Tuesday, 4 August 2026

French molten salt reactor developer Stellaria has signed a memorandum of understanding with Unitel Group and Energie Hub to build an integrated energy hub in the Fos-sur-Mer area of southern France, according to World Nuclear News.

The three partners intend to deploy several Stellarium units progressively at the site, World Nuclear News reported. The Stellarium is a next-generation modular reactor developed by Stellaria.

The design is very compact, measuring 4 cubic metres, according to World Nuclear News.

Stellaria is a start-up spun out of the French Alternative Energies & Atomic Energy Commission and Schneider Electric.

The company describes the Stellarium as "the world's first reactor to operate with a liquid fuel capable of destroying more waste than it produces".

The reactor already has a committed offtaker. In November 2025, Stellaria signed a pre-order agreement with California-headquartered data centre developer and operator Equinix, giving Equinix the first power capacity reservation on the Stellarium. Stellaria plans to deploy that reactor starting in 2035.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the License Termination Plan for the Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey, according to Power Magazine.

That approval clears the way for Holtec International to pursue construction of four SMR-300 small modular reactor units at Lacey Township, New Jersey, Power Magazine reported.

Holtec is targeting 2036 for the 1.36-GW SMR-300 project at Oyster Creek, according to Power Magazine.

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries has signed a memorandum of understanding with US engineering firm Sargent & Lundy to develop a standardised floating small modular reactor platform, according to World Nuclear News.

The two companies intend to design a single floating small modular reactor (FSMR) platform capable of hosting multiple reactor types, which World Nuclear News reported would provide "versatility to enable the installation of various types of reactors and offering flexible options to shipowners and customers".

Samsung Heavy Industries already holds Approval in Principle from the American Bureau of Shipping, granted in December 2025, for a floating marine nuclear power platform carrying two SMART100 small modular reactors developed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), per the same report.

The FSMR project sits at the conceptual design stage. World Nuclear News reported that the agreement targets the global market, including the United States, and is expected to be a key step in moving the project toward commercial deployment.

Standardising the hull and systems around interchangeable reactor designs is the commercial pitch here: a shipowner selects the reactor, not the vessel. That approach separates the marine platform qualification track, where the American Bureau of Shipping approval already sits, from the reactor licensing track, which differs by jurisdiction.

Hungary's Paks nuclear station must go entirely offline inside 72 hours, its operator said, after the River Danube fell to a record low, according to World Nuclear News.

MVM put the river 28 centimetres under the mark set in 2018.

Four VVER-440 reactors of Russian supply make up the site, and together they cover roughly half of Hungarian electricity, World Nuclear News reported.

Farther down the river, one of the two reactors at Romania's Cernavoda plant has already come off the grid because of the shrinking Danube. Nuclearelectrica said unit 1 was disconnected from the National Energy System "due to the unprecedentedly low level of the Danube, caused by severe drought".

Romania's Cernavoda houses two Candu units rated at 650 MWe each and accounts for about a fifth of the country's electricity, per World Nuclear News.

EDF has also pulled reactors offline in France to stay inside limits on cooling water discharges, taking out Bugey unit 3, Chooz unit 2 and Golfech 2, World Nuclear News reported.

China General Nuclear has installed the CA01 "super module" at unit 2 of the Lufeng nuclear power plant in China's Guangdong province, the company announced. The lift took place on 21 July.

The concrete and steel structure has a hoisting weight of more than 950 tonnes and measures more than 26 metres long, 29 metres wide and 23 metres high, according to World Nuclear News. It is composed of 47 sub-modules.

The equivalent module at Lufeng unit 1 was set in place in September last year. Both units are scheduled to begin operating in 2030.

CGN said that once all six units at the site are in operation, the Lufeng plant will generate about 52 TWh.

The Port of Long Beach in California signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration on 22 July, becoming the first US port to formalise work on small modular reactor technology for commercial vessels, ports and other maritime assets, according to World Nuclear News.

World Nuclear News reported that the signing makes Long Beach, one of the busiest container ports in the country, the first US seaport to formalise a partnership with the Maritime Administration aimed at establishing nuclear-powered vessels for commercial service.

The agreement carries no financial or procurement obligations. It is non-binding and does not commit either party to funding, procurement decisions or the adoption of any specific technology, according to World Nuclear News.

The Maritime Administration, known as MARAD, launched its initiative to develop small modular reactors for use in commercial shipping in May, World Nuclear News reported.

Separately, the port has leased space to BlueCore Energy, which emerged from stealth on 21 July. The lease allows the company to assemble, test and store maritime power modules, according to World Nuclear News.

BlueCore Energy's initial system is rated at 10 MWe and is being developed to power the equivalent of about 15,000 homes, or to scale to meet the power demand of a major port, World Nuclear News reported.