🥳 China Approves 10 New Reactors

China just gave the green light to 10 new nuclear reactors, across 5 sites—marking the fourth year in a row it’s approved double-digit new builds.

With 30 reactors already under construction (that’s nearly half of the global total), China is charging ahead to leapfrog the U.S. as the world’s largest nuclear energy producer by the end of the decade.

This approval isn’t a one-off—China’s nuclear buildout has been gathering serious momentum: 11 reactors were approved in 2024, 10 in 2023, 10 in 2022, 5 in 2021, 4 in 2020, and 6 in 2019.

The latest batch will cost about $27 billion in total, with most reactors using China’s homegrown Hualong One design—only two will use the imported AP1000.

Construction is expected to start within the next 12–18 months, and if all goes to plan, these units will be connected to the grid by 2031–2032.

This pace and price tag—about $2.7 billion per reactor—stands in stark contrast to recent Western projects. For comparison, the UK’s Hinkley Point C is projected to cost a staggering $63.7 billion for just two reactors.

China’s nuclear expansion benefits from low-cost state financing, a maturing supply chain, and construction teams that are getting faster and more experienced with every project.

⚛️For the Nu-clearly Curious

🏛️DOE Loan Programs Office poised to lose nearly 60% of staff amid DOGE cuts
Nearly 60% of staff at the U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear-friendly Loan Programs Office may be lost through President Trump’s deferred resignation program. 123 of the 210 current LPO employees have opted into the retirement buyout. The office helps finance new nuclear projects among other energy proposals.

🌍Iran rejects demand from US to rely on imported uranium
Iran has insisted it must be allowed to have its own uranium enrichment capacity for its civil nuclear programme, rejecting a US demand that Tehran must rely exclusively on imported nuclear fuel. They are trying to reach an agreement that blocks off Iran’s access to a nuclear bomb in return for relief from economic sanctions.

🔬NRC Approves Fuel Design for NANO Nuclear Energy
The NRC’s positive safety evaluation on fuel qualification methodology (FQM) paves the way for work to continue around NANO’s stationary KRONOS micro modular test reactor planned to built on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. The KRONOS is a high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor capable of producing power up to 45 MWth.

🚫Governor rejects fast-track for small nuclear reactors at Arizona data centers
A measure that would have waived certain state regulations to allow data centers and other large industrial energy users to build Small Modular Reactors in Arizona was vetoed last week by Gov. Katie Hobbs. “Unfortunately, this bill puts the cart before the horse by providing broad exemptions for a technology that has yet to be commercially operationalized anywhere in this nation.” Hobbs wrote in her veto letter.

💪U.S. Cuts Uranium Permitting from Years to Days

The Trump administration just announced a major overhaul of how energy and mining projects on federal lands get approved.

Under new emergency procedures from the Department of the Interior, permitting times—normally stretching years—will now be slashed to a maximum of just 28 days.

The move follows President Trump’s declaration of a National Energy Emergency, aiming to fast-track domestic energy production, lower fuel costs, and bolster national security.

The accelerated process applies to oil, gas, coal, uranium, geothermal, critical minerals, and biofuels—but notably not to solar or wind projects.

The new measures aim to cut bottlenecks under NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act, allowing uranium mining and processing projects to move forward at record speed.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum put it bluntly: 'The United States cannot afford to wait.'

For nuclear and uranium sectors, this could mean much faster timelines for mining and development projects, strengthening America's energy independence at record speed.

🎤 Kanye West Talks Nuclear

This week in “celebs accidentally promoting nuclear,” Kanye West tweeted about Molten Salt Reactors—complete with a photo of a solar plant.

Hey, close enough, right?

Nuclear may not have the best PR team—but this week, we had Kanye. We'll call that a win.😂 

🎮 When Nuclear Meets Minecraft

Slovakia’s Slovenské elektrárne just hosted one of the coolest nuclear competitions you’ll hear about this year: students across the country were challenged to design small modular reactors (SMRs) inside the world of Minecraft.

The winning build—an "Ecological Reactor of Innovative Design" (ERIK)—was chosen for both its creative architecture and realistic interior layout.

100+ teams entered, but two students walked away as champions, showing that the next generation of nuclear engineers might already be leveling up... one block at a time.

See the brilliant winning design here:

🛸Nuclear Rockets: Faster, Hotter, Better

Welcome back to Atomic Alternatives—where we spotlight nuclear tech beyond power generation.

This week’s out-of-this-world subject? Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP).

💡 Here’s the deal:

Traditional rockets burn chemical fuel to generate thrust. It works—but for deep space travel, it’s painfully slow and inefficient.

That’s where NTP comes in.

How it works: A nuclear reactor heats a propellant—typically hydrogen—to extreme temperatures, and that superheated gas is blasted out of the rocket nozzle.

Thanks to Newton’s Third Law ("for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction"), shooting high-speed hydrogen particles out the back pushes the rocket forward.

No chemical combustion. Just pure, nuclear-powered acceleration.

Why it's a game-changer:

🚀 Cut Travel Time: NTP could slash the time it takes to get to Mars by half compared to chemical rockets.

💪 More Payload: Nuclear engines are much more fuel-efficient, meaning more room for supplies, experiments—or, let's be honest, snacks.

🛡️ Safer for Astronauts: Faster trips mean less exposure to cosmic radiation and microgravity health risks.

NASA and DARPA are already deep into projects like DRACO that aim to demo a nuclear thermal rocket in space by the late 2020s.

Bottom line: if you want to get to Mars (and back) without spending a year and a half in a tin can, nuclear thermal propulsion is how you do it🔥🚀

😂Meme of The Week

Stay charged, stay critical (like a reactor), and remember—even Kanye knows nuclear’s where the real power is. 😎

Fredrik
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