nuclear

The amount of nuclear energy generated by each country in the world, exposed in this graphic developer

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The use of nuclear power It is still one of the most controversial issues in the energy debate. It is worldwide due to economic, social factors and concern for something very concrete: Waste management. It seemed like him Huge deployment of renewables would end the debate, but the truth is that there are countries that follow depending greatly on nuclear energy. And this graph reflects it clearly: Three blocks. The graph is the work of Visual Capitalist with data of the ‘Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy’ and the estimate is that nuclear plants generated 2,818 THW of electricity in 2024. Approximately 10% of the electricity generated worldwide during the world during the last year, but beyond the total, which allows us to see is that there are three very even and perfectly identifiable blocks. On the one hand, that of the United States and Canada. Here Canada has ‘little’ to say, and also its centrals generated 3.6% less than the previous year, but The United States is still a giant. It generated 823 TWH that, put in context, represents about 30% of all global nuclear energy. It has 94 operational reactors and that huge amount of electricity accounted for 18% of the national total. In the Asian block we have China standing out With 451 TWH produced, 3.4% more than the previous year, South Korea with 189 TWH and both Japan and India contributing, but with lower productions. And in the European bloc, France and Russia stand out above all, which among them have a much more similar production. The interesting thing here is to see the speed at which the world in a nuclear question moves. Promoting nuclear. Because we have already seen that, although the US generated more electricity with the nuclear, it was a small percentage. If we look at the European block, we have that there are those who grow 4% (Sweden) and who decreases 4% (Spain), But we have a France that increased the production of its centrals by 12.2%. With 57 operational reactors, if there is a country that depends on nuclear energy, that is France. HE esteem that 67% of its electricity comes from nuclear. Countries such as Slovakia, Belgium, Hungary or Bulgaria also depend largely on nuclear energy. In the case of Spain20% of their energy comes from these centrals. But if we look at the Asian block, the thing changes. China impulse Its nuclear generation These last monthsbut Japan did it in 9.3% and India, who wants to consolidate as a new technological core worldwide, generated 13.3% more. In the Middle East highlights United Arab Emirates that, whose four reactors generated 22% of their electricity. Old reactors. In total, I know esteem That there are 416 operational plants worldwide (France has the same as China, a fact that reflects the importance for the neighboring country) and a problem is that most are quite old reactors. Around two thirds of them are over 30 years old and, although the estimated life is usually between 30 and 40 years old, it is easy to prolong it more time with modifications and extensions. New reactors. There are also about 70 reactors Under construction. They are distributed, but most are concentrated in Asia, especially in the two countries that are leading that world nuclear expansion: China and India. New reactors use refrigerants that can operate with more energy safety and efficiency, also generate less waste and have an estimated useful life of more than 50 years thanks to modular designs. As we say, China is one of the countries that is best betting on this energy (despite the impulse that is also giving to renewables), and within its new plants, the fourth generation reactors stand out, like the one used by molten salts or thorium. They are not the only ones, as the US, France and India are also investing in research programs to develop reactors that generate electricity from the thorium (three times more abundant than uranium) Data centers. The truth is that, although sources like RENVOABLE EXPOSEDit seems that We are far from folding both fossil fuels and to nuclear energy. Much of the fault is very demanding data centers in energy terms that even need Punctual gas supply or even coal in demands of demand peaks. In fact, some of the main technological ones such as Amazon, Google or Microsoft announced Plans to create or reactivate nuclear centrals to satisfy the energy need for your data centers for artificial intelligence. And all this while we look at a future in which the norm should be the SMR reactors… And the nuclear fusion still is on the horizon. In Xataka | Europe and Japan are working side by the greatest technical advance of humanity: the nuclear fusion reactor

