The Energy Impact Center has announced the first major update to OPEN100 - the world's first open-source design and implementation platform for a small, standard nuclear power plant. Launched in February 2020, the project aims to offer developers everything from a web interface to visualise plant and component design, costs studies and construction plans.

The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the CANDU Owners Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate in research and activities related to pressurised heavy water reactors. The purpose of the MoU is to advance the scientific and technical knowledge base for PHWRs and foster cooperation amongst research organisations that support PHWRs.

L3Harris Technologies is to develop an engineering and operator training simulator for Terrestrial Energy's Integral Molten Salt Reactor under a newly announced contract. The simulator will support engineering activities and, subsequently, operator training as development of IMSR moves to licensing and construction prior to plant commissioning, Terrestrial said.

China's State Power Investment Corp has officially launched the CAP1400 reactor design following 12 years of research and development work. Also referred to as Guohe One, the 1400 MWe design is intended to be deployed in large numbers across the country, as well as for export.

Terrestrial Energy and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories are to collaborate on a programme of work evaluating safeguards related to the operation of Terrestrial's Integral Molten Salt Reactor. The work will involve developing and testing techniques to track the behaviour of the proposed liquid fuel that would be used in Terrestrial's IMSR design.

Atommash has completed hydraulic tests on the first steam generator for the Kursk II nuclear power plant under construction in Western Russia, which will be the first to use the VVER-TOI (typical optimised, with enhanced information) reactor design. Atommash is part of Atomenergomash, the engineering division of state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Leaders of World Nuclear Association working groups participated in a webinar yesterday to highlight some of the issues of key importance to the global nuclear industry. These include: harmonisation in reactor licensing; energy market design; safety regulation; and, new applications of nuclear energy. The Industry Gamechangers webinar was a pre-event to the Association's Strategic eForum to be held next week.

Following a review by the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff have agreed that the commission's final safety evaluation report for NuScale's small modular reactor should be issued. Issuance of that report with no open items will complete NRC's technical review of the reactor design.

EDF has received regulatory approval to start generating low carbon power again from Reactor 3 at Hunterston B power station in Ayrshire, Scotland. This follows a two-year inspection and investment programme. EDF also said the plant will move into the defuelling phase no later than 7 January 2022. This is subject to a further inspection in the spring of 2021 and then regulatory approval for a final six months of operation.

UK-based company Howden is to design a helium circulator for use in Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation's Micro-Modular Reactors under a newly announced contract. USNC said Howden's submerged helium blowers would maximise heat transfer in the MMR's power plant.

The China Experimental Fast Reactor completed a manual emergency shutdown test from full power on 31 July, China National Nuclear Corporation announced last week. The company said this marked the end of commissioning tests for the power test phase of the reactor and verified that its performance met the design requirements under stable conditions and expected transient operating conditions.

Unit 5 of the Tianwan nuclear power plant in China's Jiangsu province has been connected to the grid for the first time. The 1080 MWe domestically-designed ACPR1000 pressurised water reactor achieved the milestone at 19:52 local time on 8 August, China National Nuclear Corporation announced today.