Advanced nuclear technology firm Oklo and TRISO nuclear fuel producer Standard Nuclear have finalized a memorandum of understanding to work together on fuel recycling, advanced manufacturing, and utilizing excess US plutonium.

This commercial agreement provides Oklo with its initial third-party buyer pathway for materials processed at its upcoming Tennessee facility. It follows an announcement by the US Department of Energy that selected both companies among five enterprises to enter advanced negotiations for the federal Surplus Plutonium Utilization Program.

The non-binding agreement outlines a framework for the companies to evaluate technical and commercial details. Under the material offtake portion of the agreement, Standard Nuclear will review specifications and delivery timelines for reprocessed uranium and uranium-transuranic streams.

These materials will originate from Oklo’s planned recycling plant in Oak Ridge and will serve as raw inputs for Standard Nuclear’s production of TRISO fuel, which is a specialized fuel type designed for high-temperature advanced reactors.

Supply chain integration

“The collaboration would focus on the supply of reprocessed uranium (RepU) and uranium-transuranic material (U/TRU) streams from used nuclear fuel, which could serve as feedstock for TRISO fuel manufacturing,” said Oklo in a press release.

The second major component of the agreement focuses on managing federal weapons-grade material. The two companies plan to coordinate on licensing requirements, specialized packaging, facilities, and secure transportation networks. 

This logistical framework is intended to safely convert surplus domestic plutonium into usable fuel for next-generation commercial reactors, providing consistent clean electricity to the power grid.

Jacob DeWitte, co-founder and chief executive officer of Oklo, stated that his company focuses on converting used nuclear material into functional fuel supplies to help build the domestic supply chains required for deploying advanced reactors. 

“This partnership represents a compelling pathway to source feedstock materials for our TRISO fuel manufacturing and radioisotope power systems and is an important step in strengthening domestic fuel feedstock supply sources,” added Kurt Terrani, chief executive officer of Standard Nuclear. 

Addressing domestic nuclear waste

The commercial effort addresses a significant domestic inventory challenge, as the United States currently stores approximately 100,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel from traditional commercial reactors. 

Rather than leaving these stockpiles in long-term storage, the collaboration attempts to extract remaining energy resources from the waste.

Oklo is currently designing a fast test reactor named Pluto that runs specifically on plutonium. The goal of the Pluto project is to prove that surplus military plutonium can function as an interim fuel source for commercial electricity generation instead of remaining a permanent disposal issue.

At the same time, Standard Nuclear operates as an independent, reactor-agnostic fuel developer, meaning its TRISO fuel can be utilized across various third-party reactor designs for both terrestrial power grids and space exploration systems. 

The company also builds radioisotope power systems, which are compact electricity generators used by defense agencies and aerospace programs. These systems will rely directly on the specific isotopes recovered during the recycling processes managed by Oklo.

It’s the third such deal the Interior Department has struck to pay firms to abandon plans for offshore turbines, spending roughly $2.5 billion to get companies to abandon their wind projects.

It’s the third such deal the Interior Department has struck to pay firms to abandon plans for offshore turbines, spending roughly $2.5 billion to get companies to abandon their wind projects.

© Joshua A. Bickel/Associated Press

Hadron Energy has cleared an early milestone in its effort to commercialize small-scale nuclear power in the United States. The advanced nuclear technology company announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has published its first patent application, placing the engineering framework behind its Halo Micro-Modular Reactor into the public domain.

The patent publication marks the company’s first major intellectual property filing and provides a detailed look at the reactor design Hadron plans to advance through the U.S. licensing process. The application, published on May 7, outlines the technology behind the Halo reactor, a compact nuclear system designed to deliver 10 megawatts of electricity.

Company founder and CEO Samuel Gibson, Chief Nuclear Officer Ross Ridenoure, Christopher R. Neal, and Andrew M. Ward are listed as inventors on the application.

Integrated reactor design

The application details an integral pressurized-water reactor, a compact design that houses key nuclear systems within a single pressure vessel rather than across multiple structures.

Traditional nuclear plants typically rely on large external pipes to connect these systems. Hadron’s approach removes much of that complexity by housing them within one unit.

According to the application, the design could simplify transportation, installation, and maintenance. It also removes the large external coolant piping associated with conventional reactors.

The patent describes reactor configurations capable of producing between 6 and 60 megawatts of thermal energy. Electrical output ranges from 2 to 20 megawatts. Hadron’s flagship Halo configuration targets 10 megawatts of electricity generation.