Nuclear fever goes faster than centrals

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Uranium, for years relegated to a corner of the raw material market, Live a rebirth. His prices have shot themselves and investors chase him with enthusiasm, convinced that nuclear energy will be key in an electrified world. As Jennifer Hughes said in the Financial Times: “Investors in Uranium and scientists should have much in common: both seek great benefits from a small starting point.” However, this financial euphoria collides with an awkward reality: nuclear power plants are not built to the necessary rhythm and bottlenecks are huge. A small and overwhelmed market. The spot price is around 76 dollars per pound, After having exceeded $ 100 at the beginning of 2024. Much of this increase is explained by a small market: most uranium is sold under long -term contracts and the immediate market space is very narrow. At the same time, governments accumulate strategic reserves. In the podcast Stock Movers Bloomberg They detailed that The US Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, wants to strengthen national inventories to reduce Russia dependence, which provides a room of enriched uranium that feeds the 94 US reactors. The result is clear: more uranium is purchased than the centrals can consume today, a sign that the geopolitical and financial appetite goes ahead of the real capacity. A spark that lights nuclear fever. Why this boom? The explanation is in global electrification. According to Bank of America analysts, by the end of this decade the world consumption of electricity will increase to 30%driven by the electrification of transport and the rise of AI data centers. According to the International Energy Agencythe data centers already consume about 415 twh per year – 1.5% of global electricity – and their weight will continue to grow with the expansion of AI. In fact, Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, among others need abundant, reliable and carbon free energy to support their operations. Hence, technology companies have taken an unusual step: Bet on nuclear. The turn of many countries. Nuclear energy has returned strongly, even in countries that had a firm predisposition to the closure. Germany He stopped his nuclear blackout plan and Belgium made the same decision. Indonesia, despite its wealth in coal, included nuclear in An energy investment plan of 235,000 million dollars. And the United States He has decided to quadruple nuclear capacity recycling uranium. Today there are about 440 reactors in operation in the worldwhich contribute about 10% of global electricity and are the second low carbon energy source after hydroelectric. The wall of reality: the deadlines. Political promises collide with industrial limitations. The projects are usually expensive and slow, with deadlines that do not fit with the climatic urgency. To this are added concerns about radioactive waste and fear of accidents such as Fukushima, Although even Japan is willing to return. In fact, in the US, only three reactors have been built in the last quarter of a century, two of them with exorbitant costs and significant delays. Today there is no plant under construction and to meet the objectives of Washington it would be necessary to initiate the works of 20 medium -sized reactors every year, According to Morgan Stanley calculations. Even China, famous for its speed When he decides to investit takes between five and ten years to design, approve and complete a new plant. Russia, the bottleneck of the nuclear cycle. The big problem is in the phase of the nuclear cycle that converts the mineral into useful fuel. There, Russia is the dominant actor. Although countries such as Australia (28%of world reserves), Kazakhstan (13%) and Canada (10%) large uranium deposits concentrateonly Russia Master the enrichment on a global scale. Canada emerges as an alternative. With mines in the Athabasca basin, the country not only extracts but can also enrich uranium, which makes it a “safe and reliable” supplier. His new mine, operated by Nexgen, could move to Kazakhstan as the world leader of production in the next decade. For its part, this last country accelerate your own nuclear plans. Kazakhstan has among his plans to build his first central in ülken, with financial support from Russia but technological alliances with France and South Korea, in an attempt to reduce the dependence of the Kremlin. Expectations ahead of reality. Uranium has gone from being a forgotten resource to become a central file of the energy and geopolitical board. Prices reflect it and investors bet strongly. But nuclear infrastructure slowly advance, the dependence of Russia in the fuel cycle continues to weigh and social resistances remain alive. As the energy expert warns in its columnwho invest in Uranium expect “too much, too soon.” The true nuclear energy boom, if it arrives, will take much more than a rebound in contributions. Image | Freepik Xataka | The largest nuclear fusion project on the planet has survived the setbacks. This is the date on which Iter should be ready

The United States needs nuclear energy for AI and already knows where to find it: in dismantled atomic bombs

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The rivalry between China and the United States is not only freed in markets or The tariffs. It is also played In the field of energy. And, in full rise of artificial intelligence, Donald Trump has decided that the way to ensure abundant and stable electricity for military bases, laboratories and data centers will be through nuclear energy. His plan is as ambitious as controversial. An explosive plan. The Trump administration has sought to quadruple the nuclear production of the country. To do this, the White House wants the new reactors not to depend solely on fresh uranium, but also on recycled fuel from radioactive waste and the military plutonium surplus dismantled eyelets. As Washington Post explainedit is an “national security imperative.” The idea is simple: guarantee a stable supply for the most sensitive infrastructure, from military bases to AI data centers, without depending on the electricity or imported fuels. The recycling now an ally. THE ENERGY DEPARTMENT has identified in its inventories All uranium and useful plutonium to reconvert it in fuel. Among them is the plutonium from dismantled weapons, one of the most dangerous materials on the planet. To make it possible, startups like oklo and curio They work in piroprocessinga method that introduces fuel bars spent on molten salts and uses electricity to separate the usable components. Unlike the chemical processes used in the past, these companies ensure that the technique is safer, more economical and less polluting. In addition, Oklo, backed by Sam Altman, founder of Openai, has announced an investment of almost 1.7 billion dollars in an advanced fuel center in Oak Ridge (Tennessee), the same land where uranium was enriched The Manhattan project Eight decades ago. Only the tip of the iceberg. A couple of months ago, in one of the executive orders signed by Trump forced the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) To complete any reactor license in 18 months, when until now the process could take more than a decade. The White House also ordered to rewrite the rules of radiation exposure, considered “excessively cautious.” The official statement issued in May established specific deadlines: The Army must operate a reactor at a national base before September 2028, and the energy department will have to inaugurate at least one advanced reactor in any of its facilities in 30 months to supply AI data centers. To this is added the release of 20 tons of Haleu (high -rehearsal low enrichment uranium) for new reactors and the intention of signing 20 international nuclear cooperation agreements in the current congress. The depth of the matter. Despite political and business enthusiasm, the scientific community contrasts with reality. Ross Matzkin-Bridger, exassor of the Department of Energy, He pointed out that it is “The same technologies that developed and rejected decades ago”, with the same background problems. The MIT physicist and former secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, It was more blunt: recycling plutonium of arms not only makes nuclear energy more expensive, but also “threatens to create material that can be used in pumps.” Along the same lines, Matthew Bunn, from Harvard, considers it unrealistic to think that public opinion accepts reprocessing plants that would also require their own waste deposit. And Frank von Hippel, from Princeton, recalled that the US has already abandoned civil recycling at the time of Jimmy Carter, after India used that technology To manufacture your first bomb. Not everything is warnings. For the White House, nuclear recycling is a strategic tool. The official statement insists that AI data centers and military facilities need “Dense energy sources, safe and resistant. ” Also, defenders such as Bradley Williams, from the National Laboratory of Idaho, They argue that using recycled plutonium It could become a need to guarantee sufficient fuel. And startups ensure that new processes include safeguards that prevent reuse of that material for military purposes. The weight of waste. The matter is even broader because the country already accumulates about 90,000 metric tons of fuel spent, stored in containers in active and dismantled plants, According to The Washington Post. Recycling part of that material would relieve a dilemma that has been resolved decades. Meanwhile, the private sector tries to position itself. Oklo signed a contract with Switchdata centers operator, to build modular reactors that contribute up to 12 GW before 2044. The company promises to open its first reactor, Aurorain 2027, although the agreement is not binding and the NRC rejected its previous application in 2022. The idea of ​​recycling is not unique. More countries have found in this method in a way to find a more source without depending on other countries as the case of Francewhich does so through subsidies and strict security measures. For its part, Japan accumulate delays and cost overruns In its Rokkash Plant, which has not yet produced fuels after decades of development. At the opposite end, United Kingdom decided to abandon the idea of ​​recycling. With about 140 tons of stored civil plutonium, he has chosen to immobilize him in a solid and stable way to bury him in a deep geological warehouse in Sellafield. Something similar occurs in Spain, which has reactivated his plan For a deep geological warehouse, planned for 2073, and in the meantime use containers such as Hi-Storm FW for intermediate storage. The contrast is evident: while some countries try to give new life to waste, others bury them forever. Everyone looks for the same: prevent nuclear legacy from becoming an eternal problem. Forecasts. The United States is committed to resuscitating old nuclear recycling technologies to sustain its energy safety and the AI ​​career. The defenders see it as a historical opportunity to reduce foreign dependence and give new use to forgotten materials. Critics fear that the same failures and risks of half a century are repeated. The experience invites prudence: the last reactors connected in the USA, In the Vogtle (Georgia) plantthey arrived seven years late and 17,000 million dollars of extra cost. Image | Oklo and Kelly Michals Xataka | 60 years … Read more

