Germany’s Nuclear Shutdown is Called “a Mistake” by Chancellor Merz
Bavaria Outlines Plans To Develop Three Nuclear Fusion Projects
Type One Fusion Power Test Facility Planned at Oak Ridge
General Fusion Goes Public via SPAC Deal
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Joins TerraPower as an Investor
Terrestrial Energy Signs DOE Agreement For Pilot Facility for IMSR Fuel
Energy Solutions Plans ESP for Kewaunee, WI, D&D Site
Rolls-Royce SMR Taps Amentum as EPC
US And Slovakia Sign Agreement for Large-Scale Nuclear Plant At Bohunice
Project Phoenix Report Proposes SMR Use in Slovakia
China to Power Petrochemicals Production with a PWR and an HTGR
Germany’s Nuclear Shutdown is Called “a Mistake” by Chancellor Merz
(NucNet contributed to this report) Chancellor Friedrich Merz last week called Germany’s nuclear power phase-out a “huge strategic mistake,” stating it has led to insufficient energy capacity, inflated costs, and an overly expensive energy transition reliant on subsidies and fossil fuels. His “mea culpa” comes after years of anti-nuclear policy speak driven by the ecological extremism of Germany’s Greens that resulted in the closing all of Germany’s nuclear power plants.
Merz stated the obvious which is an energy policy of relying on solar, wind, and coal and gas fired power plants has turned out to be a disaster for the country. Recognizing the flaws in the anti-nuclear energy policy he contrasted Germany’s path with countries like France that leverage nuclear power for lower emissions. Merz’s comments made at a high profile meeting of the German Chamber of Commerce. His remarks reignited the debate over energy security.
Key Points from Merz’s Statements
Serious strategic mistake: He described the decision to phase out nuclear energy as a major strategic error.
Energy Capacity: Germany lacks sufficient domestic energy generation, necessitating government intervention to keep prices down.
High Costs: The nuclear exit has complicated and significantly increased the cost of Germany’s energy transition, making it the “most expensive in the entire world,” according to Merz.
Economic Impact: The move has forced greater reliance on fossil fuels like coal and imported gas, increasing emissions and dependence on foreign energy sources.
Germany until March 2011 obtained one-quarter of its electricity from nuclear energy using 17 reactors. In 2011 eight reactors were shut down immediately in response to the Fukushima nuclear accident. and all were scheduled to close by the end of 2023 representing 26 GW of CO2 emission free power generation that were consigned to decommissioning despite having years ahead of potential revenue service.
According to the World Nuclear Association, Germany is one of the biggest importers of gas, coal and oil worldwide, and has few domestic resources apart from lignite and renewables. The preponderance of coal makes the country Europe’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide. Facing the prospects of brownouts or blackouts, Germany cut down old growth forests to mine and burn lignite, the dirtiest form of coal for use in power plants.
Merz, who is a lawyer by training with no technical background, made his remarks to the business group using the rhetorical method of a prosecutor delivering closing remarks in a criminal trial seeking a guilty verdict from a jury.
Chancellor Merz said, “The abandonment of nuclear energy was a serious strategic mistake. At least they had left the last nuclear power plants in Germany in operation three years ago, so that we would have the electricity generation capacity that we had at that time.”
“We are now making the most expensive energy transition in the entire world. I don’t know of any other country that is making this transition as difficult and expensive as Germany. We set ourselves a goal that we now have to adjust, but we simply don’t have enough energy generation capacity,” (Graphic: Google Gemini)
While carbon emissions have dropped at least 32% since 2000, Germany “simply doesn’t have enough energy-generation capacity,” Merz said.
Merz, whio has held Germany’s highest political office for less than a year, criticized the previous administration for its highly restrictive energy policies during the widely publicized address. To counter the policies’ dampening effects on energy production, Germany is now “undertaking the most expensive energy transition in the entire world,” Merz said.