Built for transportation

The application also focuses heavily on manufacturability and deployment. Engineers designed the reactor vessel in sections connected through circumferential flanges. This approach allows the company to assemble and test the reactor before shipping it to a project site.

Hadron says the design supports transportation by conventional road networks and even certain air transport systems. The company views transportability as a key advantage for remote locations and industrial customers that require reliable power.

The reactor uses Low-Enriched Uranium Plus fuel. Hadron selected the fuel to support multi-year operating cycles while leveraging existing domestic fuel supply infrastructure.

The filing also outlines passive safety features intended to keep the reactor core cooled for extended periods without alternating-current power under design-basis conditions.

Licensing push continues

The patent publication arrives as Hadron advances regulatory work with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Recently, NRC staff accepted the company’s Quality Assurance Program Description. Hadron also submitted its Principal Design Criteria white paper to regulators, another step in the licensing process.

Gibson said the patent publication establishes the technical foundation of the Halo reactor and begins what the company expects to become a broader intellectual property portfolio. He added that the filing reflects years of engineering work and supports Hadron’s long-term commercialization strategy.

Hadron intends to market Halo as a transportable source of carbon-free electricity for sites that lack reliable grid access. The company ultimately hopes to become the first developer to bring a licensed light-water microreactor to market in the United States.

While significant regulatory hurdles remain, the newly published patent offers the clearest public view yet of the technology Hadron plans to use in pursuit of that goal.

A fresh analysis of Type Ia supernovae overturns a controversial 2025 claim that cosmic expansion is slowing.

The post New Supernova Study Confirms Universe’s Expansion is Still Accelerating appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

US-based fusion energy company Helion has received the regulatory clearances to build the world’s first fusion energy power plant. The company has received a Radioactive Materials License (RML) and a Radioactive Air Emissions License (RAEL) from the Washington Department of Health (DOH), clearing the way to begin construction of the generator building at the power plant site. 

As the world looks for newer ways to meet it energy demands without emitting carbon, fusion energy seems to be the most likely option. Using the chemical reaction that occurs on the Sun, fusion energy can potentially generate large amounts of energy from simpler atoms like hydrogen and its isotopes. 

Unlike its counterpart, nuclear fission, fusion energy does not produce large amounts of radioactive waste that need to be stored safely. Moreover, unlike renewables like wind and solar, fusion energy plants can work on demand, meeting energy requirements as they arise, without the investments required in energy storage too. 

Commercializing nuclear fusion

For all its benefits, nuclear fusion is still not a commercially available technology because the fusion reactors have not been able to generate more energy than they consume. Washington-state-based Helion Energy, though, is confident that it can achieve this fairly soon. 

While it has not yet published any peer-reviewed papers demonstrating how its fusion reactor works, the company is proceeding to build a fusion reactor that it will deploy commercially. It also has an agreement in place with Microsoft to supply 50 MW of power to a data center from its fusion reactor by 2028. 

The facility dubbed Orion is under construction in Malaga, Washington state and recently became the first such facility in the world to secure regulatory licenses to construct the nuclear plant. So far, the assembly and office building of the plant were completed but the recent grant of licenses from the DOH allows Helion to begin constructing the reactor as well. 

Why is NRC not involved? 

As a nuclear energy company, Helion should ideally be seeking approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). However, the NRC regulates nuclear fusion under the byproduct material framework, putting it in the same category for approvals as particle accelerators and hospitals, instead of nuclear reactors. 

This is not just a distinction made by the NRC but one also ratified by the US Congress in the ADVANCE Act of 2024, and it shows that nuclear fusion has a very different safety profile from fission and hence its path to deployment is also different. 

The issuance of the RML and RAEL licenses by the Washington DOH is a major milestone for Helion as it confirms that it has facilities, personnel, and safety programs that meet the safety standards for a fusion facility at the Malaga site. 

“We are extremely proud to be granted these licenses from the Washington DOH, making us the first company in the world with the regulatory approvals in place for fusion power plant operations,” said David Kirtley, CEO of Helion Energy, in a press release shared with Interesting Engineering.

“We have a long history of working with the DOH to license our previous fusion activities. Today’s announcement represents the rigor of that work and opens the door for practical, commercial, safe fusion power.”

In addition to the approvals needed to build its reactor, Helion has also secured a transmission interconnection agreement with Chelan County Public Utility District that will enable energy generated from its fusion power plant to be supplied to the grid, a global first as well. 

