feasibility and public acceptance. KHNP plans to begin licensing procedures, including an environmental impact assessment, early next year.

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DOE Opens Thailand for American Civil Nuclear Exports

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has OK’d American civil nuclear exports to Thailand under Part 810, allowing U.S. nuclear technology firms to seel into that country. American companies are now generally authorized to export nuclear technology and assistance to 51 destinations, including Thailand.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright issued a determination adding Thailand to the list of destinations to which U.S. companies are generally authorized to export certain controlled nuclear technology and assistance. These exports do not require advance approval from the Department of Energy, though they are subject to reporting requirements. 

These exports are controlled under the Department of Energy (DOE)’s regulation on Assistance to Foreign Atomic Energy Activities. Secretary Wright authorizes specific activities that are not harmful, adverse, or hostile to the interest of the United States, including assistance or transfers of technology. Thailand has a current 123 Agreement with the U.S.

Thailand has no commercial nuclear facilities, but according to a 2025 draft energy policy it plans to introduce two small modular reactor (SMR) plants in the northeast and south of the country.

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand has said it is studying SMR designs as it pushes ahead with plans to deploy “a sustainable alternative for Thailand’s green future” that helps boost the country’s competitiveness with affordable energy prices.

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