In Merz’s speech, he said the heart of the issue is that Germany’s power industry is too heavily reliant on imports from other countries. In 2025, nearly 70% of its energy needs were met through international imports.
The chancellor announced that “power plants are to be built,” and “all the necessary documents have been exchanged” to begin construction on new nuclear power plants, which will likely be put on the old sites.
He did not indicate a timeline for breaking ground for new nuclear fission plants, projected completion dates, the role the private sector would play as investors, nor the scope of government financing, e.g., with cash, loans, and/or rate guarantees.
“I want us to eventually have acceptable market prices for energy production again, and not have to permanently subsidize energy prices from the federal budget. We can’t do this in the long run,” Merz said.
Germany’s Nuclear Turnaround
In September 2025, Merz and France’s president Emmanuel Macron agreed to recognize the role of nuclear power in Europe’s energy transition, potentially ending years of friction between the countries over energy policy, including subsidies for reactors.
Mertz said the German government has already set out a “high tech agenda” explaining how it intends to build a nuclear fusion reactor as part of efforts to become climate neutral by 2045.
Merz is an enthusiastic supporter of fusion research, stressing during the campaign for federal elections last year that Europe must not leave the field to China. His nuclear vision for fusion, which appears to bypass uranium fueled fission reactors, may be a nod to Germany’s staunchly anti-nuclear Greens party.
The German Greens party is not formally part of the current coalition government in Germany but it has enough votes along with other German political parties to have both the ability to support infrastructure spending for things it wants and to also throw monkey wrenches into energy policies that it opposes.
~ Also contributing to this report; Gene Nelson, Ph.D., Green Nuke on Substack
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Bavaria Outlines Plans To Develop Three Nuclear Fusion Projects
First commercial reactor could be deployed at Gundremmingen site
(NucNet contributed to this report) Germany has shut down its commercial nuclear power plants, but chancellor Friedrich Merz is an enthusiastic supporter of fusion research and has said the country should host the world’s first fusion reactor to be connected to the energy grid. In 2025 the German federal German government set out a $ $2 billion “high tech agenda” that lays out how it intends to build a nuclear fusion reactor as part of efforts to become climate neutral by 2045.
The state of Bavaria in southeast Germany has announced plans to develop three fusion projects spanning both demonstration and commercial-scale machines. The proposed rollout includes three distinct reactor projects, each with a unique focus and location.
Garching: A magnet-based fusion demonstration device is planned at Garching near Munich under the Alpha project, led by Proxima Fusion, targets achieving net-positive energy output. The firm is committed to the stellarator design for its path to commercialization of fusion energy.
Gundremmingen: The site of a former commercial nuclear power station has been selected for Bavaria’s first commercial-scale fusion reactor plant, known as ‘Stellaris’. The project is also led by Proxima Fusion, backed by private investment and expected to operate within around 15 years. In September 2025 the firm extended its Series A funding with increases that took total funding to $230 million.
Southern Bavaria: Preliminary plans are in place for a commercial reactor using laser-based fusion technology. Details of this facility are still under discussion, but officials have indicated it could help diversify technology approaches. The contractor for the site was not named in the press statement. The state said it is working closely with federal authorities and aims to reuse existing grid and nuclear infrastructure.
According to a report in Nuclear Engineering International, Marvel Fusion, a Munich-based startup is one of two fusion developers in Germany working on laser fusion technology; and Focused Energy, a German-US startup planning a pilot plant at the former Gundremmingen NPP site in the Günzburg district of Bavaria by 2035.
Proxima Profiled
Proxima was founded in April 2023 as a spin-out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Germany. The company recently revealed a concept design for “Stellaris.”
Stellaris will use high-temperature superconducting magnets in a stellarator. A stellarator is a doughnut-shaped ring of precisely positioned magnets that can contain the plasma from which fusion energy is born.
In September 2025 Proxima Fusion announced an extension to its Series A round with new funding of €15 million Series A extension which brought the company’s total funding to €200 million ($230M).
