🚀Italy Returns to Nuclear After 40 Years

🚀Italy Returns to Nuclear After 40 Years

Italy’s government has introduced a bill to bring nuclear power back to Italy.

After the Chernobyl disaster, Italy held a referendum in 1987 to shut down all of its nuclear reactors—even though none of its reactors resembled the Soviet RBMK design. While Chernobyl’s RBMK units kept operating for more than a decade, Italy swiftly scrapped its entire nuclear fleet.

Now, nearly 40 years later, the government is reversing course, aiming to restart idled reactors and deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) for clean energy.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni calls it a critical step toward energy security and independence. The plan could save €17 billion in decarbonization costs by 2050 if nuclear power makes up at least 11% of the energy mix, with room to grow to 22%.

Italy is already in talks with partners like Westinghouse and EDF, while state-controlled Enel and energy giant Eni are primed to help lead the nuclear revival.

⚛️Cool Links

🌟Beijing’s Uranium Edge
China has the upper hand in the battle for nuclear fuel but is on the hunt for more. China’s energy ambitions are setting off a new nuclear race with the U.S. and other major economies — this time to secure enough uranium to power its growing roster of reactors.

👍Spain urged to re-negotiate nuclear phase-out plans
Spanish companies urge government to reconsider nuclear phase out. “This energy source must be recognized as reliable, efficient and competitive, with low carbon emissions, and should receive fair treatment to encourage investment.”

💰Michael Lee-Chin says nuclear power poised to replace fossil fuels over the long term.
Add Canadian billionaire Michael Lee-Chin as a supporter of nuclear energy. Lee-Chin said in an interview on Friday he is investing in nuclear power “because it is the only known source of energy that is dense, scalable, always on, and clean”.

📈Sprott Asset Management launches first Physical Uranium ETC in Europe: (SPUT)
HANetf has announced the launch of Sprott Physical Uranium ETC (ticker: SPUT). The firm writes that SPUT offers European investors a direct way to access uranium, a critical component of the accelerating nuclear renaissance.

🛠️30 Microreactors to be built in Texas

Last Energy, a U.S.-based microreactor developer, is set to deploy 30 microreactors in Haskell County, Texas, to power data centers across the state.

The company has secured a 200-acre site and filed for grid connection with ERCOT, while preparing for an Early Site Permit with the NRC.

The company’s plug-and-play 20-MWe microreactors can be pre-fabricated and assembled on-site in 24 months, using standard PWR fuel and closed-cycle air cooling.

Unlike traditional nuclear projects, Last Energy secures long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) before construction, reducing financial risks and accelerating deployment.

Governor of Texas Greg Abbott welcomed the project, emphasizing that Texas must become a national leader in advanced nuclear energy.

Texas’s data center boom is fueling an unprecedented surge in electricity demand. Over 340 data centers already consume nearly 8 GW—accounting for 9% of the state’s total power usage—and in the Dallas-Fort Worth area alone, an additional 43 GW of demand is projected.

😎Check Out This Cool Radiation Chart

This chart (pasted below) by xkcd.com cartoonist Randall Munroe highlights, among other things, that living within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant for a year exposes you to less radiation than eating a single banana.

🌊Major Flooding at Russia’s Largest Uranium Mine

Russia’s largest uranium mine, Uranium Mine No. 8 in Russia’s Transbaikalia region, is flooding, with reports suggesting water inflows have been ongoing for nearly three months.

Workers were evacuated as pumps struggled to contain the flooding, and there are concerns the mine may not be salvageable in time.

While Rosatom claims the situation is under control, independent sources suggest the damage could be significant.

PIMCU, Russia’s largest uranium producer, operates several key mines in the region, and disruptions at Mine No. 8 could impact around 1.5 million pounds of annual uranium production—roughly one-third of Russia’s domestic mining output.

Russia is already short on physical uranium, needing all available supply to meet its fuel cycle demands.

However, due to the opaque nature of Russian uranium production, it remains uncertain how this will affect the market. If the mine remains offline for an extended period, it could tighten global uranium supply at a fragile moment for the sector.

😷Nuclear Sterilization

Welcome back to Atomic Alternatives, where we explore unconventional nuclear applications. This week, we're turning our attention to how nuclear technology sterilizes medical equipment—ensuring that everything from needles to surgical instruments is impeccably clean.

Using controlled doses of ionizing radiation, such as gamma rays from cobalt-60 or electron beams, irradiation disrupts the DNA of any bacteria, viruses, or other pathogens present on medical tools, effectively neutralizing them without leaving any residual radioactivity. Think of it as a high-tech “sterile scrub”—no harsh chemicals, just pure nuclear precision.

This non-thermal process does not degrade the materials of the equipment, which helps preserve their integrity and extends their shelf life, ensuring they remain sterile for prolonged periods even during storage.

One of its major advantages is that it allows already-packaged products to be sterilized, ensuring that they remain contamination-free until they reach patients.

This process is already in widespread use, with more than 160 gamma irradiation plants operating worldwide. Annually, around 12 million m³ of medical devices are sterilized, meaning that over 40% of all single-use devices produced globally benefit from this technology.

😂Meme of the Week

That’s it for this week’s Nuclear Update.

As always, stay charged, stay curious, and keep glowing.

Fredrik