Nuclear Energy: A current industry outlook
Powering just over 9 % of the world’ s electricity and operating across 31 countries, nuclear energy is slowly but surely marking its territory in the world’ s energy supply. Here you can read new developments within the nuclear sector across the globe.
By Lyndsey Denton-Fray, Valve World
Across the globe, we can see new developments taking place in the nuclear energy sector. As the second cleanest energy source( hydropower taking first place), nuclear is becoming a strong competitor as an energy source to combat rising greenhouse gas emissions.
Spain
According to nucleareurope’ s press release in August, the Spanish government decided to extent the life of the Almaraz nuclear power plant( NPP) until 2030. Almaraz accounts for 7 % of the electricity produced in Spain, meaning the extension of the plant was well received. Nucleareurope’ s Director General Emmanuel Brutin said:“ It is in line with the European Commission’ s recommendation to extend the life of all nuclear reactors for as long as possible in order to ensure security of supply and reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports. We hope this decision will pave the way for a broader reconsideration of the role of nuclear energy in Spain beyond 2035.”
This decision of the extension of Almaraz not only brings the hope of further energy security within Europe, but also cleaner energy that can be relied upon.
United Kingdom( UK)
Further nuclear news comes from the UK, where the UK start-up Nuclear Turbines unveiled its new novel reactor concept, one combining their nuclear reactor design with highly efficient high-temperature turbine technology, aiming to further lower energy costs. The concept, according to World Nuclear News, revolves around replacing conventional steam turbine systems( usually water-cooled steam systems) with high-temperature gas turbines derived from jet engines. Nuclear Turbines states:“ steam turbines became the nuclear default because they work with the low-temperature heat produced by current water-cooled nuclear reactors, but they’ re also large and relatively inefficient. They need large tanks and boilers, heat exchangers, and complex cooling systems all capable of handling high-pressure water safely,
20 Valve World November 2026 www. valve-world. net