nuclear reactor

Italy has approved a law that will once again allow the country to produce nuclear energy, reversing a ban in place for nearly four decades. The move marks a major shift in Italian energy policy and opens the door to reintroducing nuclear power as part of the country's energy mix, decades after reactors were shut down following a public referendum.

Southeast Asia is turning to small modular reactors as demand for reliable electricity surges alongside its growing semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries. Thailand is among the countries weighing the technology, with chip manufacturing requiring stable power supplies that renewable sources alone have struggled to guarantee, prompting a regional rethink on nuclear energy.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed its environmental review for the proposed restart of the Crane Clean Energy Center in Pennsylvania, the former Three Mile Island Unit 1 reactor. The review is a key step toward restarting the plant, which is being pursued to supply power to Microsoft under an agreement with owner Constellation Energy.

The Nuclear Strategic Initiative (NSI) is arguing that direct disposal of spent nuclear fuel is the quickest path to scaling nuclear power. Writing in the American Nuclear Society's Nuclear Newswire, the group contends that avoiding lengthy interim storage steps would accelerate new reactor deployment. The argument feeds into ongoing debate over waste management as interest in expanding nuclear energy grows.

A research team has used quantum computing to perform FLiBe chemistry calculations, according to the American Nuclear Society. FLiBe, a molten fluoride salt mixture of lithium and beryllium, is a leading coolant and fuel carrier for molten salt reactor designs. Accurate predictions of its chemical behavior are difficult for classical computers, making the work a notable step toward applying quantum methods to nuclear reactor design and simulation.

Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory are evaluating gravity-driven passive safety systems for advanced nuclear reactors. These systems rely on natural forces like gravity rather than powered components, meaning a reactor can shut down and cool itself even during a total loss of electricity. The work aims to make next-generation reactor designs safer by ensuring decay heat removal without operator action or external power.