March 11 marked the 15th anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami that caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to melt down.
In the aftermath of the Fukushima accident, Japan temporarily shut down all 54 of its commercial reactors. Since then, several of the reactors have been permanently shut down and are undergoing decommissioning. Only 14 reactors have been brought online since 2011.
After a not so successful first attempt in January, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has resumed the restart of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station on Feb. 9 and plans for the commercial reactor to come online on March 18.
An Amentum-led joint venture has won a $112 million framework contract to lead decommissioning and waste management at nuclear research sites in four European countries.
The new contract, issued by the European Commission Joint Research Center, has a two-year base period, with an option of three possible two-year extensions, according to Amentum’s Tuesday press release. The four European Commission Joint Research Center sites are located in Ispra, Italy, Karlsruhe, Germany, Geel, Belgium and Petten, Netherlands.
The Amentum joint venture will provide decommissioning solutions to accelerate the cleanup at the European Commission Joint Research Center sites. The Amentum-led joint venture includes WSP Italia, with support from subcontractors TUV Rheinland and Protection Solution SRL.
Centrus Energy announced partnerships this week with Oklo and Palantir to increase its fuel capacities at its uranium enrichment facility in Piketon, Ohio.
Centrus and Oklo agreed Monday to form a joint venture focused on deconversion services for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) and advancing fuel-cycle technologies in Ohio. The company then agreed to partner with Palantir Technologies Thursday to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support its expansion at the Piketon site.
For the possible joint venture, Centrus and Oklo companies said in a press release that the work will take place at Centrus’ Piketon uranium enrichment facility site in Pike County, Ohio and co-located at Oklo’s planned 1,200-megawatt power campus. For the Palantir partnership, Centrus said in its press release it will leverage Palantir’s Foundry and Artificial Intelligence Platform to use AI to optimize project controls,
Irving, Texas-based nuclear fuel company Fluor said Monday Bob Card, former Under Secretary of Energy and most recent CEO of Canadian project management company SNC-Lavin, will join Fluor’s Board of Directors.
Card was selected March 4, and his appointment brings the number of board members to 12, Fluor’s press release said.
While Card’s most recent position was CEO of a project management company, he served as Under Secretary of Energy from 2001 to 2004 under President George W. Bush. He oversaw national programs in energy, science, environment and waste management, the release said, He also managed the decommissioning of Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons plant.