The US already proves its new “Airplane of the Last Judgment”. His role is to keep the command chain even in a nuclear scenario

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The most resilient aircraft in the United States has just written a new chapter in a story that started half a century ago. The Air Force and Sierra Nevada Corporation They have launched the First flight tests of E-4C SAOC, direct successor of the E-4B Nightwatchthe family of “Final Judgment” that guarantees the continuity of command even in the worst scenario. Recently, a giant based on a Boeing 747-8he first took off from Dayton, Ohio, opening a trial campaign that will last in the coming months and that opens the transition to a more modern fleet. With this step, the North American country begins to replace flying bunkers that approach at the end of its useful life. It is not a new concept: we talk about the evolution of a system that combines government continuity, safe communications and nuclear deterrence. The SAOC program, with a contract of More than 13,000 million dollars Awarded in 2024, it is a change of method in the Pentagon: for the first time, the original manufacturer of 747 does not lead the integration and responsibility falls to a company specialized in large conversions, which has brought together first level partners to build the most advanced command plane of its time. That inaugural flight is the first step of a decade of work to deliver a platform capable of continuing to operate when everything else fails. A new chapter for the most strategic plane in the United States The SAOC (acronym for surviving Airborne Operations Center) is the most ambitious Air Force project to reinforce its network of Nuclear control, control and communications. Its mission is clear: to ensure that, although the strategic centers on land remain unused, the country’s leadership can coordinate a military response and Maintain control of the armed forces from the air. It is no accident that these aircraft are known as “final judgment planes”: they are designed to be the last resort in a scenario where everything collapses, operating as a true flying pentagon. The first generation of this platform, the E-4B Nightwatch, entered service in the seventies on the basis of a Boeing 747-200. Currently, the United States maintains four units Active, all deployed in the Offutt Air Base, Nebraska. Despite their robustness, the passage of time passes by an invoice: each plane has decades in service, the spare parts are increasingly difficult to get and Its availability is barely 55%. Keeping these giants operational is a expensive task, and the Air Force plans to remove them at the beginning of the next decade. The renewal is already underway. Sierra Nevada has received four of the five Boeing 747-8i acquired from Korean Air, and in them are applied deep modifications. Dayton, Ohio, and Wichita, Kansas They concentrate the Conversion and test operationswhich will be extended at least until 2026. This staggered plan will allow the new aircraft to enter into service while the E-4B begin to withdraw, always maintaining an operational nucleus that ensures the continuity of government. A E-4B Nightwatch currently operational The technological jump is evident. The 747-8 is the last large commercial aircraft of four engines made in the United States, with greater fuel capacity, more efficient engines and a broader fuselage than its predecessor. These characteristics make it the ideal base for an airplane that needs to sustain prolonged operations with refreshing in flight. The 747-8 cell also provides growth margin to integrate advanced communications, reinforced armor and redundant systems, all designed to survive electromagnetic pulses or cyber attacks. E-4B Nightwatch Decades of antiquity in flight At an industrial level, the program also makes a difference. Although Boeing remains the original 747 manufacturer and provides structural support, this time does not lead the project: the Air Force opted for an open data model to ensure that the government owns the design and can modify it in the future without depending exclusively on the OEM. Boeing It was out of the bid in 2023 after disagreements on the terms of the contract and data rights, which opened the door to Sierra Nevada Corporation as the main contractor. The company, known for its high complexity projects, has formed a team with giants like Lockheed Martin, Collins Aerospace and Rolls-Royce to create an unprecedented platform in the military. His role in recent history reinforces the need for this investment. E-4B have participated in critical events: from government continuity exercises to emergencies such as September 11, 2001 attackswhen at least one of these aircraft took off to provide safe communications in the middle of chaos. These aircraft have routinely accompanied the Secretary of Defense on International Travel, remain on alert during presidential speeches to Congress and act as a support network when national security protocols are launched. In the popular imaginary they appear little, but their mere existence is part of the United States deterrence strategy. The E-4C SAOC is, more than an update, a long-term bet. The contract signed with Sierra Nevada is It extends until 2036which reflects the magnitude of the technical challenge and the necessary time to complete the conversion of the aircraft, certify and deploy them fully. With this plan, the United States ensures that the most critical piece of its system of Nuclear control and control It will remain in force for decades. Although many details, such as the exact equipment of antennas and systems, are still classified, what is already underway is a clear message: the ability to direct the country in a global crisis depends on a strategic investment that seeks to always have a command center in the air. Images | Sierra Nevada | Balon Grayjoy | Defense Department In Xataka | Aviation enters a new era: seats are no longer tarified, emotions are tarified

