India currently has 22 operating nuclear reactors, totalling some 6795 MWe of capacity. A further eight units, totalling just over 6000 MWe, are under construction, and the Indian government is committed to growing nuclear capacity as part of its massive infrastructure development programme.

Design certification means that the NRC has determined a nuclear power plant design meets all its applicable safety requirements, independent of an application to construct or operate a plant.

In June, Last Energy signed an agreement with Polish state-owned energy company Enea SA to cooperate on the deployment of SMRs, potentially in Poland.

"Ensuring stable energy supplies to the Polish system requires the rapid implementation of nuclear technologies," said PKN Orlen President Daniel Obajtek.

Senior nuclear regulators and industry leaders met for the first time under the IAEA’s Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI) on 23-24 June to discuss roadmaps to accelerate the safe and secure deployment of advanced nuclear reactors, with a particular focus on small modular reactors (SMRs).

Romanian company Nuclearelectrica and NuScale will cooperate with the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) on a series of engineering and design activities and studies, as well further technical analyses of the Doicești site, a former thermal power plant site which has been identified as a potential location for the SMR plant.

Several countries are now eyeing a strategy for using nuclear power that could reduce their reliance on fossil fuels over the coming years: installing small modular reactors (SMRs) on or near the site of retired coal fired plants.

Harmonisation is an innovative approach which, if successful, can support both newcomer and mature nuclear nations. Global nuclear regulators, World Nuclear Association's CORDEL, IAEA and WENRA must work together to ensure that harmonised SMR deployment is conducted safely and efficiently.

Romania’s energy minister Virgil Popescu said: "I thank our American partners for supporting Romania's nuclear programmes, a bilateral strategic partnership started in the 1980s.

SK said the cooperation between TerraPower and group member companies SK Corporation and SK Innovation will "contribute to fostering the next-generation nuclear power plant industry in Korea through cooperation in securing and commercialising core SMR technology ...