The Duck Curve#supply chain
US and Korea earmark up to $120B for eight reactors, with no sites named
South Korea and the United States announced Project Power on September 30, 2026, a framework to build six Westinghouse AP1000 and two APR1400 reactors in the US with $120 billion of Korea's $200 billion investment ceiling, including $20 billion of contingency, and agreed to cooperate on a $10 billion advance payment by year-end aimed at long-lead items. No specific sites, owners or power buyers are named; Westinghouse's shareholders call the terms non-binding, Brookfield cites a 5% to 10% Korean stake in Westinghouse, and Cameco puts the APR1400 waiver at about $2 billion of value per reactor.
NANO Nuclear agrees to buy NRC license for unbuilt New Mexico DUF6 plant
NANO Nuclear Energy said on October 1, 2026 that it agreed to buy Radnostix's assets for a never-built depleted uranium hexafluoride deconversion plant in Lea County, New Mexico, including NRC source material license SUB-1011, for $9.5 million in cash and $4.0 million in NANO stock at closing, expected in approximately 90 to 120 days subject to NRC consent to the license transfer and other conditions. The NRC issued the license in 2012; a 2025 application to transfer it to Green Salt Products was withdrawn in March 2026, and NANO says no final investment decision has been made.
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UK Fusion Energy joins MTC as Tier 1 member, to spend up to £10m on R&D
UK Fusion Energy Ltd, the UKAEA Group subsidiary delivering the STEP prototype fusion plant at West Burton, said on September 15, 2026 that it has become a Tier 1 member of the Manufacturing Technology Centre and set up an R&D contract route through which it expects to spend up to £10 million (about $13.3 million). A release datelined September 14 announced a partnership with INFINITY, which is developing a 200-acre advanced manufacturing site at Infinity Park in Derby. UKFE says procurement packages for six strategic partner opportunities are in their final stages of development.
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Natura receives Oak Ridge's 1960s FLiBE salt for its Abilene reactor
Natura Resources said on September 18, 2026 that it received FLiBE salt from DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, via Idaho National Laboratory, for the MSR-1 reactor being built at Abilene Christian University; the release says the salt contains 99.99% enriched lithium-7 and that Natura was selected through a competitive DOE solicitation issued in August 2025. ANS reports more than 2 metric tons, the secondary coolant of the 1965 to 1969 Molten Salt Reactor Experiment, now to be the primary constituent of the reactor's fuel salt. The NRC issued the construction permit on September 16, 2024.
Suniva closes $835M raise for 4.5 GW South Carolina solar cell plant
Suniva said on September 8, 2026 it completed an $835 million debt and equity raise to build a 4.5 GW solar cell factory in Laurens County, South Carolina, for 5.5 GW of US cell capacity with its 1 GW Georgia plant. The release puts it at approximately $600 million and 564 jobs, completion late 2027; South Carolina's April 14, 2026 announcement said $350 million. The raise precedes Section 232 minimum import prices on polysilicon, ingots and wafers, cells and modules effective December 4, 2026, which the proclamation says replace the safeguard relief Suniva petitioned for in 2017.
SEIA/WoodMac: residential solar fell 12% in Q2 2026, utility-scale up 61%
The Q3 2026 US Solar Market Insight from SEIA and Wood Mackenzie puts Q2 2026 residential solar at 995 MWdc, down 12% year over year and 10% from Q1, the quarter in which the report says interconnection data began to reflect the end of the Section 25D credit; the authors now expect a 23% residential contraction in 2026. Utility-scale solar installed 9.6 GWdc, up 61% year over year, as developers placed safe-harbored projects into service.
Centrus signs HALEU supply contract for Radiant's Kaleidos microreactors
Centrus Energy said in a Form 8-K filed September 9, 2026 that it has signed a definitive multi-year contract to supply high-assay low-enriched uranium for multiple of Radiant Industries' Kaleidos microreactors, with deliveries scheduled to begin before the end of the decade and Radiant prepayments supporting Centrus's domestic commercial enrichment capacity program. The release gives no quantity or value. The same day Centrus priced a $500 million public offering of shares and warrants, its second enrichment contract with customer prepayments in five weeks after X-energy's on August 6.