The OIEA finds evidence of the secret nuclear reactor of Syria

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In September 2007, Israeli combat aircraft reduced a complex in the Syrian desert of Deir Ezzor to debris. Israel said that there was a nuclear reactor there with the help of North Korea. The Bashar al Asad government replied that it was nothing more than a military base. For years, both versions met in the field of suspicion. Now, eighteen years later, the International Atomic Energy Agency (OIEA) provides evidence that incline the balance: in that place there was processed uranium. A few particles. According to a confidential report quoted by APNewsthe agency’s inspectors found “a significant amount of natural uranium particles” in one of the three sites examined in the last two years. As Reuters has pointed outit is not a rich uranium, but of anthropogenic origin: it had gone through a chemical process. “The analysis indicated that uranium occurred as a result of chemical processing,” the document said. According to Apnewssome of these particles coincide with the conversion of mineral concentrate into uranium oxide, a usual step in fuel production for reactors. A nuclear plan never recognized. The history of this “ghost reactor” begins in 2011. The OIEA had already estimated that the building destroyed by Israel was “most likely a nuclear reactor that should have been declared” by Syria. According to Apnewsthe installation would have been built with the support of North Korean engineers, which would explain the secrecy of the Bashar al Asad regime. Rafael Grossi, current director of the OIEA, acknowledged in statements collected by the news agency that some of the Syrian activities “were probably related to nuclear weapons.” However, Damascus always denied it. After the Israeli bombing, he leveled the land of Deir Ezzor to erase traces and refused to fully answer the questions of the international organism. The fall of Al-ásad. The turn came with the end of the Bashar al Asad regime, overthrown last year After almost three lustra of civil war. The new interim government, led by Ahmed al Sharaa, agreed to cooperate with the UN Nuclear Agency. Besides, As Reuters has had accessin June the authorities allowed for the second time the taking of environmental samples. It was not a linear process. According to The IndependentAsad’s departure temporarily interrupted the investigation: “We are still evaluating what we find there and we have a large questioning sign, because we do not have an interlocutor,” Grossi admitted in December 2024. With the restoration of contacts this year, the OIEA is optimistic: “Once the results are evaluated, it will be possible to resolve the pending issues related to the past nuclear activities of Syria.” A region marked by proliferation. Beyond the Syrian case, the findings are registered in a region marked by the shadow of nuclear proliferation. As we have pointed out in XatakaIsrael has bombarded on different occasions facilities in Iraq, Iran and Syria under the argument of preventing their enemies Develop atomic weapons. Grossi himself warned Bloomberg statements that the power vacuum in Syria opens the risk of looting nuclear materials in research centers. A civil nuclear future for Syria? Paradoxically, the new Syrian leadership has expressed interest in exploring a civil nuclear program. According to Al Jazeerathe interim president Al Sharaa discussed with the OIEA the possibility of resorting to small modular reactors to generate energy and asked for help to rebuild nuclear medical infrastructure, devastated by more than a decade of war. The OIEA has expressed willingness to collaborate in these areas, always under a transparent framework of safeguards. A file to close. The history of Deir Ezzor reactor seems to reach its final chapter. What began as a bombing wrapped in controversy and denials is now corroborated with scientific evidence. The OIEA insists that the new samples will allow the case to close, but the questions persist: How far did the Syrian clandestine nuclear program really arrive? What external actors fed him? And can a country devastated by war reorient its relationship with nuclear energy towards peaceful uses? Eighteen years after the Israeli attack, the ghost reactor is no longer a rumor: it is the proof of a secret that Damascus tried to bury in the desert sand. Image | IAEA IMEBANK and Unspash Xataka | Natural gas has become essential in the AI ​​era, and this chart exposes countries with the largest reserves

