1 Billion Pounds of Uranium Lost This Year Alone💥

This is Nuclear Update, your nuclear news centrifuge – separating the crucial updates from the noise to give you pure, refined information.

This is what we got for you this week:

• 1 Billion Pounds of Uranium Lost This Year Alone💥

• US Military + NASA = Nuclear Spaceships🚀

• Trump Vows to Double Electricity for AI, Partly with Nuclear Power✋

• China to Build World's First Thorium Molten Salt Reactor⚛️

• Report Advises Australia to Delay SMR Adoption Until 2040s⏳

1 Billion Pounds of Uranium Lost This Year Alone💥

The Northern Territory Government in Australia has refused to renew the mining permit for Jabiluka, one of the world's largest uranium deposits containing 286 million pounds of U3O8. This decision, influenced by the Mirarr Traditional Owners' opposition, ensures no future mining at Jabiluka and integrates the area into Kakadu National Park. The termination adds to the nearly 600 million pounds of uranium supply lost due to Niger revoking mining permits for key projects, including French Orano's Imouraren mine and Canadian GoviEx's Madaouela mine. In total, almost 1 billion pounds of U3O8 in uranium mining projects have been canceled this year, posing a significant challenge for Western nuclear fuel supply amid rising demand. These developments highlight the growing constraints on future uranium availability for Western reactors.

US Military + NASA = Nuclear Spaceships🚀

The U.S. military and NASA are advancing nuclear propulsion technology for space travel with the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) project. This initiative, driven by concerns over potential threats from adversaries like China, aims to develop nuclear thermal rockets (NTRs) that use hydrogen heated by a nuclear reactor for efficient propulsion. DARPA and NASA are jointly funding the project, with Lockheed Martin contracted to build the spacecraft. DRACO will utilize high-assay-low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel to enhance safety. DRACO's success could revolutionize space travel, enabling faster missions to Mars and efficient movement within cislunar space, potentially leading to a new era of nuclear-powered space exploration and defense capabilities.

Trump Vows to Double Electricity for AI, Partly with Nuclear Power✋

China to Build World's First Thorium Molten Salt Reactor⚛️

China plans to start constructing the world's first thorium molten salt nuclear power station in the Gobi Desert next year. Using thorium instead of uranium, this reactor won't require water for cooling but will use liquid salt and carbon dioxide to transfer heat and generate electricity. Scheduled to be operational by 2029, the reactor will generate 60 megawatts of thermal power, with a portion driving a 10MW electric unit and the rest producing hydrogen. The project includes a research center and facilities for spent fuel processing, with most of the fuel recycled. The success of this experimental reactor, which achieved criticality in 2023, lays the groundwork for future commercial thorium reactors. Starting in 2030, China plans to construct commercial thorium-based reactors with capacities of 100MW or more, possibly revolutionizing the nuclear energy sector.

Report Advises Australia to Delay SMR Adoption Until 2040s⏳

The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) recommends that Australia wait until the 2040s for a mature SMR market before introducing them into the country’s low-carbon energy mix. The report highlights the risks and high costs associated with early adoption of SMR technology, suggesting that a more prudent approach would be to wait until the technology is more commercially viable. However, opposition leader Peter Dutton argues that the first Australian SMRs could be operational by the late 2030s. While ATSE acknowledges SMRs could utilize existing infrastructure and provide reliable baseload power, it stresses the need for legislative reforms, workforce development, and social acceptance to pursue SMRs sooner. Despite Australia’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to renewable energy, the opposition supports nuclear power as a necessary part of the energy debate.

Nuclear Nuggets🧽

Closed nuclear plant on Lake Michigan gets another $150 million from state. This second round of nine-figure earmarks for the nuclear plant brings the state’s total contribution to $300 million.

NextEra eyes restart opportunity for shuttered Iowa plant. Four years after it shut down, NextEra Energy is looking into restarting the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant, CEO John Ketchum has confirmed.

Tsuruga nuclear reactor fails to gain Japanese government approval for restart. Nuclear regulators have concluded that the No. 2 unit at the Tsuruga nuclear power plant does not meet stricter regulations imposed on the sector following the 2011 Fukushima disaster, a requisite to restart the facility.

The UK government has launched a competition for funding up to USD90 million to support the development of a commercial HALEU deconversion facility in the country.

Meme of the week🤣

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.