The question now is whether Helion will be able to meet its deadline to power Microsoft’s data center by 2028 from its fusion power plant.

A well-heeled homeowner has spent nearly £1 million converting his home so that it could achieve an Energy Performance Certificate with an ‘A’ rating – and demonstrated just how unaffordable Net Zero is.

The post £900,000 – The Price of An A-rated Energy Performance Certificate appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lancaster University has officially unveiled a first-of-its-kind nuclear facility control room simulator, featuring a highly adaptable design that can mimic several distinct reactor types. 

“The pioneering simulator will support the nation’s clean energy goals and help enhance the country’s future nuclear safety,” said the university in a press release.

The facility functions as a training platform to prepare personnel for the domestic clean energy sector and to test safety protocols. Because the layout and internal computing architecture can be altered, operators can model multiple power generation technologies rather than relying on a single static layout.

Multi-reactor simulations

The physical setup features a three-sided wrap-around visual display and audio-visual recording tools. Instructors use these cameras and microphones to review how students handle complex scenarios and provide performance feedback. The physical desks and chairs can be moved into different positions to replicate the unique control room spaces found at real power utilities.

“It has also been designed so that furniture can be reconfigured to represent different control room layouts,” noted the researchers.

The system runs industrial software codes produced by specialized companies, including Westinghouse, GSE Solutions, Tokamak Energy, and Norway’s Institute for Energy Technology. These configurations allow the machinery to mimic the operation of Pressurized Water Reactors, which currently make up the majority of international nuclear plants.

The software can also be used to simulate Small Modular Reactors, smaller units designed for flexible grid deployment, and tokamak fusion systems, which use magnetic fields to contain high-temperature plasma.

“This high-fidelity simulator will enable us to create simulations of scenarios where nuclear facilities are cyber attacked, providing valuable in-depth learning experiences for our cyber security students, some of which may become future cyber security professionals protecting our critical national infrastructure,” concluded Professor Paul Smith, Principal Investigator of the initiative

Practical training for safety behavior

The facility supports several academic areas simultaneously to address shortages in technical workforces. Although Lancaster University offers the only single-honors undergraduate degree in Nuclear Engineering in the United Kingdom, this project also relies heavily on the institution’s existing cybersecurity infrastructure. 

The university holds official accreditation as an Academic Center of Excellence in Cyber Security Research and Education from the National Cyber Security Center.

During practical exercises, instructors can inject simulated malware or network intrusions into the control software. Students must identify these digital anomalies, establish defenses, and maintain regular plant operations under active threat conditions. This training aims to prepare graduates to protect real national infrastructure from network breaches.

Beyond engineering and computer science, the university’s Psychology Department uses the simulator to study human performance. Researchers examine how teams analyze data, communicate, and make decisions during unexpected technical failures or emergency alarms. 

This behavioral data is used to improve safety guidelines for industrial settings where human error carries high risks. The new facility, built on the university campus next to the existing Data Immersion Suite, consolidates the institution’s digital modeling assets.

A Ph.D. student has proposed developing a temperature-resistant battery for applications ranging from space exploration to electric vehicles. Jaybelle Pranada from Texas A&M University attended the Catalyzing Energy Education and Excellence (C3E) Symposium at Arizona State University.

The Symposium, held in April this year, was created by the US Department of Energy to select students across the country working on clean energy solutions. Pranada proposed alternative battery chemistries designed to withstand low-temperature operation.

Of the nearly 100 submissions from across the country, Pranada’s project was placed in the top five. The research focuses on developing computational models to explore alternative battery chemistries that may be better suited for extremely cold environments.

Identifying problems with lithium cells in extreme cold environments

Temperature-resistant batteries are going to be a game-changer if the world has to shift away from the dependence on fossil fuels. To achieve this, Pranada’s team began the project by examining traditional lithium-ion batteries.

The major issue with lithium batteries is that they fail to deliver at the expected levels when temperatures fall below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0° Celsius) or go above 212 degrees Celsius (100° Celsius).

As the temperature drops below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the electrochemical processes that enable energy storage and delivery in lithium cells slow down. In extreme cold environments, performance can drop to the point that the cells stop working. Therefore, they cannot be trusted with missions involving space, in which they could be exposed to the harsh conditions.

To fix this, Pranada’s project is investigating both organic and inorganic energy-storage systems. The goal is to identify  cell designs that can perform under harsh thermal conditions.