Citizens were not supposed to pay the closure of the nuclear, but there is already a hole of 11,600 euros on the bill

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Closing nuclear is not just a political decision, but also an economic problem. The dismantling bill and radioactive waste already exceeds 20.3 billion euros, and the debate between electric and government has only started. An invoice that does not stop growing. According to Enresa’s memorythe public company in charge of dismantling, the total expected cost already reaches 20,367 million euros. The majority corresponds to the dismantling of the reactors, with 17,520.5 million, while waste management and spent fuel, the so -called “electric rate”, adds 2,846.8 million. The rest of the activities, such as the management of the enusa fuel factory in Salamanca, complete the invoice. The fund that finances these operations, nourished with contributions from the electricity, accumulated 8,677 million at the end of 2024, after the 30% rise in the valuation rate since July of last year. This means that it only covers 43% of the planned cost, leaving in the air a gap of 11,690 million euros still to finance. The plan that changed everything. The 7th General Radioactive Waste Plan (PGRR), Approved at the end of 2023was a change of stage by definitely abandoning the centralized temporary warehouse project (ATC) in Villar de Cañas. Instead, waste has been chosen in independent temporary stores (ATI) located in each central, waiting for deep geological storage (AGP) that should be ready in 2072. The PGRR extends the forecasts up to 2100 and delays the total closure of the nuclear park until 2035with Trillo and Vandellós II as the latest plants in going out. To this is added the legal obligation to annually review the forecasts, which adjusts the costs to inflation and the new technical conditions. Electric against rates. The companies, headed by Iberdrola and Endesa, say that operating under this cost scheme is unfeasible. Both have presented resources in the courts against the increase of 30% of the Enresa rate and have claimed millionaire compensation. Besides, They have requested that the closing calendar be reopenedarguing that prolonging the useful life of the reactors would relieve pressure on the electrical system. According to a report by the consultant EY cited by Nuclear ForumSpain supports the highest nuclear fiscal burden in Europe, with 27.3 euros per megavatio hour in specific encumbrances, which in the opinion of companies places them at a clear disadvantage against other countries. The red line of the government. The Executive maintains its position: the costs of dismantling and management of waste will not fall on consumers. The minister for ecological transition, Sara Aagesen, has responded to electricity with three conditions for any extension of the nuclear park: that does not involve additional costs for citizens, that supply security is guaranteed and that plants strictly comply With the standards of the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN). The Government insists that there are no formal negotiations to extend the lives of the centrals and accuses companies to try to transfer their invoice to the whole citizenship. The Secretary of State for Energy, Joan Groizard, summarized the position In statements collected by eldiario.es: “They want part of the dismantling costs to be paid among all, and we will not transfer it to the whole citizenship.” Forecasts and uncertainties. Costs can continue to grow. The French case is a notice as they have advanced at eldiario.es: The Andra agency reviewed in 2025 the cost of the AGP Cigéo between 26,100 and 37,500 million, an increase of up to 60% compared to 2016. In Spain they have prepared The 9th R&D Plan (2024-2028) of Enresa It includes 31 million in research to develop containers, confinement materials and recover fuel. A modest figure compared to billions at stake, but key to preparing the future AGP of 2072 and reducing long -term risks. In addition, Spain faces this solo calendar within Europe. While France, Sweden or Switzerland choose to expand the life of their reactors or even promote new projects, the Spanish PGRR maintains a plan of Progressive closure without planned extensions. A debate that goes beyond closing. The balance of the electrical system is also present. This summer a paradox has been evidenced: historical record of solar production in Europe, but invoices fired by the lack of storage and the need to resort to gas in night hours. In that hole is where the nuclear has played so far a stable backup role, but does not solve that background problem: it only postpones the closure, it makes the costs more expensive and aggravates the inheritance of waste. The dilemma is clear: can you do without it before the network is prepared to guarantee the same stability without firing the price of light? For the Government, the response is to accelerate renewables, storage and interconnections. For electricity, to keep the nuclear live longer. Image | Unspash Xataka | The largest nuclear fusion project on the planet has survived the setbacks. This is the date on which Iter should be ready

The largest nuclear fusion project on the planet has survived the setbacks. This is the date on which Iter should be ready