Proxima’s Alpha, its demonstration stellarator, is scheduled to begin operations in 2031 and is a critical step to demonstrating net energy gain and moving towards a first-of-a-kind fusion power plant.
Regarding Poxima’s key role in German fusion projects, UK-based fusion energy analyst Buddy Alcock said the plans signal strong public-private collaboration in Bavaria, as the state incorporates existing regional progress within its plans for a diverse fusion landscape.
“This is a forward-thinking move,” Alcock said. “We are going to need more than one fusion power plant, and Bavaria is deciding early to build plans for that reality. It’s also positive to see support for a diverse range of fusion concepts.”
Marvel Fusion Profiled
Marvel Fusion is currently in the process of building two laser prototypes – it is building a $50 million facility with Colorado State University – and says it is “actively forging industrial partnerships for the ramp-up of laser production, which can meet the high-gain requirement needed to offer sufficient energy at competitive prices.”
Separately, the company said it was”progressing its industrial partnership with Siemens Energy by jointly developing a conceptual design of a fully integrated fusion power plant.
In March 2025 Marvel Fusion announced the extension of its Series B funding round by EUR50 million (USD54 million) to EUR113 million, with funding from EQT Ventures, Siemens Energy and European Innovation Council Fund. Marvel Fusion says that brings total funding to EUR385 million ($455 million), including EUR170 million from private investment, including existing investors Tengelmann Ventures and Bayern Kapital.
Focused Energy Profiled
Focused Energy uses laser pulses to rapidly heat and compress a polymer-encased fuel pellet made of deuterium and tritium. The firm has locations in Redwood City, CA and Germany. It is a spinout of Austin, Texas-based laser developer National Energetics and the Technische Universität Darmstadt.
According to the 2025 Annual Industry Report of the Fusion Industry Association, key milestones include Target R&D Facility (existing in Darmstadt, Germany), Laser R&D Facility (2026), Neutron-XRay Imaging Commercial Prototype Facility (2026),Implosion Test Facility (MVP Fusion) (2029).
In March 2025 Marvel Fusion announced the extension of its Series B funding round by EUR50 million (USD54 million) to EUR113 million, with funding from EQT Ventures, Siemens Energy and European Innovation Council Fund. Marvel Fusion says that brings total funding to EUR385 million ($455 million), including EUR170 million from private investment, including existing investors Tengelmann Ventures and Bayern Kapital.
Also, in March 2025 Focused Energy said on it has signed an agreement with RWE and the German state of Hesse to build a fusion power plant at a site of a shut down nuclear power station and to complete it by 2035.
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Type One Fusion Power Test Facility Planned at Oak Ridge
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and Type One Energy are partnering to establish a fusion test facility to advance fusion energy.
The high-heat flux facility, located at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Energy Complex in Clinton, TN, will evaluate how materials react under extreme conditions in a fusion device. The High Heat Flux (HHF) facility will accelerate the development of plasma-facing components, which must withstand harsh conditions during the fusion process. The results will enable both private and public entities to qualify and validate the materials used in fusion pilot plant designs.
The facility will be only the second of its kind in the United States, capable of replicating the high-heat flux present in fusion devices. It will be the only domestic facility to include pressurized helium gas cooling, the coolant of choice for many U.S.-based fusion reactor concepts.
The project will use investments from DOE’s Fusion Energy Sciences program within the Office of Science. Type One Energy and the State of Tennessee to build the facility.
The facility will leverage the significant investments already made in fusion materials and technology in East Tennessee, including UT’s advanced work in fusion materials design and ORNL’s fusion materials development program, materials characterization capabilities and Manufacturing Demonstration Facility.
The Clinton site will function as a fusion development campus for ORNL, Type One Energy, UT and TVA, and will complement the ongoing research collaborations between the institutions, cementing East Tennessee as a regional hub of fusion research and a future manufacturing center for PFCs and other advanced components for fusion plants.
