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To the SCGI community,
Because of increased activity in the power sector, especially nuclear, we are updating our newsletter to feature important and informative articles we've been following. We hope this will help you stay current on what's happening in the field.
We'll send our newsletter monthly beginning with the May 2025 edition.
The Other Nuclear Race
America Is Falling Behind China and Russia on Energy Innovation
By Juzel Lloyd, April 28, 2025
The world is witnessing a new kind of global race—not for authority in space but for control over the global nuclear energy market. Nuclear power had long been considered risky owing to major accidents and budget overruns, hampering its large-scale adoption. But within the past decade, nuclear energy has been making a comeback thanks to the development of small modular reactors. China and Russia are seizing the lead, expanding their domestic capacities as well as exporting nuclear technology and constructing nuclear power plants across a variety of emerging economies.
Click here to read the article at foreignaffairs.com
How to Define Nuclear Success
The Industry Has to Have a Product that Companies Want to Buy
Donald Trump says coal is clean and beautiful, and on April 8 he signed an executive order to encourage its use. Whether or not you share his taste in fuels, the order appears to overlook some critical details of how the power system works, details that nuclear advocates should bear in mind when they talk about what will constitute a “renaissance.” The lesson is that government policy can help identify political priorities, but when policy conflicts with the market, the market will win.
Coal has some attractive attributes. It’s plentiful, here and abroad, its price is fairly stable, and a plant manager can look out the office window and see where the next few months of fuel are coming from. In contrast, natural gas is delivered just in time, wind and sun come when they want to, and even water for hydroelectric dams is variable.
Read the article at The Breakthrough Institute
Will Laser Enrichment Be the Future of Nuclear Fuel?
By Matthew L. Wald
The Department of Energy Has an Opportunity to Support Innovation
Say “nuclear renaissance” and what comes to mind is new, advanced reactors, but radical innovation in the fuel supply chain would be crucial to a world with more nuclear power.
The Department of Energy, with a mandate to “re-shore” reactor fuel production, is facing a decision about the vast store of depleted uranium, left over from decades of low-efficiency enrichment work. If the DOE is bold, it could open the door to a third-generation enrichment technology. The moment is ripe as Western companies and governments seek to replace Russia as a supplier of enriched uranium.
Click here to read the article at the breakthrough.org
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