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2024 was a difficult year for ITER (International Thermonuclear Experctor reactor). This experimental reactor of nuclear fusion It is being built in the French town of Cadarache by an international consortium Led by the European Union. Although it was conceived in 2006 and the project was officially launched in 2007, the beginning of the assembly of this titanic machine did not start until 2020. The initial itinerary Proposed by Eurofusion, which is the institution that is responsible for promoting and supporting the scientific research necessary to bring to fruition the European Nuclear Fusion Plan, established that in 2025 the assembly of this machine would end. However, that same year another crucial milestone would arrive: the first tests with plasma would start. Three years later, in 2028, Iter engineers would begin the low power with hydrogen and helium, and in 2032 the first high -power experiments would arrive with these two gases. Finally, in 2035, Iter would be able to undertake high power tests with deuterium and tritium. And in 2040 this experimental reactor would demonstrate the energy profitability of nuclear fusion. Finally this will not happen like this. In 2022 the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) identified several irregularities of a strictly technical nature in Vacuum Chamber sectorswhich caused the Iter organization to react as it should do so: constituting a working group to address the complementary requests of the ASN and advance with the reactor assembly Tokamak. Iter’s technical challenges are unpublished Assembling a machine as complex as it is it is not easy. The vacuum chamber weighs 8,000 tons, is made of stainless steel and boron and must remain hermetically sealed. Its assembly has forced engineers to deal with extraordinarily strict local tolerances of 0.1%, and, in addition, the camera has a very complicated shape and uses plates with thicknesses up to 60 mm. To solve the assembly the technicians have had to resort to state -of -the -art technologies, such as the Electron Beam Weldingwhich is welding using an electron beam, or The design of AI models specifically conceived to identify defects in the welds of the camera. The Covid-19 Pandemia that raised very crudely during the 2020s and 2021, and, on the other hand, the technical challenges derived from the completely unpublished nature of much of the components that need to be tuning so that Iter arrives in fruition have caused that The main milestones of this project are delayed. Nevertheless, The current updated itinerary proposes several important dates that interest us know. In 2039 Iter will be able to undertake high power tests with deuterium and tritium In 2034 the first experiments will be carried out in the reactor; In 2036 the magnetic system responsible for confinement of plasma to maximum power will be tested; And finally, in 2039 Iter will be able to undertake high power tests with deuterium and tritium. Initially this last milestone was going to arrive in 2035. Whatever it is during the last year the Iter assembly has advanced at a good pace. In the cover image of this article we can see two of the titanic sectors of the vacuum chamber, although, in my opinion, one of The milestones that this project has achieved This year It was consolidated in May. The superconductor magnets placed on the outside of the vacuum chamber of this nuclear fusion reactor have the responsibility of generating the magnetic field necessary to confine plasma inside. They are also responsible for controlling and stabilizing it. These magnets weigh 10,000 tons and are manufactured in an alloy of niobio and tin, or niobio and titanium, which acquires the superconductivity when cools with a supercritical helium until reaching a temperature of -269 ºC. This requirement justifies the need to put a powerful cooling system like the one that has devised Europe for Iter. In the construction of this experimental nuclear fusion reactor, the US, Russia, China, India, South Korea, Japan and the United Kingdom, but the cryogenization plant have been commissioned by Fusion for Energy (F4E), the organization of the European Union that coordinates the contribution of Europe to the development of Iter, the French company Air Liquide and technical integrated technicians in the Iter structure. Superconductor magnets acquire superconductivity when they reach a temperature of -269 ºC This extreme refrigeration installation will be responsible for supplying liquid helium to 4.5 Kelvin (-269 ° C) to superconductor magnets and criobombs, and also gaseous helium at 80 Kelvin (-193 ºC) to thermal shields. Creobombs are empty ultraalt devices that are responsible for eliminating gases inside the vacuum chamber. To do it They must work at an extremely low temperature. And, on the other hand, the thermal shields are responsible for protecting some critical elements of the reactor, such as superconductor magnets, the heat that emits the confined plasma inside the vacuum chamber. Iter’s cryogenic plant has an area similar to that of a football field (just over 7,100 m²) and contains several 26 -meter high storage tanks. These figures help us intuit how enormous this critical installation is. As we have just verified, without it the nuclear fusion would be absolutely impossible. This Grigory Kouzmenko statementF4E manager, invites us to tie Iter’s future with a reasonable optimism: “We have entered the most exciting phase of the project, in which all the efforts of previous years finally are specified and we can benefit from the collaboration based on the confidence between all the parties.” Image | Fusion for Energy More information | ITER In Xataka | From today Spain has the key to nuclear fusion: Granada’s particle accelerator is already a reality

The most complex nuclear reactor in the world is underway in the United Kingdom. His critics directly call him “a monster”

