In Other News - 10-16-2025 Guest Post

In other news UK-based classification society and professional advisory service Lloyd's Register has published Navigating Nuclear Energy in Maritime, a new guidance document providing the first roadmap for the safe and responsible use of nuclear technology in commercial shipping and offshore industries. The guidance, developed in partnership with Global Nuclear Security Partners and marine insurer NorthStandard, sets out the practical steps project teams must take - outlining regulatory, technical, operational and financial requirements for integrating nuclear technology, such as small modular reactors, into maritime assets. Lloyd's Register said its guidance builds on its industry-leading Fuel for Thought: Nuclear research programme and aims to fill a critical knowledge gap. "It brings together decades of classification, safety and compliance expertise with specialist nuclear insight to provide an evidence-based framework for project teams at every stage of development," it said. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power announced it has completed the development of a domestically produced electric motor for nuclear reactor coolant pumps and will begin applying it to domestic standard nuclear power plants starting next year. The reactor coolant pump motor circulates the coolant in the reactor system and transfers heat, making it a key component in nuclear power plant operation. KHNP has been pursuing domestic development of this pump motor in collaboration with HD Hyundai Electric. Following the successful development of a prototype last year, the company has now completed the development of the final domestically produced product, following performance verification and reliability testing. A total of 48 standard nuclear power plant reactor coolant pump motors are currently in operation. While previously reliant entirely on imports, this localisation is expected to result in import substitution worth KRW5.5 billion (USD4.2 million) per unit, according to KHNP. California’s fusion energy industry has the potential to support more than 40,000 jobs and bring USD125 billion to the state economy, according to the Catalyzing CA’s Fusion Advantage: Roadmap to Commercialization report produced by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation. "The presence of industry titans such as General Atomics and TAE Technologies, coupled with world-leading R&D institutes like Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and UC San Diego’s fusion cluster, positions the state as one of the world’s most promising regions for fusion commercialisation," San Diego Regional EDC said. Currently, fusion energy accounts for about 4,700 jobs across California and generates USD1.4 billion in annual economic output. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said that ongoing analyses are close to completion and indicate that Bełchatów is the most suitable site for a potential second nuclear plant, Polskie Radio reported. “If a decision is made on the location of another nuclear power plant in Poland, Bełchatów will be at the top of the list,” he said on Wednesday during a meeting with residents of Piotrków Trybunalski in central Poland. International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi says he expects repairs to start soon to restore external power supply to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which has been relying on emergency diesel generators for the past three weeks. He said repairs are needed on both sides of the frontline several kilometres from the plant itself. He said both sides have said they want repairs to go ahead when conditions allow. He said that IAEA experts at the plant have observed the emergency generators operating and said that radiation levels remain normal for the site, and there has been no increase in the temperatures within the coolant in the reactors of the used fuel pools.