In September 2025 Type One and TVA announced a letter of intent for the firm build a 350 MW fusion power plant at the TVA Bull Run site. A mid-20230 date is targeted for completion. Type One is developing a Stellarator fusion machine.
Testing Materials at Temperatures Hotter than the Sun
The facility fulfills a need identified in DOE’s Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap to deliver domestic HHF capabilities to advance the understanding of materials and lifetime limits in containing plasma hotter than the sun. It complements ORNL’s Materials Plasma Exposure Experiment, currently under construction, which will answer key questions about plasma-material interactions and help develop robust materials to be used in fusion power plants.
The collaborative team is targeting a steady-state heat load of more than 10 megawatts per square meter on the subcomponent surface — similar to the heat flux inside some rocket engines — using electron beam technology. The high-heat flux facility will also be novel for its inclusion of pressurized helium gas cooling, which is a leading candidate coolant for fusion devices due to its high maximum operating temperature, stability in prototypical fusion conditions and chemical inertness with blanket components.
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General Fusion Goes Public via SPAC Deal
General Fusion will become a publicly traded fusion company through business combination With Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. III. The special acqusition company deal is being funded by a $230 million IPO Spring Valley released last September. General Fusion intends to use proceeds from this transaction to fund the LM26 program, a 50% size prototype fusion machine.
The transaction with Spring Valley implies General Fusion’s enterprise value is approximately $724 million in equity value inclusive of approximately $105 million from a committed and oversubscribed PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity) with leading institutional investors and the $230 million of Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. III’s trust capital.
Prior to this transaction, General Fusion has raised more than $400 million in capital since its inception from leading institutional investors, strategics, venture capital firms, industry partners, and through government grants.
Upon closing, the proposed business combination is expected to result in General Fusion listing on the Nasdaq and trading under the ticker symbol GFUZ.
About General Fusion’s Magnetized Target Fusion Technology
General Fusion is developing a patented and proprietary Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology designed to scale for cost-efficient power plants within the next decade.
Key benefits of MTF technology include
Durable fusion machine: When fusion occurs, the reaction is surrounded by a liquid metal wall which shields the vessel from neutron activation. This protects the machine from fusion damage. (Image: General Fusion)
Abundant fuel: When neutrons are absorbed in the liquid lithium wall, they can create tritium fuel at a ratio greater than 1.5, sufficient fusion fuel to support operations for the life of the power plant.
Simple energy conversion: The liquid metal wall absorbs neutrons and heat from fusion, and then the hot liquid metal is pumped through a heat exchanger to create steam and spin a traditional steam turbine.
Economical fusion power using existing materials: No need for expensive magnets, targets, or lasers, and no frequent replacements of neutron-damaged components.
About General Fusion as a Company
Founded in 2002, General Fusion has raised $400 million since its inception. According to Canadian wire service reports it raised $66 million last year and its team of about 115 people used it to build LM26, a 50% commercial-scale nuclear fusion machine. However, the firm laid off an unspecified numbers of staff in 2025 during a funding crunch. Media reports at the time estimated 25% of the head count was let go.
Two decades of R&D and scientific milestones underpin the company’s MTF approach. It claims it is one of only four private companies worldwide to have achieved and published meaningful peer-reviewed fusion results, with 210 patents issued and additional pending applications,
Lawson Machine 26 (LM26), the company’s world-first large-scale MTF fusion demonstration machine, is operating, mechanically compressing plasma with a lithium liner at 50% of commercial-scale diameter.
Challenges Ahead for Development of a First of a Kind Plant
General Fusion chief strategy officer Megan Wilson said in a statement to Canadian news media, “there are four basic challenges to achieving nuclear fusion: material degradation, fuel sourcing, energy capture and high costs.
More specifically, she said the process can destroy the machines used to create it, one of the fuels needed doesn’t exist and has to be created in the fusion process, there’s no easy way to capture the energy created, and it is extremely expensive.”
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Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Joins TerraPower as an Investor
TerraPower announced that Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has joined SK as part of the company’s visionary investor base, marking KHNP’s first investment into an advanced nuclear company.
