‘Projectile’ hit 350 metres from Bushehr nuclear reactor – IAEA
The International Atomic Energy Agency has said that “following information from Iran of a projectile incident … the IAEA can confirm that a structure 350 metres from the Bushehr NPP reactor was hit and destroyed”.
Aalo completes assembly of experimental reactor
Aalo Atomics has held a ceremony to unveil its completed Critical Test Reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory. The company said it expects the reactor to achieve criticality “well before” the 4 July deadline.
German energy minister calls nuclear phase-out ‘huge mistake’
Katherina Reiche, Germany’s economy and energy minister, discussed the likely impact on the country’s economy if the Iran conflict continues – as well as the need for a “correction” to energy policies in Europe, at a conference in the USA.
She added that the longer the crisis continues the more stress will be put on the “fragile recovery of Germany’s economy”. Of the country’s reliance on gas, she said previous governments decided to phase out coal because of the climate targets, and “the phaseout of nuclear was a huge mistake, a huge mistake and we miss this energy”, which she said had provided 20 GW of CO2-free power production at affordable prices.
Vietnam, Russia sign agreement on new nuclear plant
An intergovernmental agreement has been signed on cooperation in the construction of the Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant in Vietnam, to feature two VVER 1200 reactors, with the new Leningrad units as the reference project.
Background
A previous project, in the central province of Ninh Thuan, was approved in principle by the government in 2009 and was going to feature Russian VVER-1200 reactors – but project work was halted in 2016 because of “economic conditions”. Considerable work was done at the site before the project’s indefinite postponement, including relocating two villages with much upgrading of facilities and infrastructure.
Application submitted for Swedish SMR plant
Kärnfull Next has submitted an application to build a power plant based on small modular reactors in the municipality of Valdemarsvik in Östergötland county in southeastern Sweden. It is the first application under the country’s new Act on Government Approval of Nuclear Facilities.
The SMR campus in Valdemarsvik is initially planned to host between four and six small light water reactors, adding between 10-15 TWh of electricity generation per year. In February 2025, Kärnfull Next announced it had secured land rights for the Valdemarsvik project. The property includes areas that were identified as suitable for nuclear power in studies going back as far as the 1970s.
Kazatomprom preparing Akdala deposit’s next steps
Kazatomprom has said it is exploring the possibility of securing a new subsoil use agreement for production at the Akdala deposit following the expiry of the existing agreement’s 25-year term.
Kazatomprom said: “It is estimated that upon expiration of the SUA, Akdala deposit is expected to have about 1,500 tonnes of remaining reserves that will require continued development. Based on current production rates, continuous mining is required until 2030 to prevent suspension or disruption of technological process. Therefore, the company is exploring the possibility of securing a new SUA for production at Akdala deposit to maintain production capacity and ensure continuity of operations. It is worth mentioning that the terms of the initial contract have been fully performed and settled, and all rights of JV SMCC LLP as the subsoil user under the initial contract have been satisfied.”
Framatome to supply low-enriched fuel for Belgium’s BR2 research reactor
The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK-CEN has signed a contract with Framatome to supply fuel for the BR2 research reactor, which is converting from the use of high-enriched uranium fuel to low-enriched uranium fuel.
Framatome delivered three Lead Test Assemblies (LTAs) in April 2025 of HD LEU to qualify as an approved supplier for the BR2 reactor. The LTAs have been “successfully irradiated in the BR2 reactor, going through a representative series of operating cycles for standard driver fuel elements, without any reported defect or irregularity”, Framatome said.