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Two figures are enough to understand the scope of the British challenge: 38,000 million investment pounds and six million homes fed with nuclear electricity for sixty years. This presents Sizewell C, the center that Downing Street describes as a clean energy and employment engine. His detractors, on the other hand, see it as a financial well and the last attempt to give life to a nuclear design so complex that in France it already call it “the monster.” The crown jewel. The objective of the British government is to double the nuclear capacity of the country by 2050 and guarantee a stable supply of low carbon energy. Sizewell C, With two EPR type reactors (European pressurized reactor), is the key piece of that strategy. According to the BBCthe project is the successor of Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, which accumulates a decade of delays and a runaway cost: more than 18,000 million pounds planned in 2010 to about 46,000 million today. Minister Rachel Reeves declared The Guardian that investment is “a powerful support to the United Kingdom as the best place to do business and as a global center of nuclear energy.” Instead, Henri Proglio, former director of the French electric EDF – developmentator of the project -, assured the Financial Times that the reactor design is “scary” and “almost impossible to build.” Faced opinions. The detractors have it clear. Proglio describes it as “a machine with more reinforcement rods than concrete.” Another engineer, Also cited in the FThe spoke of a “colossal error.” And Greenpeace warned the BBC That this time will be taxpayers, not EDF, who pay the inevitable cost overruns. But there are also moderate voices. Tony Roulstone, Professor of Cambridge and exejecutive of Rolls-Royce, declared to FT That Sizewell could be ready “one or two years before Hinkley” and cost 20 % less. Thanks to the fact that much of the design is already tested since the supply chain was consolidated in Somerset. There are already works in Suffolk. The project is not just paper. In Suffolk, 1,700 operators are already working in preliminary works, According to the Financial Times. The first one: a perimeter wall 55 meters deep and 3 kilometers long to drain the marsh before placing the foundations. In addition, Hinkley errors will be avoided. This time the concrete structures will be pregnant in workshops and not in the work, which should accelerate the deadlines. Even so, the official calendar – entered into operation in the middle or end of the 2030s – raises doubts. Flamanville, in France, and Hinkley have shown that deadlines in projects of this type are usually wet paper, As Critica Nils Pratley in his column for The Guardian. It is very complex. It is more complex than it seems to the naked eye. EPR are nuclear reactors of generation III+, the result of Franco-German collaboration between EDF and Siemens. According to World Nuclear Associationare designed to offer a net electrical power of between 1,600 and 1,650 MW, although they can reach 1,770 MW. In addition, they incorporate advanced security measures: double containment, four independent cooling systems, a Core Catcher to catch the nucleus in case of merger, and structural capacity to resist impacts and earthquakes, in addition to diesel generators and backup batteries that guarantee operability to multiple failures. They also stand out for greater energy efficiencyconsuming up to 17% less fuel than old reactors and producing up to 14% more energy. All this with a projected life of 60 years. This technical complexity is, at the same time, a strength in terms of safety and efficiency, and a challenge for the delays and costs that it has shown in its construction. The invoice reaches the British pocket. The cost of the central already exceeds twice the first estimates, According to BBC. The majority (36.6 billion) will be covered with public debt through the National Fund of Wealth. While the financing is distributed among the State (the largest shareholder with 44.9%), followed by the Canadian Caisse (20%), Centrica (15%), EDF (12.5%) and Amber Infrastructure (7.6%). The great novelty is the “Regulated Assets Base” model (Rab) in which households will begin to pay £ 1 per month in their electrical invoices for at least a decade, Julia Pyke explained to the BBC. This scheme mainly protects investors, As Nils Pratley recalled in The GuardianCentrica ensures returns of more than 10% even if the costs reach 47.7 billion pounds; Any excess will be assumed by taxpayers. France already tried. Although with problems. The first French EPR reactor, Flamanville 3, in Normandy, connected to the network In December 2024 after 12 years of delays and with a final cost of € 13.2 billion, four times budgeted. As explained in Financial Timesthe French experience forced to redesign the concept, so EDF no longer prioritizes the EPR, but the EPR2, a simplified and cheaper version that hopes to build in six units here to 2038. Meanwhile, in China they have shown that its Taishan center that has operated for years with an EPR of 1.75 GW, is one of the most powerful reactors in the world. A continent that turns nuclear. The British bet arrives in a contradictory European context. Germany He closed his last central in 2023 and Spain plans to close them in 2027. France, on the contrary, Maintain nuclear as a pillar (70 % of its electricity) and accelerates new EPR2 projects. The board moves: under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Germany has stopped blocking France and accepts that the nuclear receives the same treatment as renewables in EU legislation. The agreement includes giving “green” status to pink hydrogen and opens the door to European financing, although Austria continues against and countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands reevaluate their policies. In the midst of this continental debate, the United Kingdom, outside the EU, advances alone with Sizewell C: an EPR that even EDF has relegated in favor of the EPR2, while in Europe the SMR and nuclear fusion gain space. … Read more

Europe and Japan advance unstoppable towards nuclear fusion. His last achievement reminds us why we don’t have it yet