KHNP joins TerraPower’s current investors in supporting the first Natrium plant being built in Wyoming, along with the company’s plans to rapidly deploy additional units in the U.S. and abroad. This investment will accelerate ongoing efforts by KHNP to explore both South Korean and other opportunities in addition to its interest in TerraPower.
According to a 01/21/26 report in Business Korea, SK Innovation will transfer a portion of its shareholdings in U.S. next-generation small modular reactor (SMR) developer TerraPower to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) and launch full-scale cooperation among the three companies. This is a strategic measure to accelerate the targeting of the global SMR market.
KHNP’s investment will be through SK’s previously announced $250 million investment into TerraPower. KHNP and TerraPower successfully completed the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) review process in December 2025. The three companies have been working together since 2023 under a strategic collaboration agreement.
SK Innovation and SK invested in TerraPower in August 2022 to acquire second-largest shareholder status, and will maintain their second-largest shareholder position even after this partial share sale. TerraPower did not respond to a media inquiry from Neutron Bytes on whether any cash was received by the company as a result of this transaction between SK and KHNP.
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Terrestrial Energy Signs DOE Agreement For Pilot Facility for IMSR Fuel
(NucNet) Terrestrial Energy, a US developer of small modular nuclear power plants using its Generation IV Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) technology, has signed an agreement with the US Department of Energy (DOE) for Project Tefla, a pilot production facility that will demonstrate IMSR fuel salt production which is being developed under the DOE’s Advanced Reactor Pilot Program.
Project Tefla will support Charlotte, NC,-based Terrestrial Energy’s commercial IMSR plant development and future deployments by demonstrating the company’s proprietary IMSR fuel salt production technology. Tefla will produce IMSR fuel at pilot plant scale, synthesizing the fuel to precise reactor requirements using readily available standard-assay low-enriched uranium enriched to less than 5% U235 as feedstock. Fuel produced under the project will support the company’s Project Tetra test reactor project.
A Streamlined Pathway To Authorization
The Advanced Reactor Pilot Program enables the DOE to authorize privately built reactors outside its national laboratories. The program provides a streamlined pathway to regulatory authorization for operation, bridging the gap between pilot reactor operations for system testing, and licensing for commercial plant operation.
Terrestrial Energy said the agreement with the DOE marks an important milestone in its engagement with the DOE Fuel Line Pilot Program, which seeks to address the nation’s shortage of domestic nuclear fuel resources by developing or building fuel production lines to increase production capacity.
IMSR plants produce thermal energy for industrial use or for generating electricity or both. They can load-follow, making them a perfect carbon-free electric grid partner for variable renewable power generation. The industrial heat they produce can be used in industries such as manufacturing, oil, steel and chemicals.
They use a liquid molten fluoride salt as both fuel and primary coolant and are said to have advantages over more traditional water-cooled plants, including improved safety and higher efficiency. Inherent safety features include low-pressure operation, reduced waste and the use of standard low-enriched uranium fuel.
In November, Terrestrial Energy signed a manufacturing and supply contract with Springfields Fuels Limited, a subsidiary of Westinghouse, for the design and construction of an IMSR fuel pilot plant in the UK. The Springfields agreement encompasses deconversion, fabrication, packaging, and transportation services for Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) fuel production, paving the way for pilot plant construction
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Energy Solutions Plans ESP for Kewaunee, WI, D&D Site
Site could host one or more SMRs built by Terrestrial Energy
(WNN) Energy Solutions, which has been decommissioning a 566 MW PWR at Kewaunee, WI, said it plans to begin initial planning and scoping activities to support the pursuit of an early site permit (ESP) from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) at the Kewaunee site. The site is located on the eastern shore of Wisconsin about 30 miles east of Green Bay, WI.
EnergySolutions said in a press statement it will execute a structured, multi-year, multi-phase approach. It includes initial planning and scoping activities, conducting in-depth studies related to the Kewaunee Power Station site and environmental considerations, and ultimately an NRC license for a new reactor.
