EDF Energy has awarded nuclear services company Cavendish Nuclear a five-year contract to support the continued operation of its UK fleet of advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs). The contract is worth some GBP7.5 million ($10.2 million).

The Centre for Advanced Robotics at the Queen Mary University of London was recently awarded a GBP1.0 million ($1.3 million) grant to help establish a centre of excellence for nuclear robotics in the UK. The focus of the centre will be to develop technology for aiding radioactive waste management.

Magnox Ltd has emptied more than half of the used fuel from the Wylfa reactors on Anglesey, in Wales, the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority said today. When operating, Wylfa's two reactors together contained nearly 100,000 fuel elements.

An international team led by the University of Sheffield has discovered that the toxic element arsenic prevents uranium from an abandoned mine in the UK migrating into rivers and groundwater. The discovery could help in the remediation of former uranium mines and other radioactively contaminated areas around the world, the scientists believe.

Duncan Hawthorne, CEO of Horizon Nuclear Power, says a consensus is forming across government and industry that the Hinkley financing model - which involved EDF and its Chinese partner CGN covering the entire cost of construction - will not be repeated, according to his comments to the Financial Times published yesterday. Horizon is the UK subsidiary of Hitachi-GE, which regulators informed last week had successfully completed the Generic Design Assessment process for its UK Advanced Boiling Water Reactor.

The day before British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed a deal to complete the first phase of Brexit negotiations, a senior civil servant assured the nuclear industry that the British government aimed to achieve a smooth departure from the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). Meanwhile, European electricity association Eurelectric has outlined the objectives it says are needed for a "sound Brexit transition".

Successful completion of the Generic Design Assessment process for Hitachi-GE's UK Advanced Boiling Water Reactor is a "huge step forward" for Hitachi's UK subsidiary Horizon Nuclear Power, two senior executives said this week.

Hitachi-GE's UK Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (UK ABWR) is suitable for construction in the UK, regulators have concluded following an in-depth Generic Design Assessment. The regulators said they were satisfied the reactor "meets regulatory expectations on safety, security and environmental protection at this stage of the regulatory process".

The UK Atomic Energy Authority has welcomed the government's investment of GBP86 million that will fund the building and operation of a National Fusion Technology Platform at Culham Science Centre, which is expected to open in 2020. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced the new funding as part of a series of measures that aim to support the development of 'next-generation nuclear technology', which follows publication of the government's Industrial Strategy white paper last month.

The UK government has announced a series of measure that aim to realise the full potential of the of the country's nuclear power industry. The document 'Government to support development of next-generation nuclear technology' follows publication of the Industrial Strategy white paper last month, a core objective of which is to "ensure the UK is developing the technologies of the future and preparing to seize the opportunities they bring and build on its strengths", the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said.

The UK's Nuclear Industry Council has today published its proposals for a nuclear Sector Deal. The document follows the government's publication last month of its Industrial Strategy white paper, which states the nuclear sector is "integral to increasing productivity and driving growth" in the UK.

Korea Electric Power Company has been named as the preferred bidder to acquire 100% of the shares in NuGeneration, the UK nuclear power development company owned by Toshiba. Kepco CEO Hwan-Eik Cho said in a company statement yesterday that, as preferred bidder, Kepco intends to "progress negotiations to a positive conclusion" to achieve a target closing of the proposed acquisition early next year.