The computational models developed help the team understand the benefits and limitations of the emerging solutions. It further allows them to evaluate the future applications and identify the methods by which these can be improved.

Polymeric batteries to the rescue

Pranada’s team believes that the limitations of lithium batteries can be solved by replacing them with new materials. They propose using alternative polymers that can operate at temperatures as low as −50 degrees Celsius.

“These batteries, known as polymeric batteries, are developed from synthetic materials that can be readily synthesized and studied in the laboratory,” a press release from the university said.

These materials were then tested in environments ranging from the coldest winter in Alaska to the hottest summer in Arizona. Pranada intends to focus her career on finding energy storage solutions because they in some way shape each aspect of modern life.

The resulting technologies from the research, once delivered, could benefit electric vehicles, defense, the energy storage sector, and the obvious field of space exploration.

“You look around and realize how much of modern life depends on energy storage,” Pranada said. “What is stopping us from developing these energy materials and fully harnessing our capabilities to create technologies that will change our lives?”

Critical Energy is turning rocket engines into geothermal power plants, and it wants to build 300 GW per year by 2045.

Irish firm Net Zero Energy (NZE) aims to construct Rathrush Green Energy Park, a 600MW Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) facility located outside Rathoe in Co. Carlow.

It is a massive, €2 billion infrastructure project designed to tackle the biggest issue facing clean energy today: what to do when the wind stops blowing and the sun refuses to shine. 

The answer is the new facility built on a 50-acre site. It will act as a giant, green infrastructure for the entire country when needed the most. 

“By making available 600MW of renewable energy at the flick of a switch, this project can satisfy as much as 10% of Ireland’s peak energy requirement. Rathrush Green Energy Park provides significant, secure, sustainable long-duration energy storage for the Irish grid,” said Tim Cowhig, NZE chairman. 

Hydrogen production

The strategy addresses a major flaw in current clean energy infrastructure: waste during peak production.

On exceptionally windy or sunny days, Ireland’s renewable sources often generate far more electricity than consumers need or the national grid can handle. Without a way to store this surplus, wind turbines and solar panels are routinely shut off, completely wasting vast amounts of clean power.

Rathrush would capture that discarded energy. It will use the excess electricity to split water and create green hydrogen. Then comes the subterranean twist.

The plan is to compress the green hydrogen gas and pump it deep underground for storage within custom-engineered, lined rock caverns. When peak demand strains the national grid, the stored hydrogen will be released, feeding above-ground turbines to instantly generate clean electricity.

It is a massive scale-up for Irish infrastructure. Upon completion, the park will generate 30 times as much green energy as the famous Turlough Hill pumped-storage facility in Wicklow. According to the company, it is expected to have seven times the generating capacity of the Ardnacrusha hydropower plant. 

Cutting emissions

The company also mapped out the future facility’s environmental payoff. Interestingly, it is projected to displace 180,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every single year. 

Mathematically, that is the equivalent of taking 40,000 combustion-engine cars off Irish roads permanently. It also offers a shield against the punishing climate-target fines that loom over the state budget if carbon goals are missed. 

In addition to cutting emissions, the facility could protect local consumers from volatile global energy prices. 

Ireland’s energy security is uniquely vulnerable, as underscored by an annual spend a €10 billion on imported fossil fuels. 

“By harnessing an energy source which was heretofore being wasted, we can insulate consumers from future fossil fuel crises and price shocks such as we saw in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and more recently, in the Middle East,” said Peter Harte, NZE Chief Executive. 

The construction phase is estimated to employ up to 1,500 workers at its peak. Once the facility goes live, it will anchor 70 permanent, highly skilled operational jobs in the Carlow region. 

NZE is currently steering the project through its community consultation phase to address local questions regarding the scale of the infrastructure. If all goes according to schedule, the developers intend to formally lodge their planning application by the end of the year. 

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Jackery is jumping on the fridge-battery trend with what it says is the "world's slimmest." FridgeGuard also looks nice; a break from power stations that tend to look more at home at a job site than the kitchen or living room.

Measuring just 2.63 inches (67mm) thick, the Jackery FridgeGuard power station is meant to be tucked on top of, beside, or behind your refrigerator and automatically spring to life with a 10ms UPS switchover during a power outage. Its modest 800W of AC output (1600W peak) and 1kWh LFP battery will keep the typical US fridge / freezer combo running for about 10 hours - or double that if you add a 1kWh expansion battery …

Read the full story at The Verge.