A new-generation core catcher has been installed at Kudankulam unit 3 which is currently under construction in India, Russia's AtomStroyExport has announced.

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has announced the completion of cold functional tests at Karachi unit 2 in Pakistan. The two units under construction at the site are the first exports of the Hualong One reactor design.

A ceremony was held today to mark the installation of the reactor pressure vessel of the APR-1400 under construction as unit 5 of South Korea's Shin Kori nuclear power plant. The 1340 MWe pressurised water reactor is scheduled to begin commercial operation in March 2023.

New nuclear power plant investments face significant challenges, especially in liberalised electricity markets. A regulated asset model may help resolve these challenges. Edward Kee, Ruediger Koenig, Paul Murphy and Xavier Rollat explore the potential and the limits of this model.

Poland expects to conclude talks on the financing of its first nuclear power plant "in a matter of months", a senior government official said during the Polish-US Nuclear Industry Forum in Warsaw yesterday.

The Czech Republic expects to select the reactor vendor for a new unit at the Dukovany nuclear power plant by the end of 2022 with commissioning planned for 2036, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said yesterday. His comments followed a meeting of the Standing Committee for the Construction of New Nuclear Resources, which was created in February and has now produced a schedule for expansion of the Dukovany plant.

Iran has started construction of unit 2 of its nuclear power plant at Bushehr. A ceremony to mark the pouring of first concrete was held yesterday and was attended by the president of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, government officials and executives from Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

An International Atomic Energy Agency team of experts has concluded an 11-day Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review for Egypt. The mission, which was completed on 6 November, was conducted at the invitation of the Egyptian government.

Civil engineering works have been completed on the building that will house the fusion machine of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor at Cadarache in south-eastern France. The final concrete was poured yesterday for the upper part of the Tokamak Complex, meaning the metal frame of its roof can now be installed.

Commissioning of the Olkiluoto 3 EPR is now running six weeks behind schedule, the Areva-Siemens consortium has informed Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj. The supplier is to provide TVO with a revised schedule for the start-up of the plant next month.

Nuclear has a place in Europe's energy mix, but rising costs - even if only perceived - need to be addressed to ensure future growth, speakers agreed at the New Nuclear Watch Institute's first annual forum, held in London yesterday.

The UK government should develop a Regulated Asset Base model for financing new nuclear power projects and support the deployment by 2030 of small modular reactors, the Confederation of British Industry has recommended. The recommendations are among the actions the CBI has set out for any future government to help the country achieve its target of net-zero emissions by 2050.