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<strong>atw</strong> Vol. 63 (<strong>2018</strong>) | Issue 8/9 ı August/September Nuclear Energy: The Dead Live Longer or the Summer of <strong>2018</strong> Dear Reader, Although nuclear energy offers both comprehensive technical potential with further development prospects for use in power generation and attractive economic conditions, both for existing plants and for new plants – assuming a reliable regulatory and political environment – there was no visible impetus for this for a long time. Nuclear energy has also been or is facing serious market challenges. There are two reasons why it cannot exploit its economic advantages: On the one hand, there are hardly any free electricity markets left; regulated markets with subsidy systems, some of which are excessive and barely manageable, prevent any market development towards efficient systems as a whole. On the other hand, plants with long depreciation periods, as is the case with nuclear energy at around 20 years, are not very attractive. Remarkable developments in spring/summer <strong>2018</strong> set clear signals for future impulses, especially with their technical accents: 1. At the end of April <strong>2018</strong>, the Akademik Lomonosov was launched in St. Petersburg, Russia. The lighter is equipped with two KLT-40S type nuclear reactors, which have been successfully used in icebreakers for many decades. Each reactor can supply up to 35 MW of electricity and 200 GJ/h of district heating, sufficient to supply around 100,000 people in polar regions. After the launch, the lighter was towed through the Baltic and North Sea to Murmansk, where it is loaded with nuclear fuel. Next year, the Akademik Lomonosov will be towed to the Chukchi region in eastern Russia to its final location. 2. On 6 June <strong>2018</strong>, the Taishan 1 nuclear power plant unit in the province of Guangdong in southern China achieved first criticality. This is the first active EPR type plant in the world and thus the second Generation III+ reactor type to go into operation after the Russian VVER-1200 in Novovoronezh, which went into operation in 2016. With a gross nominal output of 1750 MW, it is the world's most powerful type of nuclear power plant. Construction of the plant began in 2009. 2 blocks of the same type have been under construction in Europe since 2005 (Olkiluoto 3, Finland) and 2007 ( Flamanville 3, France). Originally, EPR reactors were developed for a Western European expansion program and are supplied by Framatome. A second unit is currently being commissioned at the Taishan site in China. French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian President Narenda Modi signed a contract in March <strong>2018</strong> to build six EPRs in India. 3. On 21 June <strong>2018</strong>, the Sanmen 1 nuclear power plant unit in the Chinese province of Zhejiang achieved first criticality. This is the first AP1000 plant worldwide and thus the third Generation III+ reactor type in operation. Construction of the plant began in 2009 and on 8 August <strong>2018</strong> the identical Haiyang 1 block in the Chinese province of Shandong also achieved first criticality. A further block is under construction at each of the two sites. The AP1000 with a gross output of around 1250 MW is a development of Westinghouse. In the USA, four units are under construction at the Vogtle and Summer sites; construction of the two Summer units was suspended in August 2017, partly because the Westinghouse Electric Company, as the manufacturer, had to initiate Chapter 11 insolvency procedure. Meanwhile, the Canadian Brookfield Business Partners has taken over the nuclear technology company. Among others, the Indian government is confident of signing a contract for the construction of 6 AP1000s in India in the near future. These start-ups not only mark the fact that, despite all the challenges and the associated delays, new technical ground can be successfully broken in nuclear technology. EPR, AP1000 or VVER-1200 can now provide impetus for the marketing of nuclear energy in the new markets available - even if these markets are not necessarily located in Europe at present. Oh yes, Europe ... two sentences about the Old World: 1. Nuclear energy, and thus the reactors at the Belgian sites of Tihange and Doel, which are almost prayer- milllike in some media, have so far this year covered around 60 % of the country's electricity requirements. In April <strong>2018</strong>, the current Belgian government had confirmed an “energy pact” for the country's nuclear power plants, which intends for the plants to be decommissioned between 2022 and 2025. This is about the seventh exit announcement by a Belgian government. 2. The UK government is promoting the development and construction of small modular reactors (SMR). A £ 200 million investment programme as part of the country's long-term industrial strategy is to accelerate the construction of a pilot plant at Trawsfynydd in northern Wales. So it is not only exciting with regard to the future of nuclear energy worldwide, there are now also future prospects for expansion worldwide with currently 454 commercial units in operation, as many as never before. Christopher Weßelmann – Editor in Chief – 427 EDITORIAL Editorial Nuclear Energy: The Dead Live Longer or the Summer of <strong>2018</strong>