An ESP certifies that a site is suitable for the construction of a nuclear power plant from the point of view of site safety, environmental impact and emergency planning, but does not specify the choice of technology. The permit is valid for 10 to 20 years, renewable for an additional 10 to 20 years. While the ESP is intended by the NRC, and the applicant, Energy Soulutions appears to have developed plans for the site that involve small modular reactors.
EnergySolutions said it is working with Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group – the parent company of We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service – to explore new nuclear generation in Wisconsin.
MOU with Terrestrial Energy
In December 2025, EnergySolutions signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Terrestrial Energy to collaborate on the siting and deployment of Terrestrial’s Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) plants at sites owned by EnergySolutions.
The IMSR is a GEN IV reactor that uses molten salt as both fuel and coolant, with integrated components, which can supply heat directly to industrial facilities or use it to generate electrical power. It does this using conventional nuclear reactor fuel.e.g, low-enriched uranium. The plants’ thermal and electric power supply systems can be customized to meet specific site demand requirements, and can support distributed generation for energy-intensive industry.
According to World Nuclear News, earlier this year, Terrestrial signed an agreement with Schneider Electric to collaborate on developing zero-carbon energy solutions for industrial facilities and large data centres based on the IMSR. More recently, it signed a memorandum of understanding with UK-based oil and gas company Viaro Energy to collaborate on the deployment of IMSR plant technology for a broad range of potential industrial applications, including powering data centres for AI.
Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions is known as a supplier of nuclear decommissioning and decontamination, waste processing and disposal services, and operates two licensed disposal sites, in Clive, Utah, and Barnwell County, SC. In June 2023, alongside an announcement of additional capabilities in support of the life extension of existing US nuclear power plants, the construction of new reactors, the company also said it was in the early phases of exploring the use of EnergySolutions-owned former nuclear sites as potential locations for future nuclear power plants.
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Rolls-Royce SMR Taps Amentum as EPC
UK based Rolls-Royce SMR has selected Amentum (NYSE: AMTM) as its program delivery partner, which is a pivotal role in enabling the successful delivery of the first Rolls-Royce 470 MW PWR type reactors in the UK and in possibly in two other EU countries.
Amentum, a Virginia, US-based engineering and technology company, will work on a number of areas including the construction management program for the deployment of Europe’s first SMRs.
Amentum was part of a consortium of supply chain companies that began working with Rolls-Royce in 2016 to develop the 470 MWE mid-range PWR to meet the growing need for nuclear generated electricity. Amentum is supported in this role by supply chain partners Turner & Townsend, Hochtief, Mace Consult and Unipart.
Rolls-Royce noted in its press statement that it has multiple commitments to build its 470 MW PWR for customers. Rolls-Royce SMR said the partnership with Amentum will enable the successful delivery of these contracts.
It is the preferred bidder by Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) to build three units at the Wylfa site in the UK. In the UK, Rolls-Royce SMR will deliver up to 1.5GW of power on the grid. The site previously was slated for twin 1,350 MW Hitachi ABWRs but the firm pulled out of the project over unresolved disputes with the UK government over financing and schedules.
The Czech state-owned utility CEZ has an agreement with Rolls-Royce to build up to3 GW of new nuclear power in the Czech Republic or potentially up to six of the light water design reactors. The SMRs will be built at CEZ’s Temelin site. The agreement is enabled by CEZ taking a 20% equity stake in Rolls-Royce.
In Sweden Rolls-Royce is in a long running bake off with GE Vernova via the Swedish utility Vattenfall. A decision has been pending since August 2025. A November update by Vattenfall named a consortium of new investors in SMRs with Vantenfalll, but did not it sign off on a final investment decision with either reactor vendor.
