UK awards GBP100 million in contracts for prototype fusion plant.
Britain’s Tokamak Energy has been named magnet systems partner for the UK’s STEP Fusion programme, while France’s Dassault Systèmes has been contracted to expand STEP’s product lifecycle management capability.

The Czech utility ČEZ has begun preparations to extend the lifetime of the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant to up to 80 years, potentially allowing operation until 2065–2067. This reflects a global trend toward longer reactor lifetimes, provided that safety and technical conditions are regularly assessed.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co’s two pressurised water reactors in Avila Beach, California are the 99th and 100th reactors to receive 20-year licence renewals from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, clearing them to operate until the mid-2040s.

NASA aims for nuclear-powered Mars mission in 2028.
The US space agency NASA has set out a series of ambitious goals for missions, which include a return to the Moon by early 2028 as well as a Mars mission the same year utilising nuclear propulsion technology.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said that “following information from Iran of a projectile incident on Tuesday evening, the IAEA can confirm that a structure 350 metres from the Bushehr NPP reactor was hit and destroyed”.

“I believe that it was a strategic mistake for Europe to turn its back on a reliable, affordable source of low-emissions power,” EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told a Paris leadership summit.

Slovenia says that financing conditions for a new reactor unit at the Krško nuclear power station look favourable as the country begins planning for the potential unit before a national referendum on its development no later than early 2028.

The Slovenian government said it will proceed with a national spatial plan (NSP) for the plant, which would provide all the details regarding the location of the new reactor, financing, technology and suppliers.

The US Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has awarded more than USD19 million to five US companies to research and develop recycling technologies for used nuclear fuel.

A Swiss Senate committee has voted in favour of lifting the existing ban on licences for the construction of new nuclear power plants, parliamentary services said on 20 January.
Following the 10-2 vote by the environment, spatial planning and energy committee, the Senate expected to deal with the topic in the spring.
A technology-neutral energy policy should ensure sufficient domestic production capacities for “a secure and cost-effective power supply at all times”, a press release said. The possibility of building new nuclear power plants will “expand the room for manoeuvre for future energy supply”.

Germany’s decision to shut down all its nuclear power plants was a “huge mistake” and has come at a high cost to the economy, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said yesterday, speaking to the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Dessau.

His comments reignited debate over the country’s long-term energy strategy and power generation capacity.

“It was a serious strategic mistake to phase out nuclear energy … we simply don’t have enough energy generation capacity,” Merz said.