Week 42 of 2023
Three nuclear energy innovation news!
🚀 Framatome (FR) launches Framatome Space, a new brand focused on space-based nuclear power. Framatome is already involved in the space sector, notably delivering domes for the tanks of launchers and hafnium for the hardened alloys for spacecraft. Through this new initiative, it will further leverage on its nuclear and industrial expertise to bring its support to the space industry to the next level.
🌬️ The US government announces the establishment of seven regional clean hydrogen hubs with a total federal funding of USD 7 billion, aimed at accelerating the deployment of low-cost, clean hydrogen at a commercial scale. This initiative incorporates nuclear energy in several hubs. One example is Constellation's plan to build a massive nuclear-powered clean hydrogen production facility in Illinois, with a capacity of 33,450 tons of clean hydrogen per year.
☀ The UK governement launches the Fusion Futures Programme, investing GBP 650 million in training, research, and infrastructure for private fusion companies. This announcement was made during the 29th Fusion Energy Conference in the UK, where the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also announced its intention to create a World Fusion Group, aiming to transition fusion energy from experiments to commercial production.
👨🎓 Paper of the week: "Historical diffusion of nuclear, wind and solar power in different national contexts: implications for climate mitigation pathways", Environmental Research Letters (2023). https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/acf47a/
👉 Expanding low-carbon electricity in line with the 1.5°C target requires the growth of nuclear power, even if renewables increase as fast as in the most ambitious EU's plans.
👇 Did you spot anything else? Let me know!