Siemens Energy's Newcastle works to build turbines for UK's first SMRs
Rolls-Royce SMR announced on September 3, 2026 that key steam turbine components for its first three reactors at the Gwyndod project on Anglesey, North Wales, including high-pressure turbines and valve casings, will be manufactured at Siemens Energy's Newcastle site, the former CA Parsons Works. The company says the work will support more than 550 jobs and is the first time such components will be produced for a small modular reactor anywhere in Europe.
Studsvik picks GE Vernova Hitachi, Samsung C&T for four Swedish BWRX-300s
Studsvik AB announced on September 3, 2026 an exclusive agreement with GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Samsung C&T, GE Vernova Financial Services, and DS Investment Partners to advance an initial four-unit BWRX-300 project of approximately 1,200 MWe at either its Nyköping site or the Målma site in Valdemarsvik, Sweden, with the first unit expected in operation in the mid-2030s. The agreement is not a final investment decision or an authorization to construct; both sites await Swedish government approval, and Studsvik applied for state financing support on June 12, 2026.
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China starts taxing lithium-ion batteries at 2%, solar cells next
China began collecting a 2% consumption tax on lithium-ion, lithium primary, nickel-metal hydride, mercury-free primary, and vanadium flow batteries on September 1, 2026, returning to the statutory 4% on September 1, 2027, under a July 16 announcement from the finance ministry, customs, and tax administration. Solar cells join at 2% in April 2027; sodium-ion, solid-state, and fuel cells are exempt through 2028.
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SK On to supply 9 GWh of US-made LFP cells to NeoVolta Power
SK On signed a long-term agreement, announced August 31, 2026, to supply 9 GWh of US-produced LFP pouch battery cells to NeoVolta Power from 2027 through 2031 for storage products the release describes as aimed at utility-scale and commercial-and-industrial applications. The release discloses no value; Yonhap reports market estimates of about 1.5 trillion won (US$1.09 billion). A framework for a further 9 GWh of cells plus pack purchases by SK On would bring the partnership to 18 GWh.
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Standard Nuclear to supply Antares up to eight tons of TRISO fuel
Standard Nuclear announced a binding TRISO fuel supply agreement with Antares Nuclear on August 27, 2026: a minimum of one metric ton of uranium as a firm commitment, plus customer options for up to seven more, with the release describing deliveries through 2035. It is the second definitive TRISO supply agreement the company has announced in August 2026, after an August 20 deal with Radiant Industries.
US uranium output more than tripled in 2025 as enrichment plants line up
US uranium concentrate production more than tripled in 2025 to 2.1 million pounds of U3O8, the most since 2017, according to EIA data published August 28, 2026. The same day, the NRC published an order aligning hearing procedures for two pending uranium enrichment plant applications: Global Laser Enrichment's Paducah, Kentucky facility and Orano's Project IKE in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Trump declares bulk-power emergency, targets foreign grid equipment
President Trump signed Executive Order 14420 on August 26, 2026, declaring a national emergency over the US bulk-power system under IEEPA and authorizing the Energy Department to bar acquisition, import, or installation of foreign-produced grid equipment, including substation transformers, grid-connected inverters, and battery energy storage systems, when it finds both a tie to a Covered Foreign Entity and an undue security risk. The order directs implementing rules as needed within 120 days and also covers equipment already installed.
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Marathon Fusion says its plasma centrifuge enriched lithium and hydrogen
Marathon Fusion announced on August 27, 2026 that it enriched hydrogen and lithium isotopes in its plasma centrifuge, aiming to cut tritium flow rates and processing system size in fusion plants by a factor of ten or more. Covalent certified the lithium-6 enrichment; the hydrogen separation results are not yet independently verified, according to Heatmap News.
FCC redraws its foreign inverter ban around the 45X tax credit
The FCC modified its Covered List entry for foreign-produced power inverters on August 20, 2026: the ban now covers only UL 1741 utility-interactive inverters but extends to wired connectivity, and inverters eligible for the Section 45X manufacturing credit are no longer treated as foreign-produced.
Anthro Energy breaks ground on 12,000-ton electrolyte plant in Louisville
Anthro Energy broke ground on a polymer electrolyte plant in Louisville, Kentucky, the company announced on August 19, 2026. The $42 million facility is expected to produce about 12,000 metric tons a year, enough to support up to 25 GWh of lithium-ion battery production, with operation targeted for late 2027.