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US And Slovakia Sign Agreement for On Large-Scale Nuclear Plant At Bohunice
Planned reactor will support European country’s transition away from reliance on Russian-designed units
(NucNet) US Department of Energy (DOE) secretary Chris Wright and Slovak prime minister Robert Fico have signed an intergovernmental agreement to cooperate on Slovakia’s civil nuclear power program, including the development of a US-supplied large-scale nuclear unit at the Bohunice nuclear power station. The nuclear power station is located about 50 miles northeast of Bratislava.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) said the agreement, signed on 01/16/26, supports Slovakia’s efforts to diversify its energy supply, strengthen long-term energy security, and integrate advanced nuclear technology into Central Europe’s energy infrastructure.
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest.
The planned nuclear unit – likely to be a Westinghouse AP1000 – represents a multibillion-dollar energy infrastructure investment and one of the largest in Slovakia’s history.
In 2023, Westinghouse signed two agreements with Slovak state-owned nuclear company Javys for the potential deployment of AP1000 reactors and AP300 small modular reactors. While reactors using the AP1000 design (4) has been built in China and in the U.S. (2), the AP300 is still in development and has a likely commercialization date in the early 2030s.
Slovakia has been negotiating with Washington since last year to build an additional large-scale nuclear reactor at Bohunice, in the west of the country. Bohunice is one of Slovakia’s two nuclear power station sites and has two Russia-designed VVER-440 pressurized water reactor units operated by Slovenske Elektrarne.
The other site is Mochovce, which has three Russia-supplied operational plants. As of the end of 2025 work continued on the long delayed Mochovce Units 3 & 4, Russian 440 MW VVER. Testing and commissioning procedures of the two units was reported to be ongoing at that time.
In 2024, the Slovak government approved plans to develop a new unit at Bohunice with a capacity of around 1,200 MW and a target operational date of 2040.
The announcement did not include details on how the project would be financed, whether the U.S. would provide export financing for Westinghouse, nor how the project would be managed, e.g., by a U.S.EPC or other firms.
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Project Phoenix Report Proposes SMR Use in Slovakia
(Slovenské elektrárne) (WNN) The Project Phoenix study, carried out by Sargent & Lundy with Slovakia’s Ministry of Economy and nuclear energy operator Slovenské elektrárne, aimed to assess the country’s readiness and potential to host small modular reactors (SMRs), with a focus on four specific locations – Bohunice, Mochovce, Vojany, and US Steel Košice.
According to Slovenské elektrárne the evaluation used International Atomic Energy Agency recommendations including external risks, geological conditions, environmental and safety factors and site suitability. As well as the country’s general suitability, the study said that all four sites met the baseline criteria for SMR deployment.
Joshua Best, senior manager at company Sargent & Lundy, said: “The report affirms that Slovakia is strategically situated to deploy SMRs, with several mature, safe, and secure SMR technologies available that align with the country’s needs and goals. All candidate sites assessed are viable, and Slovakia is primed to take the next steps should they choose to proceed.”
The next steps are expected to be the development of a regulatory framework, detailed site investigations and public information and consultation. Project Phoenix was launched in 2022 with the aim of supporting energy security and climate goals by creating pathways for coal-to-SMR power plant conversions while retaining local jobs through workforce retraining. Slovenské elektrárne says that SMRs could be operational in the country from as early as 2035. The utility did not reference any specific vendor or SMR type, e.g., light water or advanced design.
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China to Power Petrochemicals Production with a PWR and an HTGR
(Chinese English language media reports) Construction on the Xuwei Nuclear Heating and Power Plant in Lianyungang, East China’s Jiangsu province, about 300 miles north of Shanghai, began on on 01/22/26 with concrete pouring, “starting on the “nuclear island” — the heart of the power plant.
The location on China’s east coast consistent with other Chinese new nuclear construction location decisions. It makes the site accessible for delivery of large reactor components by ocean going barges and provides sea water for cooling used turbine steam as well as desalination of sea water for main reactor cooling and steam generation.
