California-based Valar Atomics says it has become the first US advanced nuclear startup to sustain a controlled fission reaction, achieving cold criticality in a test conducted with support from Los Alamos National Laboratory. The partnership built on previous fuel trials, using a fuel type similar to what Valar plans for its commercial reactors. The milestone, part of a Energy Department pilot program designed to speed nuclear innovation, validates the company's reactor physics and fuel geometry and follows a recent $130 million funding round.

Brigham City, Utah, is slated to host the state's first small modular reactor project, along with a manufacturing and workforce training hub, Gov. Spencer Cox has announced. State officials say the partnership with Hi Tech Solutions and Holtec International is designed to build a regional supply chain for advanced reactors and enable future SMR deployment across the Mountain West. The project is expected to generate about 1,350 jobs and be completed in the early-to-mid 2030s.

Environmental groups have filed a federal lawsuit to stop the planned restart of the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, arguing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission used improper regulatory shortcuts to reverse the facility's 2022 shutdown. Holtec maintains the NRC carried out a rigorous review and says the restart would provide significant carbon-free generation, create new jobs and improve grid reliability.

The artificial intelligence and energy sectors are facing an interesting conundrum: both are expected to increase in tandem in the coming years, but they also require many of the same resources -- including critical minerals that are in increasingly short supply. The result may be bottlenecks that make it difficult for the sectors to grow, reports the International Energy Agency. "Monitoring how the material footprint of AI and data centres evolves will be critical to anticipating some key energy security risks," it says in its World Energy Outlook report.

South Africa plans to resurrect the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor program after a 16-year hiatus and restart fuel development labs and key research sites as it works to rebuild its nuclear expertise and reenter the global nuclear fuel market, Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa announced. The government hopes substantial new investments will turn the country into a leading supplier of advanced reactor fuels and expand its research and medical capabilities.

Transitioning away from fossil fuels has become a hot topic at COP30 and leaders are discussing the topic through the summit's "action agenda" -- not its formal one. Some nations and coalitions are calling for a formal roadmap for fossil fuel transition, but significant opposition exists and the need for consensus at COP summits has previously hindered binding commitments. As a result, discussions at COP30 will likely focus on building a voluntary coalition and initiating a multi-year dialogue, rather than producing an enforceable plan or timeline.

Utilities are facing significant challenges in balancing grid resilience with affordability amid extreme weather, rising energy demand and regulatory pressures. The Edison Electric Institute projects $1 trillion in grid investment by 2030, with a significant portion aimed at resilience. In this episode of the Open Circuit podcast, the team explores the affordability challenge and how to solve it.

Small modular reactors were highlighted in a Pennsylvania House Energy Committee hearing as a promising next step for nuclear energy in the state Experts explained that SMRs are more compact, easier to build and can be manufactured in modules, which improves quality control and reduces construction risks. Notably, Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse Electric Co. has developed the AP300, an SMR based on its AP1000 design, using natural circulation for passive cooling.

The Hanford nuclear site has begun removing high-level radioactive waste capsules dontaining about 80 million curies, or 30% of the site's radioactivity, from an aging water-filled pool to prepare them for safer dry storage. These capsules, made up of cesium and strontium, were originally produced as byproducts of plutonium production and have been kept underwater to shield workers and dissipate heat. The transfer to steel-lined concrete casks will reduce risks and allow the deactivation of the current facility, saving millions in annual monitoring and maintenance costs.