UAE's first power reactor achieves criticality

Nawah Energy Company has started up unit 1 of the Barakah nuclear power plant, located in the Al Dhafrah region of Abu Dhabi. Nawah is the joint venture nuclear operations and maintenance subsidiary of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and the Korea Electric Power Corporation. The APR1400 attained a sustained chain reaction for the first time early yesterday morning and is expected to enter commercial operation later this year.

New Nuclear 01 August 2020

UAE completes construction of Barakah 2

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation has completed the construction of unit 2 of the Barakah nuclear power plant. The unit, which is in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi, has been officially handed over to ENEC subsidiary Nawah Energy Company, which can now start preparations to obtain an operating licence for the unit from the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation.

New Nuclear 15 July 2020

Final Barakah unit completes cold testing

Cold hydrostatic testing has been completed at Barakah unit 4, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation has announced. The testing incorporated lessons learned from the previous three Barakah units and is a crucial step towards the completion of unit 4.

New Nuclear 19 May 2020

ENEC CEO: Barakah plant to start up 'very soon'

The first unit at the Barakah nuclear power plant will reach first criticality "within a month or so", Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation CEO Mohamed Al Hammadi said yesterday. He was speaking to Fred Kempe, CEO of the US-based Atlantic Council think-tank, in an online discussion of the impacts of COVID-19 on global energy demand.

New Nuclear 07 May 2020

Viewpoint: Regulators are adapting to an unprecedented challenge

As the COVID-19 pandemic makes governments and international organisations consider new ways of conducting business and protecting communities, we need to turn the recovery into an opportunity to safeguard the future, writes Christer Viktorsson, director general of the UAE’s Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation.

"Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in December 2019, and the World Health Organisation declared it a pandemic in March, it has triggered shock waves across the globe, locking down over 190 countries and affecting every-day life. The world is experiencing unprecedented challenges."

Perspectives 11 May 2020

UAE regulator outlines its role in COVID-19 response

The United Arab Emirates' Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation said today it is working with healthcare facilities and authorities at home and abroad to support efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, protect the community and ensure their radiation protection and safety.

Covid-19 27 April 2020

Ambassador expresses hope for further Korea-UAE cooperation

The successful cooperation between South Korea and the United Arab Emirates in building the Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi has opened a new avenue for further collaboration between the countries in global nuclear power markets, South Korea's ambassador to the UAE said this week.

Nuclear Policies 20 March 2020

UAE completes fuel loading at Barakah 1

The United Arab Emirates has declared itself the first country in the Arab world to become an operator of a nuclear power plant following Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation's (ENEC) completion of fuel loading this week at Barakah unit 1 in Abu Dhabi. The UAE said it has thus joined a "limited group of countries worldwide", now 33 in total, that have "successfully developed the intellectual and infrastructural capacity to use nuclear energy to generate safe, clean, and reliable baseload electricity".

New Nuclear 03 March 2020

Barakah 1 fuel loading begins

Nawah Energy Company has started loading fuel assemblies into unit 1 of the Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi. Once all four units at the plant begin operating, the plant will meet up to 25% of the country’s electricity needs and help to avoid around 20 million tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.

New Nuclear 19 February 2020

Barakah 1 receives operating licence

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation subsidiary Nawah Energy Company is preparing to load fuel into Barakah unit 1 following an announcement by the United Arab Emirates Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation that it has today issued an operating licence which authorises Nawah to commission and operate the unit.

New Nuclear 17 February 2020