Friday, 9 October 2026

Avalanche Energy Designs and the Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC) announced a strategic engagement to advance plans for Avalanche's first global advanced manufacturing facility in the Tri-Cities region of Washington, according to GlobeNewswire.

Avalanche selected the Tri-Cities to advance development of the facility, which is intended to produce its modular fusion energy machines, after a nationwide site evaluation that considered multiple industrial and technology hubs across the United States.

The two parties signed a strategic engagement letter covering site selection, permitting, infrastructure readiness, regional supply-chain development and specialized workforce development, GlobeNewswire reported.

Avalanche envisions the planned facility as a vertically integrated manufacturing hub supporting the move of its fusion technology from prototype development to commercial production.

Westinghouse, Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) announced a global settlement in January 2025 that ended years of litigation over reactor technology, according to Neutron Bytes.

Under terms first carried by Korean outlets, KHNP agreed to pay Westinghouse about USD 650 million in goods and services for every reactor it exports, plus USD 175 million per reactor in technology licensing fees, according to Neutron Bytes.

The arrangement is reported to run for 50 years, according to Neutron Bytes.

The U.S. Army announced in August 2026 that its Janus Program had selected five nuclear energy vendors and five initial locations for microreactor deployment, according to Neutron Bytes.

The Army is awarding up to a combined USD 2.2 billion to own, construct and operate nuclear microreactors on military installations, Neutron Bytes reported.

According to Neutron Bytes, the Army wants at least one microreactor deployed at one of the five selected sites by the end of 2028.

The Army press statement also referred to private-sector funding that would pay for up to 20 microreactors at U.S. Defense Department bases, including U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy bases, per Neutron Bytes.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has filed to join the federal relicensing proceeding for the Crownpoint Uranium Project, sited near Crownpoint and Church Rock, BizPac Review reported.

The intervention puts three conditions in front of developer NuFuels before the site can start production: protection of groundwater, financial coverage for cleanup, and compliance with state and tribal rules, according to BizPac Review.

In its filing, the state wants NuFuels to prove that groundwater can be brought back to usable condition once mining ends, to show it holds enough money to pay for cleanup later, and to meet state water-quality standards.

The Navajo Nation has also come out against the project, according to the Navajo Times.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a construction permit authorizing the Tennessee Valley Authority to build a 300 MW small modular reactor near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, according to Liberty Unyielding.

The permit covers a commercial small modular nuclear reactor, Liberty Unyielding reported.

According to eepower, GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority secured the first U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission construction permit for a BWRX-300 small modular reactor.