Friday, 3 July 2026

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has drafted a target that would replace as many as five nuclear reactors slated for decommissioning through the 2040s, then a further 11 to 14 reactors through the 2050s.

The ministry pegs the replacement need at roughly 2.2 to 5.5 million kW of capacity for the 2040s. For the 2050s, counting work already underway in the prior decade, that figure climbs to between 12.7 million kW and 16 million kW.

The target tracks the 7th Basic Energy Plan, adopted in February 2025, which sets nuclear generation on a path from 8.5% of the mix in fiscal 2023 to about 20% by fiscal 2040.

Of the 33 reactors that remain operable, 15 have restarted so far, according to World Nuclear News.

The plan follows a February 2023 Cabinet decision that opened the door to building new reactors and stretched the operating life of existing units from 40 to 60 years. That move unwound the post-Fukushima line that had blocked new construction and held reactor lifetimes to a hard cap.

A sodium heat-pipe cooled microreactor built by Antares Nuclear reached criticality at a zero-power fuelled demonstration, clearing the July 4 target set by US President Donald Trump before any rival test unit. Run at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) under US Department of Energy (DOE) authorisation, the test made Antares, by its own account, the first private company to bring an advanced reactor critical under the DOE Reactor Pilot Program.

The pilot route traces back to an executive order Trump signed in May last year, which called for at least three test reactors to be built, operated, and taken critical through the DOE authorisation process by July 4, 2026.

DOE counted the Mark-0 as the 53rd reactor built at INL since 1951.

The unit runs on tri-isostructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel loaded with high assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), validating core physics parameters for the sodium heat-pipe cooled design.

"We went from concept to a critical reactor, safely, in less than 12 months," said Antares chief executive Jordan Bramble.

The company plans to generate electricity in 2027, with first customer deployments of electricity-producing microreactors the year after. Those deployments target US military installations by the end of September 2028.

GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Velan announced a collaboration to explore supplying Reactor Integral Isolation Valves and Containment Isolation Valves for the BWRX-300 small modular reactor projects in Europe, according to a GE Vernova press release.

The agreement was signed at GE Vernova's offices in Paris in the presence of Ontario's Minister of Energy and Mines Stephen Lecce.

The BWRX-300 is a 300-megawatt SMR designed to provide reliable, carbon-free electricity, according to the release.

In Poland, GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Orlen Synthos Green Energy are executing site-specific engineering and development activities to support deployment of at least 24 BWRX-300 units.

Ontario Power Generation is deploying the technology at its Darlington site, making it the first commercial-scale SMR under construction in the western world, the release said.

Lecce stated that more than USD 600 billion in global SMR investment is expected in the decades ahead.

Blykalla has filed the first advanced nuclear application under Sweden's new financing model, which came into effect on August 1 last year, seeking state aid to build the Norrsundet plant, according to World Nuclear News.

The design would generate up to 2.76 TWh a year from a plant rated at up to 330 MWe. That output covers roughly 13% of Sweden's goal of adding 2,500 MW of new nuclear capacity by 2035.

Blykalla is targeting an operational start in the first half of the 2030s, subject to permits and final investment decisions.

The financing model carries three instruments: government loans, a contract-for-difference, and a risk and profit-sharing mechanism. Blykalla's bid is the first to test how the model handles this type of project.

Ahead lie permitting, licensing, and a final investment decision before construction can begin. Reaching the 2,500 MW mark by 2035 will require further projects to clear those same steps.