According to the developer China National Nuclear Corporation, this is China’s first project to use nuclear energy to supply low-carbon steam for the petrochemical industry, significantly reducing the use of fossil fuels and providing an innovative solution for a green transformation in high-carbon industries,
The project marks the first time that a pressurized water reactor and a high-temperature gas cooled reactor have been coupled together for steam heating. It integrates a Hualong One, China’s third-generation nuclear power technology, with advanced fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology (HTGR).
While the press reports from Chinese state owned media did not indicate the power ratings of the two reactors, the Hualong One is rated at 1,100 MW as a PWR and an HTGR, developed for use in Shandong province, has a rating of 230 MW with two 115 MW HTGRs driving a single steam turbine.
The Shidao Bay-1 nuclear power in China began commercial operation in 2023, becoming what Beijing says is the first Generation IV plant in the world to go online. The HTR-PM (high-temperature reactor-pebble-bed modules) plant, in Shandong province was given permission to start commercial operation after it operated for 168 consecutive hours. (IAEA ARIS DBMS Technical Profile)
The project is designed to use the main steam from the pressurized water reactor of Hualong One to heat desalinated sea water, producing large quantities of saturated steam. This saturated steam will be superheated by the main steam from the high-temperature gas cooled reactors, resulting in the production of high-quality industrial steam.
After all the heating processes, the majority of the industrial steam will be sent to the nearby petrochemical industrial base in Lianyungang. The project will also generate electricity.
Lianyungang’s petrochemical industrial base is one of the country’s major petrochemical hubs. To ensure its normal operation, a large amount of industrial steam is required in addition to petrochemical raw materials.
Most petrochemical reactions, such as crude oil distillation, catalytic cracking, hydrotreating and esterification, require high-temperature conditions. Steam provides stable heat for the entire reaction system, ensuring efficient and controllable processes. Steam is also used as a heat source in the fine separation of petrochemical products, allowing them to reach boiling points for gas-liquid separation or to remove impurities such as water.
Steam plays a vital role in the operation of power equipment such as steam turbines in petrochemical facilities, pipeline insulation and freeze protection, as well as in equipment cleaning.
Lianyungang’s industrial base requires up to 13,000 metric tons of steam per hour. Daily steam production on such a scale has relied on fossil fuels such as coal, bringing growing environmental challenges as China intensifies efforts to reduce its carbon emissions.
This project will result in a significant cut in carbon emissions. The carbon footprint of nuclear-powered steam is only 1/600th that of coal-fired cogeneration steam, and 1 percent of that of natural gas cogeneration steam, according to industrial data.
CNNC said that two Hualong One units and one high-temperature gas-cooled reactor unit will be built in the first phase of the project. Once operational, the first phase will supply 32.5 million tons of industrial steam annually, with a maximum power generation exceeding 11.5 billion kilowatt-hours. It is expected to reduce the use of standard coal by 7.26 million tons per year and cut CO2 emissions by 19.6 million tons annually.
Challenges of Digital Simulation
Bai Wei, chief design engineer of the Xuwei project at China Nuclear Power Engineering, told the Global Times that coupling design supported by digital simulation is one of the project’s key technical challenges.
By leveraging the resources of design institutes and universities, the project team has carried out hierarchical and specialized digital simulation for control system design, progressing from simple to complex scenarios and achieving multi-dimensional coupling. Full use of digital technologies has helped support the coordinated control logic design for the integrated system, Bai said.
Li Quan, project manager of China Nuclear Industry Huaxing Construction Co., Ltd, who is in charge of civil construction of the Xuwei project, told the Global Times advanced technologies such as laser intelligent tracking Metal Active Gas Automatic Welding have been deployed, improving efficiency by at least three times compared with traditional manual shielded metal arc welding.
According to the CNNC, the project marks the beginning of China’s transition in nuclear energy from a power-generation-focused model to diversified energy supply. It opens a new chapter in providing a replicable and scalable “Chinese solution” for the low-carbon transformation of high-energy-consuming industries.
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