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The experimental reactor of nuclear fusion JT-60SA resides in Naka, a small city not very far from Tokyo (Japan). Its construction began in January 2013, but did not do it from scratch; He did it taking as a starting point the JT-60 reactor, his precursor, a machine that came into operation in 1985 and that for more than three decades has reached very important milestones in the field of merger energy. The JT-60SA assembly ended at the beginning of 2020, and since the end of 2023 it is ready to start The first tests with plasma. This machine is a device Tokamak that like jet and The future iter It resorts to the magnetic confinement of the ionized plasma that contains the deuterium and tritium nuclei to trigger nuclear fusion reactions. Whatever this machine is titanic. Colossal. In fact, it has a height of 15.4 meters and a diameter of 13.7 meters. However, the most shocking are the “specifications” that allow us to train an idea about their performance. And it is able to confine a plasma with a volume of 130 m³, as well as to generate a 2,25 teslas toroidal magnetic field and hold a current inside the plasma of 5.5 mA (5.5 million amps). These figures are shocking, and presumably when Iter is ready to start the first tests with plasma their figures will be even more impressive. Of course, during the next months already measure that the reactor JT60-SA deliver its first results we will develop with great detail. JT-60SA already has one of the most advanced diagnostic systems that exist On April 22, the latest components needed by Japanese and European engineers who work in the reactor to assemble the Thomson dispersion diagnostic system arrived at the JT-60SA facilities. Every time the researchers operating this very complex machine carry out an experiment with it need to know with the maximum possible precision the temperature and density of the plasma electrons. The components of the Thomson Dispersion Measurement Team have been designed and manufactured in Italy, Romania and Japan The main problem they face is that it is not possible to obtain this data taking direct measures. In order for the merger of the deuterium and tritium nuclei to take place, it is necessary that the plasma that contains them a temperature of At least 150 million degrees Celsiusand any sensor that contacts him at this temperature will not survive. This is the reason why the engineers of the JT-60SA reactor have been forced to set up an extraordinarily sophisticated diagnostic system. The components of the Thomson dispersion measurement team have been designed and manufactured in Italy, Romania and Japan. Broadly speaking, this ingenuity manages to measure the temperature and density of plasma electrons analyzing the light that emits with a high -power laser beam dispersed, precisely, by the plasma electrons themselves. Somehow the interaction between the laser and plasma is what allows engineers indirectly calculating temperature and density. The JT-60SA reactor will have two diagnostic systems of Thomson’s dispersion. The nucleus has been developed in Japan, and the edge of the plasma has been devised in Europe. Both are currently being installed, and, if everything goes well, this machine will have in a few months one of the diagnostic and measurement equipment more advanced that exist. The nuclear fusion no longer raises any challenge from the point of view of fundamental physics. If we still have no commercial fusion energy reactors, it is due to the fact that this technology still requires solving several challenges in the field of engineering. The tuning of this diagnostic system was one of them. Image | QST More information | Eurofusion In Xataka | The Jet reactor has successfully completed its final tests with deuterium and tritium. It is a crucial milestone for nuclear fusion

The countries with more nuclear bombs in 2025, gathered in this graph with two protagonists: China and India

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In January 2007, the Watch of the Last Judgment remained at five minutes of the devastation. In January this year, I was barely 89 seconds of midnight. This clock represents, symbolically, if we are close to a nuclear devastation, and the data of 2025 was the most bleak in its 78 to those of history. Although the United States and Russia continue to dismantle nuclear arsenal, they are still the powers that more atomic bombs have. However, China is putting the batteries And another country wants to demonstrate that it has no qualms about arming: India. And this graph perfectly represents the situation of world nuclear arsenal in 2025. The photo in 2025. Prepared by Visual Capitalist From data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or Sipriin the graph we can eloquently see the state of the nuclear arsenal until January this year. The United States and Russia evidently dominated The world nuclear arsenal during the Cold War and, although they are still the two nations that have the most ojas in their possession, that arsenal has been diminishing. During the last months, it is estimated that the United States would have discharged eight eyes while Russia would have ‘retired’ another 71. France and the United Kingdom, which recently confirmed actions to combine their arsenalThey are maintained, like Pakistan, Israel and a North Korea that has a secret arsenal, but with an estimated 50 heads. As can be seen in the image, the US and Russia continue to dominate the segment incontestable, but there is a third country that, also evident, is taking leaps and accelerated to get a good arsenal. China. About a year ago, A SIPRI report He surprised everyone by showing that China was increasing its nuclear arsenal at a stupid speed. Now is in a position that allows Ask for both the US and its allies With nuclear arsenal and that Chinese expansion has been the perfect excuse for the “Rearme” that the Pentagon has asked for. Of the 500 estimated heads of China in 2024, we went to 600, which represents 20% more in a few months that allows to see in an evident way that the Asian giant has taken the renewal of its forces seriously. Nuclear weapons investment is not the only thing we have witnessed, since China boasts electromagnetic catapults of his new warships, of latest generationof New combat fighters and Even a huge poaching plane. India puts the batteries. Despite those 600 heads, it is estimated that they have less than 30 strategically deployed (those that are ready to launch). The United States and Russia have less than 2,000 deployed, France has almost all lists to launch and the United Kingdom half, more or less. The one estimated that it has zero deployed bombs is India, but the new SIPRI report shows that the country’s nuclear investment is paying off. In fact, and without knowing really how things are going in North Koreait would be the only country that has increased its arsenal, adding another eight heads in recent months. They have reached 180 and arrive just at a time of high voltage in the Indo-Pacific region, with continuous demonstrations of force As the other big in the contest does, China. New generation of bombs. The current situation is … complex. With the invasion of Russia to Ukraine the Fear of nuclear war. With the recent conflict between Israel and its neighbors, Those drums have sounded again And, meanwhile, China promotes pacts not to attack first with nuclear arsenal while the treaty expiration is approaching START III which limited the amount of strategic weapons deployed by nuclear powers. Russia se He disconnected of that treaty, directly, in 2022. We will see in a few years how graphics of this type evolve, since France confirmed In 2024 a program to produce Nuclear bombs New generation and more recently they bet on new Actions to consolidate your role as one of the pillars of nuclear deterrence in the West, something that blocks with the Objectives of Rearme launched by Europe. In Xataka | In the Cold War, China feared a Soviet nuclear attack: its response was the largest underground nuclear base on the planet

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